The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) announced today that Acer Inc. will become the newest member of the BDA, joining more than 170 of the world’s leading consumer electronic, computer companies and content providers. Acer is one of the three largest personal-computer brands in the world and the number one notebook brand in Europe.
“We’re delighted to welcome Acer to the Blu-ray Disc Association,” said Victor Matsuda, chairman of the BDA’s Global Promotions Committee, in the press release. “The addition of Acer provides one more sign of the growing momentum behind Blu-ray Disc and, more importantly, is a significant advantage for consumers, as it further expands the already broad options available to consumers in the personal computer space.”
According to data compiled by Home Media Research and GFK Research, respectively, through the first half of 2007, Blu-ray Disc movie titles have accounted for 66% of the high definition movie sales in the US and 60% of high definition movie sales in Europe.
“With increasing demand and expectation for richer media content, Acer is adding Blu-ray Disc technology into our notebooks and enabling users to experience high-definition content, playback and storage,” said Campbell Kan, Vice President, Mobile Computing Business Unit, Acer Inc., in the press release. “Acer is pleased to be joining the Blu-ray Disc Association and to continue empowering our users to benefit from the freshest technologies available.”
“We are very pleased with the reception Blu-ray Disc has received by consumers thus far in 2007,” Matsuda said. “From the onset, offering consumers a wide variety of quality hardware and content has been a focus for Blu-ray. We are extremely pleased to add Acer’s line up to the range of products available to consumers.”
Blu-ray Disc is the next-generation optical disc format being developed for high-definition video and high-capacity software applications. A single-layer Blu-ray Disc will hold up to 25 gigabytes of data and a double-layer Blu-ray Disc will hold up to 50 gigabytes of data.
The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) is responsible for promoting and further developing business opportunities for Blu-ray Disc – the next-generation optical disc for storing high-definition movies, games, photos and other digital content. The BDA has more than 180 members. Its Board of Directors consists of Apple; Dell Inc.; HP; Hitachi, Ltd.; LG Electronics Inc.; Mitsubishi Electric Corporation; Panasonic (Matsushita Electric); Pioneer Corporation; Royal Philips Electronics; Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.; Sharp Corporation; Sony Corporation; Sun Microsystems, Inc.; TDK Corporation; Thomson; Twentieth Century Fox; Walt Disney Pictures and Television; Warner Bros. Entertainment.
Acer? Wow!
That is the nail in HD DVD’s coffin.
But not Microsoft. aha ha ha ha ha ha ha.
http://www.blu-raydisc.com/general_information/Section-14009/Index.html
Let’s hope Intel switch to Blu-ray and then that really will leave Microsoft out to dry…
Every single bet that Microsoft has taken in the last 10 years has been the wrong one. Anyone else noticed it?
“Every single bet that Microsoft has taken in the last 10 years has been the wrong one. Anyone else noticed it?”
Yaah. They’re kind of like George in that episode of Seinfeld. Maybe they should just do the opposite of whatever they’d normally do and they’d actually start doing something right.
Shhhhh . . . don’t tell them.
That’s got to hurt HD DVD. Acer is now the 3rd largest computer manufacturer.
I didn’t really care too much about the whole Hi Def DVD battle (just wanted someone to win and get it on with it) until I read this Business Week article referenced by Roughly Drafted. It will make you MAD. This whole battle probably would have been settled if MS hadn’t goten their dirty little paws on it.
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/oct2005/tc20051020_154892.htm?campaign_id=topStories_ssi_5
“Every single bet that Microsoft has taken in the last 10 years has been the wrong one. Anyone else noticed it?”
(cough) microsoft used intel way before apple did (cough)
bda also stands for bomb damage assessment.
I’m so supremely uninterested in this battle. Someone catch me up… is one format morally superior to the other? Better for macs? Sorry – I’m behind and am unsure how we chose the video format that is good and the one that is evil. Catch me up?
If Clippy™ says HD-DVD is the best choice, why I believe him. That little paperclip has never steered me wrong before. He’s my buddy. And what about Bob? He’s for HD-DVD too.
Grok — Blu-ray has a great sci-fi sound, so is good. HD sounds deeply last year so is, if not bad, then dull and uninteresting.
Clear? Well that’s my take anyway!
Actually, Blu-ray seems to be the better format for lots of reasons and if the dread MS backs the other side, so us Macusers have reasons to smile…
And just what does this have to do with the British Dental Association? Inspector Lemming?
It’s a man’s life in the British Army, don’t you know.
Grok- Blue-Ray is superior in technology than HD-DVD. Blue-Ray uses standardized elements such as H.264 rather than the proprietary elements Microsoft has forced into HD-DVD. Plus Blue-Ray has almost double the capacity of HD-DVD.
Personally I’m sick of the whole battle myself. Unfortunately, Microsoft refuses to give up the whole “tie the technology to itself” game. This link goes to the RD article that business week was referencing:
Microsoft’s HD War
This issue is not up for discussion, Blu-Ray is by far the best standard going forward.
If you watch movies, play games or store data (backup) you should care since Blu-Ray delivers true 1080p resolution and twice the storage capacity.
What I would like to know is why Apple is behind Dell and others offering Blu-Ray drives. Bad Apple, bad, bad Apple.
Grok catch up here: http://www.roughlydrafted.com/RD/TechQ307/Entries/2007/8/29_Origins_of_the_Blu-ray_vs_HD-DVD_War.html
Cool, Acer is doing BD – Now if only they’d stop shipping their computers with Windows installed – yuck.
who cares. next week apple will have rentable High Def videos from itunes. who needs Blue Ray or HD DVD, they are both obsolete starting next week.
just like steve jobs said
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zero-in,
Please learn a little about things before you go dropping uninformed BS in forums. Both formats are 1080p-capable and have 1080p movies. Some players are – and some are not – 1080p-capable – on both sides.
HD-DVD currently holds 15/30 gig, while BD is 25/50 (single layer/dual layer). No movies currently need even all 30 gigs of an HD-DVD, so the storage space offers no additional picture quality. Even King Kong (3 hours) with extras fits just fine on a 30-gig HD-DVD with stellar picture and sound quality.
Just passing through,
You are also completely incorrect. Both BD and HD-DVD support MPEG-2, MPEG-4 AVC (H.264), and VC-1.
Neither format is technically superior to the other, save for BD being larger. Of course, along with the size, you also get an extra layer of DRM, and Sony hegemony (instead of MS).
You guys should read a little instead of spouting off about stuff you clearly know nothing about.
Crabby
Well, Crabby, if the past is any indication, the need for larger and larger storage capacity will only increase in the future. And since it is the future we’re talking about, it is logical to go with the standard that will be more useful in the long run. Blu-ray and HD DVD are both more than capable of delivering today’s titles and have storage capacity to spare, but the past tells us that won’t be necessarily true in 10 years from now.
10 years ago I couldn’t imagine how I was going to fill up a 500 MB hard drive. Today, my 2TB server is almost full. We’re going to need more bits in the future, not less. I’m giving my stones to the device with the most to offer: Blu-Ray.
I already conceded that BD was larger. Of course, if 30 gigs won’t be enough, 50 gigs probably won’t be enough, either… and we’ll be looking at some other storage medium, be it holographic, net-centric, etc.
SC
Crabby
Blu-ray supports open standards. HD DVD is proprietary; it requires a Microsoft license to access menus.
Winner: Blu-ray
i like bluray because it sounds cooler. you really want to say ‘hd-dvd’ all the time?
who cares about the specs?
To: anti reality distortion field
“(cough) microsoft used intel way before apple did (cough)”
And if they hadn’t, where would Intel be right now? We don’t know.