The gloves are on.  Well they have been for a few years.  With the advent of blu-ray technology, we should have expected that not all manufacturers would take it on the one format, should we?  Of course not.  We all had such a good time with the VHS V Betamax problem back in the eighties.  Let's do it again.

So what is Blu-Ray?  Pretty much what is says.  It's the next generation of optical disc format.  Current CD/DVD players utilise a red laser, but new players will use a blue laser.  The blue-violet laser has a shorter wavelength than the red laser, which means it can be focused to a smaller point.  That means you can pack in more data in less space on the same disc.  A Blu-Ray disc will hold 25 gigabytes of data in a single layer and fifty gigabytes in a dual layer format.  This means you can record about two hours of high definition video or thirteen hours of standard definition video to a 25gig disc.  The Blu-Ray disc also employs a greater data rate which is about three times current DVD's.  So it will cope with HD TV easily.  The Blu-Ray format was developed by the majority of manufacturers, including, Sony, Apple, Disney, Sharp, Dell, TDK to name a few.

Enter HD DVD.  Developed by Toshiba and NEC.  Why did they do it?  Well, they claim that it allows an easier transition in the production factories than Blu-Ray.  They also say it will allow better backward compatibility with current CD/DVD.  The only problem with it is that it doesn't allow as much data to be stored on the disc.  Only fifteen gig single layer and thirty gig dual layer.

Because the information is more tightly packed on the disc it does bring in the problem of wear and tear.  Small scratches that may not affect a DVD, will cause problems on a Blu-Ray disc.  Early versions had the disc contained in a cartridge, so you couldn't touch the disc surface.  TDK have just released one with a new hard surface, that can survive the hard knocks.

The whole war is already becoming a non event though.  Some companies have developed hybrid discs which an HD version on one layer and a SD version on the second layer.  So, you can play it on a standard DVD or Blu-Ray.  They also are using Hard Disk Drives in combination with the disc's to get some great results.

Both formats offer a pile of interactivity, including online content and networking.

The specification for Blu-Ray has not been finalised.  It is expected very shortly.  There are recorders out in the market, but only in Japan.  And, there not cheap.  Companies are expecting to release products in the USA around March/April next year.

So who will win?  That's up to the movie makers and the public.  They will decide what is best and how they like their media delivered.  iPod's will probably be the winner.  It ain't HD, but it is convenient, user friendly, relatively cheap, the library is growing and you can plug it into your TV.  Plus, audiences don't have quality issues do they?