The Modern Technological Era - Essay Example

Innovation and Technology Management BLU-RAY versus HD-DVD Introduction The modern technological era is driven by inventions and of the art gadgets. They have totally brought about revolution in the manner in which they operate. While almost all the things around us are technology enabled and have undergone massive changes, the storage concept over the computer medium has equally undergone changes and improvements It all started with a 5.1 inch floppy disk that had the mere capacity of few mega bytes of storage. It further improved with time and added few more mega bytes. Even till the times of compact disks (CDs), the affairs were being managed in mega bytes. It was the Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), that opened the gates of giga byte storage. The progress was further enhanced when concepts like Blu ray and HD-DVD were introduced. They not only improved the amount of storage capacity, but also brought about many more features along with themselves. Why Blu ray and HD-DVD and why not DVDs: The Blu ray and HD-DVD are seen as a generation step up process from the conventional DVD setup that we had around us. Apart from the storage capacity which has increased multi folds, they have improved the manner in which the entire viewing media operated. The quality of picture provided by the two is way better than the predecessors. While DVD can provide maximum of 480 pixel resolution, HD-DVD and Blu-ray are 1080 pixel enabled (Alez, 2012). Apart from the resolution edge, the compression patterns being employed by each of them are way better and improved in structure than the earlier form of digital storage patterns that were available. The concept is based on the usage of blue laser technology in the disc which reads faster, processes faster and hence performs the tasks in a timely manner. The Nano meter capacity of each of them varies between 400 nm and 600 nm. The capacity provided by DVD is less than 5 giga byte while Blu ray and HD-DVD both provide storage option in double digits (Block, 2005). The dual layer support is another plus enjoyed by each of them which was absent in the DVD format. The use of different wavelength by the duo: DVD made use of red laser wavelength while the successor duo makes use of blue laser wavelength for which they are fast at reading and processing and hence more advanced and better. Audio formats and quality provided by each of them is another edge and outsmart of the earlier storage formats. Dolby True HD and DTS-HD are the formats supported by each of them and hence a visible improvement compared to the earlier DVD and Compact Disc formats. Besides this, the DVD players are not supported with the Blu ray technology enabled discs while the latter provides backward compatibility (MediaCollege, 2008). Other features: while the above mentioned features were the technical and salient features, other side features include the pop up option which runs in parallel while the disc is on play and various other features. Blu Ray stats: The world saw a new format of disc in form of Blu ray in 2000 when Blu ray discs were officially launched by Sony Corporation. This was followed by announcement of the support of number of mega players from the electronic and digital media industry when they officially embraced this technology. Blu ray discs are being supported and run under the Blu ray disc association that has major giants in affiliation with the Sony Corporation (Association, 2010). Transfer rates supported by Blu ray disc are multiple times that of D.V.D and also faster than those of HD-DVD. They are supported for the rewriting function, recording over the disk and many other options and functions that are necessary to be part of any storage device technology. Security encryption features are equally supported by both Blu ray and HD-DVD. Blu ray finds its main manufactures in form of Sony, Toshiba, and LG and HD-DVD is being the power zone of Microsoft, Toshiba, and Hitachi specifically. It supports data storage up to the capacity of 50 GB on the dual layer enabled disk. The theoretical range of capacity storage is stated as three of four times the actual achieved so far. Toshiba initiated the process of making HD-DVD compatible and proprietary players and is the front runner in support of HD-DVD. Microsoft has supported it equally by introducing the gaming console workable with HD-DVD. Compression Formats followed: Blu ray is MPEG-2 and MPEG 4 enabled (Taylor et al., 2008). Backward compatibility: Like its competitor, it is backward compatible (Wells, 2008). The backward compatibility is a feature that gives each of them more market share and customer interest since the technology and concept is still nascent and a hundred percent market convergence is yet to be seen. In this case, the backward compatibility is a vital feature being provided by Blu ray. Mega players: gaming console like Play station 3 has