HDTV sets display up to 1,080 lines of resolution, compared to 480 lines for regular TVs and DVD players. In order to accommodate the higher resolution on a physical disc, more storage than a DVD is required. Following are the various high-definition formats. See DVD.
Blu-ray
The standard high-definition video optical disc format. For details, see Blu-ray.
AVCHD
An HD format for camcorders based on Blu-ray, H.264 and Dolby Digital standards. For details, see AVCHD.
DivX HD
A high-definition version of the DivX video codec, which is popular for online downloading. DivX HD compresses HD video to 20% of the original. For example, an HD video can be downloaded and burned onto a DVD disc. See DivX.
HD DVD
Now defunct, HD DVD competed with Blu-ray until 2008, creating much confusion in a fledgling market. It was endorsed by Toshiba, NEC and the DVD Forum. See HD DVD and Beta/VHS debacle.
China
There have been several HD formats competing for the Chinese market, including the Forward Versatile Disc (see FVD), High Definition Video (HDV) and Enhanced Versatile Disc (EVD). All were developed to avoid paying royalties to other countries.
Russia
D Data Inc., a Russian company with offices in New York, appeared in the 2007 time frame and then disappeared. It touted its High Definition Digital Multi-layer Disc (HD-DMD) format, using multiple layers and the same red laser as a DVD drive.
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