by Marshal Rosenthal

Until recently, the only way you could watch high-definition programming was to get it from a cable box, satellite receiver or an over-the-air HD antenna. Mark Jackson, president of EchoStar Technologies (parent company of satellite provider Dish Network), says high-definition bandwidth limitations presented an initial challenge for all content providers, but MPEG-4 compression, new modulation methods, and advanced hardware helped overcome these restrictions. Now, content providers can offer more high-definition programming, which helps justify a consumer’s investment in HD equipment.

Consumer justification gets an added boost via the “stored HD” on two competing high-definition disc formats: HD DVD and Blu-ray. The differences between HD DVD and Blu-ray have already been covered ad nauseam, so unless you’re going to wait it out, you’ll have to choose between getting an HD DVD or a Blu-ray player (or a Playstation 3 if you want to combine gaming with Blu-ray viewing). Or, you could splurge and get a player for each format, though that’s a costly proposition (as an alternate, LG’s Super Multi Blue Player handles both type of discs—even if its HD DVD access is a bit spotty—and recently Samsung announced a dual player coming later this year).

Those who say there’s really no difference between DVD and high-def DVD should compare versions. For example, the regular DVD of “Night at the Museum” may look good, but a lot of detail is lost —like the foliage and wall carvings in the exhibition rooms—because the resolution just isn’t there. Or take the CG effects: the fireballs launched by the Romans sparkle and the T-Rex’s skeleton frame really stands out in the film’s Blu-ray version.

As Bruce Youmans, vice president of product research and development at TDK (a founding member of the Blu-ray Disc Association Board of Directors) puts it, the DVD format was designed for playback on standard definition TVs (i.e. 480p resolution), not on today’s higher resolution HD sets. “DVDs simply don’t have adequate capacity to support HD video, which explains the demand for a new disc format to support HD,” Youmans says.

Another high-def DVD solution is due later this year from Warner Bros. Total Hi-Def Disc (THD) takes the old flip-disc concept and spins it with HD DVD on one side of a disc and Blu-ray on the other (Warner, New Line and HBO are supporters of this format).

On the content side, consumers have the option of sampling HD discs rather than rebuilding movie collections in a new format. Both Blockbuster and Netflix offer HD DVD and Blu-ray rentals.