embraced itself to the to Blu ray discs. All its discs come in Blu ray format. Resolution frame capacity: the maximum capacity of resolutions it can attain is that of 1080 pixels. Mega players’ support: Microsoft has invested and shown interest in the HD-DVD domain. For this reason, their gaming console, X-Box 360 was HD-DVD enabled. Another plus being enjoyed by HD-DVD is its relatively lower price than that of its competitor (Blu ray). For this reason they might make reach to the customer easily in comparison to its counterpart Blu ray. Set back to HD-DVD: Competitive edge is being achieved by Blu ray through the mega partners’ collaboration. However HD-DVD at the same time has the upper hand in case of the HD-TV which is making inroads in modern times where almost every other viewing device being HD enabled. With 2010 and beyond stats showing that over 60 percent of the digital screens being sold are HD enabled, this has definitely boosted the market presence of HD-DVD. Sony Company itself is a large manufacturer of the High definition television sets thereby contributing to the cause of HD-DVD drives in an indirect manner. HD-DVD new in the business: Sony Corporation has a history of successful experience in the field of digital media while Toshiba that has the full backing of HD-DVD technology has taken it as its first venture in this field. This definitely gives the Sony camp an edge over its rival since they have zero or little experience in this field. To overcome this short coming Toshiba has expanded its market and manufacturing to the Chinese market with aim of producing bulks of this product at lower costs and making them more common than their rivals Blu ray. The Warner Bros. support for Blu ray discs saw a downward surge in the sales and overall position of HD-DVD since they have a large market share with regard to the entertainment media and film industry. MGM studios, Miramax Entertainment, Warner Bros, Walt Disney are few of the companies and giants of the field that have shown their trust in the Blu ray technology. Universal studios is one of the notable supporter of the HD-DVD technology. Porter five series strategy analysis: Porter five series analysis of both the technological products and their incumbent producers give a clear picture of the entire situation (Huang, Xia and Liu, 2007). The compression comparison: Compression features and the resolution capability so provided by the HD-DVD bench is nearly the same as their counterpart Blu ray. It is equally supported by MPEG-2 and MPEG4 and a resolution range of 1080 pixels. Other comparisons: From the capacity perspective Blu ray rears pass HD-DVD both in the achieved storage capacity and the theoretical both can support on the back layer. Not just the discs themselves, the players that support respective formats and disc versions vary considerably in the prices. Windows Vista and Blu-ray: While Microsoft fully supported the HD-DVD campaign, they resorted to Blu ray technology with their windows version of the computer operating system. Market target strategy: The Blu ray discs are comparatively higher in cost than the HD-DVD (a clear indication of the type of market that is being targeted by the incumbent organization). When the product was implemented around the launch of Play Station 3, the company (Sony) aimed at reviewing its overall sales and profits for the respective year through this technology and product. HD-DVD, on the other hand, is relatively affordable and targets the main stream market that would go for it without a second thought. Hence the HD-DVD manufacturers in a way have scored a vital market gaining point through this strategy. Conclusion Both the technological advancements have their strengths and weaknesses over one another. While one provides more storage and other aims at reaching the maximum number of clients, no clear winner can be declared out of the two. Yet it can be said with conviction that each of them has given the customers a really good experience and set foundations for bright future in the field of digital media storage. Reference List Alez, G., 2012. All about Blu-Ray Discs: Introduction, Physical Media, Media Format, Java Software Support, Variations, and More. Websters Digital Services. Association, B.-r. D., 2010. Blu-ray Disc™ Format, s.l. Block, R., 2005. Blu-ray vs HD DVD: State of the Division. [Online] Available at: http://www.engadget.com/2005/09/19/blu-ray-vs-hd-dvd-state-of-the-s-union-s-division/ [Accessed 15 November 2012]. Huang, C.A., Xia, Z. and Liu, Y., 2007. Sony’s Blu-Ray Strategy, company, BEM, mcafee. MediaCollege. Blu-ray vs HD DVD. 6 Jan 2008. [Online] Available at: http://www.mediacollege.com/video/format/compare/bluray-hddvd.html [Accessed 15 November 2012]. Taylor, J., Zink, M., Crawford, C. and Armbrust, C., 2008. Blu-ray Disc Demystified. USA: McGraw Hill Professional. Wells, D. J., 2008. Computer Concepts Basics. USA, Boston, MA: Cengage Learning. Read More