HD-DVD is a new method of compression for existing "red-laser" DVDs. Pros: Will allow for the format to launch faster because current facilities can be used and the change in the current way DVD players work are minimal. It supports development of backward compatible players that can playback current and next generation DVD. Is thought as a supplement to some sort of Blue laser format making it possible to produce fast and cheap HD content on DVD. Cons: It can only storage 4,7GB on a single layer DVD. It is important that this format is only used for short programming so the consumer does not have to change DVDs in the middle of a movie or worse the quality will suffer from hard compression. HD content has more than twice the resolution of normal DVD and therefore also fills much more in raw data.

HD-DVD is a stopgap technology designed to cheaply (for the manufacturers) bridge current and future technologies. It is being promoted primarily because HD-DVDs can be produced more quickly, since only minor changes will be required to the production facilities. Blu-ray production, on the other hand, will require significant retooling in the manufacturing facilities. A HD-DVD has a storage capacity of 15 GB, approximately three times the capacity of a single-layer DVD. Data can be read at 19 MB/s. HD-DVDs will use a laser with a wavelength of 405 nm (blue-violet). They will use MPEG-4 compression, whereas regular DVDs use MPEG-2. The HD-DVD will have a higher degree of compression than standard DVDs, although the MPEG-4 compression algorithms are supposed to be better than MPEG-2. This remains to be seen. They will have to use a higher compression rate than DVDs to pack high definition video onto the disks, since the increase in capacity relative to DVDs is insufficient on its own. It is funny that a format that is supposed to offer more does it by taking more away from the image and the audio. It remains to be seen if the image and audio quality of the HD-DVD is better than or even equal to current DVDs. HD-DVD will be rendered swiftly obsolete by the new Blu-ray format. Ready for another format war, folks?