New DVD Has Dual-Layered Surface (HD-DVD one-up on Blu-ray?)

"Superbit" is a marketing term. The movie is encoded at a higher bitrate than the average DVD movie and less information is filtered out, which lessens visible artifacts and increases fine detail. It is still a DVD. They generally cut extras to make space.

 

I bet they will try to squeeze a lot of early titles on single layers at the beginning, just as they did with the DVD. That means keeping the bit rates down and if there's market acceptance, that may be the permanent state of affairs.

Then later, they may market "Superbit" HD-DVDs. At least BR starts with way more capacity so they may be enouraged to produce the best PQ.

 

Ah gotcha.

 

Interestingly, I have no idea how this will be received by the marketplace. Hybrid devices like that have not been tested before because there were physical impossibilities (record to tape, tape to CD, VHS to DVD...) and where we CAN see them (like DVD-audio with an included CD track or similar tech) we can't really judge as the tech is not as widely-received at this time.

Does that tell us that people really won't care, or that they may well now that it CAN be an option?

On the whole, I tend to think it wouldn't have a huge impact, as early adopters tend to pick up new equipment regardless of cost or capabilities, and the mass market only picks it up when it's cheap enough. And in the meanwhile, if someone gets an HDTV and an HDTV player, they will still have to replace their existing library to get the high quality they're looking for--at which point it doesn't matter to them if it's HD-only or a HD/DVD hybrid as they already own the DVD.

Where it will make a bigger difference is with all the new movies and TV shows and other stuff that will come out after HD-DVD players and media start hitting the market, since people can then buy only one disk and know they can play it across machines.

The main concerns are the same ones being voiced now--technical in nature: Will such a hybrid add extra cost to the production that people wouldn't want? Will it keep HD-DVD from offering double-layer disks on said hybrids? Others are more market-typical questions: Will consumers actually know/understand the differences? Will hybrid disks just end up confusing them? Heck, will they actually like disks that have data on both sides, and not the pretty pictures on one side to admire? (Even to me knowing what the disks are, for some reason dual-sided disks just come off as "feeling cheap." I'd rather buy specifically widescreen or fullscreen disks rather than have a flip-disk. They just look better in the case, in a collection, and are much easier to identify.)

Simply put: is it something that will be "a hit" and pursued by consumers or would it simply be another shtick that gets some play, but really doesn't matter much in the long run?

My assumption at the moment is that consumers would rather pursue one-sided, format-devoted disks and they're simpler, likely have better capabilities for that particular format, and that they really don't care about repurchasing media or searching out the "right one for their machine" since they've always done it before. Once they shell out for an HDTV and an HDTV player, they're likely assuming they'll have to buy all new HDTV media anyway. And through the usual process of market competition, they'll still be seeing dual-layer HD-DVD and BR disks, and if they (or rather the people they talk to at Wal-Mart and Best Buy or wherever) can identify those other movies as "better"--higher quality output, more features, more "whatever"--they'll still want that instead for their brandy-new machines.

Hybrids always tend to come off as "second string" and "cheap" products and quite possible "not dependable" anyway--whether or not it's deserved--so there would have to essentially be no trade-offs involved to make people really sit up and take notice. (So to that point the question is: just how many of the trade-offs can they eliminate or make unnoticable?) Singular products always sell at much higher volumes, and I imagine that will apply to media as well as the hardware.

 

You've echoed my exact thoughts on this subject as well. This is seen as a potential transitional element but I don't think there is going to be enough time during the DVD -> HD-DVD/BR move for this to matter.

 

cthellis42, please correct me if I'm wrong but Memory Tech didn't say anything about this hybrid disc being double sided? It could just be Dual layer single sided. Also regarding costs, MT said it costs the same to implement as a standard 30GB disc.

Edit: It's been confirmed that it's SS DL.

http://www.eetimes.com/sys/news/sho...HDAONMYQSNDBGCKHSCJUMEKJVN?articleID=55300966

 

I covered the future possibilities as well when I said: Will it keep HD-DVD from offering double-layer disks on said hybrids? I believed that it would for now, but that may not always be the case. It's one of the "trade-offs they can eliminate or make unnoticable." The question on that is "if" and "when." It's one of the possibilities that's still up in the air; it could be of concern, but it might be expanded on before the hybrids really start to catch on.

It does not seem like it will be "dual-layer + DVD" from the beginning, though, which could affect its pick-up and viability most. I'm not even talking about Blu-Ray here, but against dual-layer HD-DVD options, if people can indeed see a quality or content difference between them. (And studios may not be as keen to adopt it if it starts forcing themselves to use multiple disks for the HD-DVD quality/content levels they're aiming for.)