Warner Home Video announced on April 26 that it is preparing to launch a hybrid DVD that combines standard DVD and HD-DVD technology.
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The first film to be released on the hybrid HD-DVD |
This hybrid DVD can be played on currently popular DVD players with quality equivalent to standard DVDs, but when played on HD-DVD players, it achieves superior picture and sound quality.
Essentially, this is a double-sided DVD. One side is recorded using standard DVD technology, while the other side utilizes advanced HD-DVD technology with a storage capacity of up to 15 GB.
This hybrid disc is set to be officially released on May 9, featuring the film “Rumor Has It,” starring renowned actors Jennifer Aniston and Kevin Costner. The price for this disc, once the film content is included, is expected to be quite high at $40 per disc, which is $10 more than a single HD-DVD disc, but the technological superiority and convenience are undeniably significant.
Analysts suggest that this is a nearly perfect intermediary technology solution, providing the HD-DVD format with additional strength to compete against the currently dominant Blu-ray DVD format. It also serves as a solution for the hundreds of millions of standard DVD players worldwide that are not yet ready to be “retired” as high-definition DVD formats become more widespread.
Some companies are actively seeking technological solutions to bridge the gap between these two latest high-definition DVD formats, especially in the absence of a definitive winner. Samsung appears to be one of the companies that has achieved a practical solution by preparing to release a high-definition DVD player capable of reading both HD-DVD and Blu-ray DVD formats.
HOÀNG HẢI
