How often do we see two lions fighting over a potential prey and in the act, the prey actually escapes! This could well be the case with the two consumer electronics giants Sony and Toshiba, in what seems to be a symbolic repetition of history. We are actually staring at a bleak possibility wherein, there might be a situation when you will not be able to borrow your favorite movie disc from your friend as it does not play on your latest hi-tech player! Well, if you are still not in the zone, check this link http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2724445957214251800.
We are forced back to the 1980s when Sony and Toshiba were at logger heads with regards to home entertainment video standards in the form of Beta (Sony) and VHS (Toshiba). VHS won, in spite of an apparently 'inferior' technology. Today, the cause (incompatibility of the two developed standards), the objective (consumer electronic market capitalization), the battleground (the home entertainment industry) and the players (Sony and Toshiba) are the same, the only difference is that we are dealing with a more sophisticated battle paraphernalia in the form of next generation video disc standards – HD DVD (Toshiba) and Blu-Ray (Sony). Speculation is, that the outcome could also possibly be the same. (Toshiba with its HD-DVD format, could run away with the trophy).
We are forced back to the 1980s when Sony and Toshiba were at logger heads with regards to home entertainment video standards in the form of Beta (Sony) and VHS (Toshiba). VHS won, in spite of an apparently 'inferior' technology. Today, the cause (incompatibility of the two developed standards), the objective (consumer electronic market capitalization), the battleground (the home entertainment industry) and the players (Sony and Toshiba) are the same, the only difference is that we are dealing with a more sophisticated battle paraphernalia in the form of next generation video disc standards – HD DVD (Toshiba) and Blu-Ray (Sony). Speculation is, that the outcome could also possibly be the same. (Toshiba with its HD-DVD format, could run away with the trophy).
Technically Speaking!
Sony-Philips and Toshiba-Hitachi, have both developed state of the art video disc format, much more sophisticated than the present DVD. Although both formats use the same laser wavelength (405 nm as compared to DVDs 600 nm approximately) for burning high definition video content on the disc, Blu-Ray boasts of a superior technology, by making use of a “tighter track pitch, hence a finer pickup aperture (0.65) as against HD-DVDs slightly thicker one(0.85).” [1] For more on the technical details see http://www.engadget.com/2005/09/19/blu-ray-vs-hd-dvd-state-of-the-s-union-s-division/These are not just a few technical specifications, as in them lies the crux of the matter.
Postmortem Report!
The problem lies in incompatibility of players supporting the two disc formats. So a choice (with obvious disadvantage of limitation) has to be made. Blu-Ray's superiority lies in the fact that because of the sophistication in the data burn and pickup-head technology, the disc has a theoretical data capacity of 200 GB as against HD-DVDs 60 GB. [2] This might not be very appealing to a movie buff who isn't interested in the statistics, but is happy if he can get more than half a dozen high definition movies on one disc (for which even 60 GB is more than enough). However, we today have a whole new side of entertainment faction (the gaming gangs), for whom each GB of storage is worth an auction. So where does the problem lie? Don't we have a clear winner? Not really, its all about money, honey! Mass production cost of HD-DVD disc and the compatible players is much lesser than Blu-Ray, due to obvious technical reasons. Also, the roll out of HD-DVD into consumer markets, in general, has been a couple of months earlier than Blu-Ray, having gained a bit of temporal advantage. So its a replay of the Beta-VHS case, but this time the fight is much more closer, and Toshiba might not get lucky as before. Both the camps have some deep corporate line ups to back them. In the movie studio category, there are some big names on each side (Blu-Ray: 2oth Century Fox, MGM Studios etc. and HD-DVD: Paramount Pictures, New Line Cinema etc.) and some on both sides (Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Warner Bros. etc.) Similarly, there is a divided camp as far as contributors go (Blu-Ray: Adobe Systems, BenQ, Sony BMG etc. and HD-DVD: the latest controversial inclusion of Microsoft and Intel, Acer Inc., Hitachi Corp. etc.) [3] For more, visit http://www.engadget.com/2005/09/19/blu-ray-vs-hd-dvd-state-of-the-s-union-s-division/The Blu-Ray, at the moment seems a stronger contender in terms of technology and corporate backing, but is up against the price factor advantage of HD-DVD.
Believe me or not!
At first it might seem that consumers are the one who will be victims of this irrational hostility, but I believe that all this build up will be futile as it is very probable that both sides will end up on the loosing side. Technologically, HDTV streaming through upgraded cable networks and fast evolving telecom networks (IPTV) is almost a reality, so do we really want to care about discs? Secondly, the corporate loyalty is ephemeral, driven by speculation and if the alternate technologies get to the floor early, the movie studios will easily bid adieu to their 'loyalty' and adopt a neutral approach. Although it is believed that PS3s coalition will decide the winner (most probably Blu-Ray), market capitalization might well be restricted to the gaming sector, as this will not lure supporters to shift camp and take advantage of a potentially bigger market because of the evident cost factor involved. Although, HD-DVDs (and their players) are cheaper as compared to Blu-Ray, technology (which is of utmost significance today as never before) is one factor no one wants to overlook. With the degree of uncertainty, and fear of pseudo competition, hardware manufacturers surely do not want to risk a mass production investment. Consumers do not want to jump the gun by making some hasty decision of exhibiting an early partisan as this might deprive them of choice.
So, it may seem that both the camps want to heat up the battle and pamper their obstinacy (by an aggressive build up), in an attempt to attain monopolistic stature, they are actually digging deeper holes for their own burial. The stalemate is actually giving other options a chance to make this very standoff void. The market might actually not exist as there is a massive psychological inertia to side either ways and the ideal option (buying and manufacturing a universal player) is far too expensive. As I said earlier, it is possible that the prey might escape both the lions!
Is there a way out?
Just as beauty is nothing without appreciation, technology is nothing without consumerism. If this is understood, there is a possibility of truce. The two standards, in isolation, are never going to be successful in a long term. Just the way a thaw was facilitated to introduce a common DVD standard, there has to be a way sought to end this. Before its too late, they should work at ways to make technology the actual winner and not make this standoff a mere classical conflict analysis case study for the future academias.
Just as beauty is nothing without appreciation, technology is nothing without consumerism. If this is understood, there is a possibility of truce. The two standards, in isolation, are never going to be successful in a long term. Just the way a thaw was facilitated to introduce a common DVD standard, there has to be a way sought to end this. Before its too late, they should work at ways to make technology the actual winner and not make this standoff a mere classical conflict analysis case study for the future academias.
Credits: All facts, information and references [1], [2] and [3] obtained from http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6463_7-6462511-5.html?tag=nav
2 comments:
I respect your effort!
I enjoyed your blog and got some technical information about video disc format.
hey Amol, i like the way you compared the two
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