If someone walks up to you and tries to explain that DVD player is now a thing of the past, taken him seriously, in fact very seriously! With the advent of powerful optical disk formats like HD DVD (high definition DVD) and Blu-ray Disc the visual media is set to take a generation leap.

Their popularity is soaring with each passing day as they are proliferating into the conscious of the common man through other popular media. Like the Blu-ray Disc is supported by the immensely popular PS3 and even the hugely successful (but controversial) movie ‘Da Vinci Code’ was also released on a Blu-ray Disc! This makes it one of the well known formats amongst the younger generation. But then the HD DVD format isn’t lagging behind by too much.

Microsoft’s Xbox 360 HD DVD player is already making waves in the market for almost a year now and being the cheaper amongst the two; HD DVD Player is preferred by users. Also the portable DVD players are much in demand in the market and quite a few of them support these HD DVD formats that make them all the more attractive to the user.

But if we talk about quality Blu-ray Disc is better by far as it has got a higher numerical aperture, much higher storage capacity (be it single layer or dual) and the data/video transfer rates are substantially higher in the Blu-ray discs as compared to HD DVD player or a normal portable DVD Player.

With top brands like Samsung, Philips, Panasonic, Pioneer, Toshiba and others equipping their DVD players and portable DVD players to support any one of these two highly powerful and advanced disc formats a marketing war between the two brands was almost inevitable. But in the Consumer Electronics Show held in Las Vegas, Nevada (USA) in January 2007 Warner Bros introduced Total HD discs, following the footsteps of global electronics giant LG. These highly advanced discs will be compatible with both, HD DVD players and Blu-ray DVD players.

Will this be the end of format war? Well it is a tough call to make, especially when a company like LG (who specialise in making home appliances rather than optical disc formats) decides to do something to douse the fire of format war, it is bound to get very intriguing.

About the Author:
Fletcher Mak is an author, write various articles on different themes to expand information, because articles is a good way to send their information to needy people easily. You can get information about portable dvd players and other consumer electronics.