High-Def Digest is back again with another comparisons between Blu-ray and HD DVD. This time around, they take a look at Warner Home Video's second wave of Blu-ray titles. What makes it even more interesting is that these are some of the first Blu-ray titles to use the VC-1 codec.
That said, with all things being equal and this second round of comparisons being apples to apples -- same title, same master, same codec, same supplemental material -- it is telling that I found it almost impossible to detect any differences between the Blu-ray and HD DVD discs. And any discrepancies I did see often felt like nitpicking. Which means that this stage of the game -- at least while we're still using first-generation hardware -- I'm starting to feel like in comparing the two formats, I'm not so much reviewing software, but hardware. If I see visible noise, a difference in contrast, or wonky black levels -- are these the faults of the disc, the player, or the display device? Or a kink in the chain somewhere in between?
It's good to see that the VC-1 codec has leveled the playing field some what. If you'd like to read more, Hi-Def Digest's comparison can be found here.
