Comparison of high definition optical disc formats¶

This article compares the technical specifications of HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc, two mutually incompatible, high definition optical disc formats that, beginning in 2006, attempted to improve upon and eventually replace the DVD standard. The two formats remained in a format war until February 19, 2008 when Toshiba, HD DVD's creator, announced plans to cease development, manufacturing and marketing of HD DVD players and recorders.

AVCHD could be one of the reasons for Blu-ray Disc format to win. AVCHD is a consumer video format designed by Sony and Panasonic, members of Blu-ray Disc Association, and is heavily based on Blu-ray Disc encoding and file structure. AVCHD recordings are compatible with most Blu-ray Disc players, but incompatible with HD DVD players.

Other high-definition optical disc formats were attempted, including the multi-layered red-laser Versatile Multilayer Disc and a Chinese made format called EVD. Both appear to have been abandoned by their respective developers.

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Comparison of high definition optical disc formats¶