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HD DVD now bigger than Blu-ray

Source: AV Science Forum

In addition to having the lion’s share of studio support (something which now seems rather dubious given Paramount’s recent decision), the Blu-ray camp’s main reason to cheer has long been the higher capacity of their discs (50 GB for a dual-layer BD versus 30 GB for a dual-layer HD DVD). Well, as of now, that would appear to have changed, as the DVD Forum have just approved triple-layer 51 GB HD DVDs as part of the format’s spec. These new discs, which are believed to be fully compatible with current hardware, have effectively negated (and more besides - but who’s counting a gigabyte?) one of Blu-ray’s main selling points.

Of course, it remains to be seen whether any studios begin using them commercially (Paramount, at least, seem to be happy with 30 GB discs, at least judging by CTO Alan Bell’s recent comments on the issue), but the good news is that the technology are now there. I wonder how Disney, who helped develop the format’s HDi technology, only to jump ship in favour of Blu-ray because its increased capacity allowed them to cram more “Virtual Magic Carpet Tour”-type games on each disc, are now feeling.

Thanks to Lyris for drawing this to my attention.