“It seems that everywhere you turn these days the age old feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys of the personal computing world, Apple and Microsoft, is resurfacing. In this epoch, however, the battlefield is not just desktop computing but online entertainment, whether it be music downloads or high definition video,” Stan Beer reports for iTWire.
“Microsoft has already publicly declared its hand in the high definition video war, lining up firmly behind the Toshiba led HD DVD camp. The software giant turned games console maker plans to incorporate HD DVD into its Xbox 360 platform in direct opposition to games console king and Blu-ray champion Sony,” Beer reports.
“Meanwhile, Apple has kept a relatively low profile in the building optical disc war as far as the general consumer public is concerned. In fact, however, Apple has already declared its hand. Apple is board member of the Blu-ray Disc Association. This, as others have pointed out, would suggest very strongly that Blu-ray players will be a feature of future Macintosh computers,” Beer reports.
“Apple, which has always been a technology driven company, appears to be in the Blu-ray camp and, given its once again growing influence in the home computer market, will, like Sony PlayStation 3, be a critical driver of Blu-ray going forward,” Beer reports.
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Note: Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced on March 10, 2005 that Apple was “pleased to join the Blu-ray Disc Association board as part of our efforts to drive consumer adoption of HD.”
According to The Blu-ray Disc Association’s website, HD DVD’s pre-recorded capacities are 15 GB for a single layer disc, or 30 GB for a double layer disc. Blu-ray Disc provides 67% more capacity per layer at 25 GB for a single layer and 50GB for a double layer disc. It’s par for the course that Apple backs the superior format while Microsoft supports the inferior one.
It does, however, bear noting that Apple is playing both sides of the fence in a wait and see mode. According to a press release from April 17, 2005, “Apple is committed to both emerging high definition DVD standards—Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD. Apple is an active member of the DVD Forum which developed the HD DVD standard, and last month joined the Board of Directors of the Blu-ray Disc Association.”
Related articles:
Ricoh creates ‘universal’ optical disk lens; reads and writes Blu-ray, HD DVD, DVD, and CD – July 10, 2006
Blu-ray Disc blank media hits U.S. shelves – May 22, 2006
Blu-ray Disk Associaton: we’ll win DVD format war over HD-DVD – May 12, 2006
RUMOR: Apple asks studios to include iPod video content on Blu-ray discs – April 25, 2006
Sony postpones PlayStation 3 release until November due to Blu-ray delay – March 15, 2006
Broadcom announces decoder chip that plays both Blu-ray and HD DVD – January 03, 2006
Forrester Research: Apple-backed Blu-ray will win over Microsoft-backed HD DVD – October 20, 2005
BusinessWeek: ‘it looks as if HD DVD’s days are numbered’ – October 07, 2005
China to develop own as-yet-unnamed DVD format; Blu-ray vs. HD DVD vs ? – October 07, 2005
Paramount’s decision gives Blu-ray slight lead over HD DVD in next gen DVD format war – October 04, 2005
Record set straight on Blu-ray Disc Association’s superior high definition format – September 29, 2005
Microsoft backs cheaper, less sophisticated, lower capacity HD DVD over Apple-backed Blu-ray format – September 27, 2005
Twentieth Century Fox joins Apple, Dell, HP, others to support Blu-ray Disc format – July 29, 2005
Poll shows Apple-backed Blu-ray preferred by consumers over HD DVD for next-gen DVD standard – July 14, 2005
Microsoft allies with Toshiba on HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray Disc backers Apple and Sony – June 27, 2005
Apple joins Blu-ray Disc Association Board of Directors – March 10, 2005
first?
Apple better play both sides of the fence until there is a winner. Beta was better too. Does Microsoft still have the clout to force the market to a lesser standard? Possibly. If the media takes off on computers first they have the numbers. But if consumer electronics lead the way then they will be forced to adopt whatever the rest of the world does.
It seems that the smart move would be to use ricoh’s newly announced lenses that will support both Blue-Ray and HD-DVD in a single mechanism. Now if only the cost would come down. Anyone who would spend over $200 for a DVD player is an idiot. Spending the current $1,000 for a Blue Ray player is simply beyond words.
