High-Definition DVD Direction
Dear Gary: Your WSR April 2004 article better illuminated the pre-launch battle of high-definition DVD formats. It seems that HD-DVD and BD are both capable of D5-like picture fidelity. Speaking as both a home theatre enthusiast and one who has worked in the Internet streaming business, I prefer the BD format. I also welcome a replacement Windows Media 9 codec instead of the MPEG-2 codec, if certain conditions are met. As a publisher, the importance of protecting high-value intellectual property (IP) is critical. We publishers are more inclined to release IP content faster on a format that is more secure. If I understand what I’ve read, the BD encryption scheme “seems” slightly more difficult to crack than the HD DVD encryption scheme. The BD disc manufacturing process is more expensive to duplicate. The extra 20 GB of a dual-layer BD storage encourages IP owners to encode at a steady state of 36 Mbps, yet maintain sufficient disc real estate for 45 to 60 minutes of special features and full resolution DTS® or MLP® audio. NET: there appear to be higher barriers to piracy and more room for IP content with the BD format. Due to the 50 GB storage capacity of BD, Windows Media 9 (WM9) may not be needed despite its coding efficiency advantage over MPEG-2. I bet that if WSR does controlled test encodes of MPEG-2 and WM9 at 36 Mbps, the observable difference wil be nil. Assuming that is true, I only welcome a BD change to WM9 codec if: -there are anti-piracy advantages to WM9 -Microsoft turns over WM9’s IP to the same standards body governing MPEG-2 -Microsoft charges the same or lower codec licensing terms as MPEG-2 The next-generation HD codec, despite any potential technical advantages of WM9, will be too important and pervasive for one company to control. Aren’t MPEG-2 stakeholders improving that codec as well? Lastly, is anyone lobbying the movie studios to encode the next Hi-Definition DVD format at 4:2:2 instead of 4:2:0 for better fidelity? Some of us can see the difference.
Thomas Dorsey, CEO
Editor-In-Chief Gary Reber Comments:
You make excellent points that are all on our radar screen at WSR. In future we will be exploring the topics you have touched upon in-depth, including A-B comparisons.
You can E-mail Widescreen Review @ mailto:editorgary@widescreenreview.com