HD DVD is the only next-gen, high-definition format approved by the DVD Forum – the original creators of DVD. The major studios supporting this format are Universal Studios, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. (support ends June 1, 2008) along with Microsoft Toshiba, HP and others.

HD DVD was born of the increasing demand for storage space on optical discs and the increased availability of TVs that can display an HD picture. In August, 2002, Toshiba and NEC announced their competing standard to the blue laser disc. The standard was adopted by the DVD forum and renamed to HD DVD. with the capability of storing 8 hours of HD content, 10,000 standard compression MP3s the HD DVD is a next generation format set to lead the current format war. Despite some recent setback, including the defections of Warner Bros. Studios to Blu-ray exclusivity, HD DVD’s technical prowess, DRM-freeness, and completed format still make HD DVD a contender, not to be discounted.

HD DVDs are region free with some massive storage capacity. HD DVD discs store more than three times the data of regular DVDs and, using advanced video and audio codecs, offer six times the resolution of standard-definition DVDs. HD DVD also supports up to 7.1-channel surround sound. Once you experience HD DVD .. you never go back, as they say.

Single sided HD DVD’s have a capacity of 15gigs, dual layer can store up to 30 gigs with a maximum capacity on the triple layer scheme of 51 gigs.

Although HD DVD present an HD image at a resolution of 1920×1080 it is the audio capabilities that exicte this author. HD DVD’s digital multi-channel surround sound turns ambient sounds into an immersive environment. HD DVD supports the next generation of advanced audio technologies, in up to 24-bit/192 kHz for two channels, or 24-bit/96 kHz encoding for up to eight channels. All HD DVD players are required to decode uncompressed PCM, Dolby Digital AC-3, Dolby Digital EX, DTS, Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby TrueHD - negating the need to purchase all new equipment (although a receiver with HDMI/Optical inputs is suggested by this author).

Only available on HD DVDs, HDi technology does what other DVD formats cannot: interact with movie menus while the movie is playing; allows users to save their favorite scenes to movie bookmarks, and other extras not found on other optical formats.

The best part about HD DVD is that it is based on the same manufacturing processes as standard DVDs this results in low cost media and hardware. Unlike the competing Blu-ray disc, HD DVDs can be produced along side the original SD DVDs. Accordingly, it is possible for studios to produce combo discs with HD format on one side and SD on the other.

Because of the wide acceptance, consumers have many choices when selecting an HD DVD player - HD DVD is good for our free-market democracy - including units by Toshiba, the Xbox 360 HD DVD Player, and a wide range of HD DVD-enabled laptops and PCs from HP, Toshiba, Fujitsu-Siemens and others.

HD DVD … the look and sound of perfect.

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