I bid 300,000 quatloos on Apple.
Me, too. Quadroopoolns and quintooploons.
In the end, both platforms will support, er, both platforms…
PS: Who gives a ratz ass which technology is used, they are both better than current DVD implementations..
Both formats will be obsolete before there’s a winner.
Just give us flexible drives that can handle both.
“Microsoft supports the inferior one”. Just because HD-DVD has a lower capacity doesn’t make it inferior. I believe it’s a little early to be making statements like that.
Windoze,
My understanding is that Ricoh’s new lens setup is for read-only drives, not read and write.
Which pretty much makes them useless in computer setups, where most users are going to want to write data.
“Who gives a ratz ass which technology is used, they are both better than current DVD implementations.”
Typical Windows/Microsoft attitude if you ask me.
Jobs/Apple stand for the best that can be achieved. Just OK is not good enough.
I’m with Cupertino, you can keep Redmond.
Both formats suck, but if I had to choose one, I’d pick HD-DVD. Cheaper, looks just as good, and has less problems.
“Just because HD-DVD has a lower capacity doesn’t make it inferior.”
It doesn’t help. And there is more to the issue of HD-DVD’s “inferiority” than just lower capacity.
“”Microsoft supports the inferior one”. Just because HD-DVD has a lower capacity doesn’t make it inferior. I believe it’s a little early to be making statements like that.”
TOTALLY AGREE. Some of the editors on this site have their head up their ass. Everyone I’ve talked to (online and in person) has told me about the shit that is Blu-Ray, and most people took back their blu-ray players in for the better (half as cheap) HD-DVD. Let’s not forget how PS3 is very likely to fail.
Another thing, I read how porn really has a hold of this war. There was an article about how VHS one the format war because porn studios supported it, and once again porn studios are not supporting blu-ray.
AAC are smaller files, does that make them inferior to MP3?
Don’t talk nonsense about something you know nothing about.
Macaday – Your typical response suggests that you support anything apple will toss out of their asses..
I’m a freakin realist dude, not a fucking Machead or MSoftie..I use both platforms and enjoy both. Im just stating the obvious..
The Masses could care less..You know most people care about thinkgs like family and (mw)friends..You sound like you care more about a fsck’n dvd format…Have you left your parents basement lately>?
Just so you know, its July of 2006, isreal is at war..and your being a dvd format hooker..
Do you play Counter-Strike?
……I wish you would so i could see you get pwnd. Oh thats right, the most popular game in the world doesnt run on a mac, unless it runs windows:)
n00b
Just to let you guys know intel stands behind HD-DVD so dont get to sure about anything
My poo poo poo
keeps goo goo goooing
Uh, couldn’t you just make it simple and let the user decide? Make the products compatible with both and simply select which one you prefer when customizing your box. Duh.
@bambi:
AAC wins. Look at the facts.
And BTW, “Don’t talk nonsense about something you know nothing about.”
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/technologies/aac/
I’d rather have the larger capacity of Blu-Ray for backing up hard drives. A terabyte of photos = a whole hell of a lot of DVD-Rs. I’d rather burn 40 Blu-Ray disks than 67 HD-DVDs. Wondering how blank media prices are going to shake out, though.
I have read M$ wrote the drivers for HD-DVD, so they will receive royalties for each drive. Drivers for blu-ray are open source.
M$ is not backing HD-DVD because they believe it to be the best technology—they are backing another revenue stream.
Most of the Hollywood studios are releasing on Blu-Ray and only a couple are behind HD-DVD.
quoter: Care to back up your statement that PS3 is “likely to fail”? It couldn’t do much worse than Xbox 360 (which in any event will have a hastily cobbled together add-on solution for HD-DVD, unlike PS3’s integrated Blu-Ray).
If you are choosing between an HD-DVD player for $500, or a game console with a Blu-ray drive for $500, which would you choose?
The PS3 is going to put millions of Blu-ray drives into homes.
IMO, that will be the beginning of the end for the format war.
Bobby Skinner — in the second post — gets it. Apple needs to adapt to whoever wins the race.