Comparison of high definition optical disc formats Comparison of high definition optical disc formats This article compares the technical specifications of multiple high definition formats, including HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc; two mutually incompatible, high definition optical disc formats that, beginning in 2006, attempted to improve upon and eventually replace the DVD standard. The two formats remained in a format war until February 19, 2008 when Toshiba, HD DVD's creator, announced plans to cease development, manufacturing and marketing of HD DVD players and recorders. Other high-definition optical disc formats were attempted, including the multi-layered red-laser Versatile Multilayer Disc and a Chinese made format called EVD. Both appear
Archival Disc intended as a consumer storage medium as of 2014, but is intended by the two companies as a solution for professional-level data archival. In order to reach a larger capacity whilst ensuring higher playback signal quality, the standard will employ crosstalk cancellation and partial response maximum likelihood (PRML) signal processing. Both companies will market the optical format under their respective brands. Sony will be using Archival Disc in within the Optical Disc Archive professional archival product range. Sony's aim is to create at least a 6TB storage medium. An emerging use case for Archival Disc has been projected for cold