While HD Radio is the hottest technology today, HD DVDs are another new technology that will soon allow you to view high definition movies on DVD right in your living room. What are HD DVDs? It depends on whom you ask, as there are currently two competing HD DVD formats under development. Both support high def films but one goes by the easy to remember name, HD DVD. The other is called Blu-ray. An HD DVD disk has a single layer capacity of 15GB and a dual-layer capacity of 30 GB. And Toshiba is developing a triple layer disk that will have a capacity of 45GB. However, this is still smaller than Blu-ray disks, which support 25GB for one layer, 50GB for two layers and 100GB for four layers. This means that both formats will be able to play movies and programs recorded in high definition but, as you would imagine, the larger capacity disks will be able to support more additional information such as out-takes, director’s comments, interactive features, and even alternate high def versions of the same film. In November of 2004, the DVD Forum decided that HD DVD would be the HD DVD successor to the DVD. On the other hand, the Blu-ray disk was developed outside of the DVD Forum, and was never submitted for consideration. Why you should care At this time, each of these formats requires a different HD DVD player – meaning that you will be able to play high definition movies recorded in HD DVD only in an HD DVD player and Blu-ray movies in only a Blu-ray player. Both HD DVD and Blu-ray provide enough space to store crystal-clear, high-definition movies and both are expected to launch early next year. Be sure to watch for future articles on HD-DVDs to get the latest news on this battle of the formats. Are you familiar with HD Radio? This amazing, new technology makes AM radio sound as clear and static-free as today's FM Radio ... and makes FM radio sound as pure and crystal-clear as if you were listening to a CD. And, best of all, it's free! To learn more about this new technology, just go my Web site, http://www.hd-radio-home.com, to get all the buzz. Douglas Hanna is a retired marketing executive and the author of numerous articles on HD radio and family finances.
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