Format Wars - LG BH100 Training Manual

OVERVIEW

FORMAT WARS

With two formats competing to become the predominate next-generation DVD format, the consumer
market will witness, and be in the middle of, another "format war". The concept of a format war is
not new for the market. The most memorable format war was for dominance in the video cassette
industry, VHS vs. Betamax.
VHS VS. BETAMAX
Format wars often have many "battle points" and are sometimes decided by unexpected factors. If
the video cassette war was decided on quality, then Betamax (Beta) would have dominated. The
Beta format was considered by many as a better format, providing better picture quality than VHS.
The VHS format initially had more desirable recording aspects than Beta by having longer recording
times. The Beta format was quickly adjusted to meet the same recording requirements.
However, other factors had a stronger influence. The Betamax format was a proprietary technology
while VHS was more widely available. Therefore, VHS technologies and equipment was less expensive
and available to more brands. Consumers simply had more choices of VHS than they did of Beta.
What many consider the end of the format war is the decision of the pornographic movie industry
to market home videos in the VHS format. While this does leave a lasting impression in the "war",
it is simply a continuation of the fact that VHS equipment was less costly, both for playback
devices as well as production equipment.
DVD VS. VHS
VHS remained the main choice of consumers for home entertainment even after the introduction of
DVD Players. While DVD Players were first introduced in 1996, they were often considered too
expensive and too "high-end" by most consumers. However, Sony's introduction of the PlayStation
2 video game console in late 2000 marked a change in DVD's popularity. The enormous success of
the Sony PlayStation (over 100 million units) made the demand for the next version of a PlayStation
high. The PlayStation 2 became the fastest selling gaming console in history. For many people, their
PlayStation 2 was more than simply a game console; it was also their first DVD Player. Shortly
afterwards, prices began to fall on DVD Players and DVD's popularity rocketed past VHS.
The "death" of VHS did not begin until later. While DVD was the format of choice due to its
improved picture quality and non-linear access, VHS still held a segment of the market due to its
recording abilities. DVD did not become a viable recording option for CE consumers until 2002-
BH100 Blu-ray Player
Characteristic CD
Capacity 700MB
Wavelength ( ) 780 (infrared)
nm
Numerical aperture ( ) 0.50
NA
Substrate thickness ( ) 1.2
mm
µm
Laser spot size ( ) 2.11
µm
Track Pitch ( ) 1.6
µm
Minimum pit/mark length ( )
0.8
Areal density ( 2 ) 0.41
Gb/in
Channel bit rate ( ) 4.3218
Mbps/sec
User data rate ( ) 1.2288
Mbps/sec
Reference velocity ( ) 1.3
m/s
Rotation CLV (CCW)
Physical formats ROM, R, RW
Application formats ROM, DA, VCD, SVCD,
CD-I, CD+G/M
Content protection N/A
SL – Single Layer ROM – Read Only Memory
DL – Dual Layer / Double Layer AV – Audio Video
CLV – Constant Linear Velocity HDMV – High Definition MoVie
CCW – Counter ClockWise J – Java
R – Recordable AACS – Advanced Access Content System
RE – Rewritable ENAV – Enhanced Audio Video
DVD BD
4.7GB (SL), 8.5GB (DL) 25GB (SL), 50GB (DL)
650 (red) 405 (blue)
0.60 0.85
0.6 0.1 (SL), 0.075 (DL)
1.32 0.58
0.74 0.32
0.4 0.149
2.77 14.73
26.16 66.000
11.08 (data), 10.08 (video) 35.965 (data), 53.948 (movie)
3.49 (SL), 3.84 (DL) 4.917 (data), 7.367 (movie)
CLV (CCW) CLV (CCW)
ROM, ±R, ±RW, RAM, ±R ROM, R, RE
DL, ±RW DL
ROM, DVD-V. DVD-A, ROM, BD-R/RE AV, BD-
DVD±VR, DVD-AR, DVD-SR, ROM AV (HDMV, BD-J)
DVD-ENAV
CSS, CPPM, CPRM, VCPS AACS. BD+, ROM Mark
AR – Audio Recordable
CSS – Content Scrambling System
CPPM – Content Protection for Pre-recorded Media
CPRM – Content Protection for Recordable Media
VCPS – Video Content Protection System
DA – Digital Audio
8
Overview