High-Definition Video: Ayes And Eyes

Last week’s writeup on the blue-laser optical disc format wars post-Warner’s Blu-ray shift was controversial, to put it mildly, judging both from the publicly posted comments and private emails sent to me. The statement within that writeup that you seemingly most protested was:

A high-quality, upscaling, red-laser DVD player can output a picture virtually indistinguishable from its "true" high-def Blu-ray or HD DVD counterpart.

Interestingly, I had an unplanned opportunity to test my theory earlier this evening. After having watched Battlestar Galactica: Season One on HD DVD a few weeks ago, Season Two, Disc 1 arrived in today’s mail from Netflix. Without thinking, I popped it into the HD DVD drive of my Xbox 360, hit ‘play’, and…found myself feeling very bewildered.

Where were the fancy navigation menus? And why were the images so soft and grainy on my 37" 720p LCD? It took a few minutes before the reason dawned on me; Battlestar Galactica: Season Two isn’t (at least yet) available on HD DVD, so Netflix had sent me the red-laser DVD version of the disc (thankfully, this time, in episode order). Granted, the Xbox 360 isn’t the world’s best upscaling DVD player, but moving the disc to the PlayStation 3 didn’t measurably improve the situation.

As I type, I’m sitting here multi-tasking and watching the Episode 1: Scattered content with a distinct lack of enthusiasm. Clearly (pun intended), I’ll be prioritizing Blu-ray and HD DVD material going forward. Those of you who disagreed with my last-week stance might be patting yourselves on the back right now, but don’t claim victory too fast, folks.

Why? Re-read the past few paragraphs. I’d already experienced the increased quality of high-def video prior to auditioning the red laser predecessor; in fact, if you do a Google search on my past Blu-ray and HD DVD writeups, you’ll find that I’ve been a blue laser backer since November, 2006. I also have particularly acute eyesight (a distinct advantage for a multimedia technical editor), along with a high-quality display that I view from a six-foot distance. And, to put it simply, I’m blessed with a disproportionate dollop of disposable income.

Now read my March 1, 2006 writeup. I’m not the norm; my sister is. I’m the exception. As, I suspect, are most if not all of you who wrote in and disputed my ‘virtually indistinguishable’ stance. When I wrote those words, I wasn’t referring to me. I was referring to the consumer masses, exemplified by my sister. Unless the masses experience high-def video on a high-quality display from a sufficiently close viewing distance and with sufficiently sharp eyesight, they won’t comprehend the blue laser benefits. And assuming that they’ll purchase a high-def player and media without being bought in to the concept via their eyeballs beforehand is naive.

Which is why, even after a disastrous CES, Toshiba’s strategy still has a (slight) chance of succeeding to a measurable degree. Continue driving HD DVD-plus-upscaling DVD player prices down to near-DVD player levels, thereby creating a critical mass of player owners whose size persuades the remaining HD DVD-loyal studios to not (completely) defect to Blu-ray.

There’s added good news for the blue laser contenders in my earlier-this-evening experience. Often in the past, I’ve found that the distinctions between various audio, still image or video content versions, or between various pieces of equipment that are playing back this content, are only discernable when both pieces of content or equipment are sitting side by side in front of me and I can do alternating A/B (or ABX) comparisons. In this particular case, on the other hand, I viewed blue-laser high-def material several weeks before this evening’s red laser experience and the image degradation was still evident to my eyeballs.

With that said, however, the incremental quality still isn’t sufficient to persuade me to re-purchase my existing (admittedly limited) red laser DVD library in Blu-ray or HD DVD. Which is bittersweet news for movie studios plagued by a fall-off in red laser DVD demand and a format war-induced delay in the blue laser optical disc ramp.