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Why HDDVD is Almost “Future-Proof”

by Pravin on June 3rd, 2007 in formats, hardware.

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Technology has the annoying habit of never standing still for too long. Just as you’ve decided to embrace a new gizmo, it turns out that something even newer is right around the corner. It’s a major let-down to find out that the gadget you just bought is about to be leapfrogged by something better – and probably for a cheaper price! It stinks, but what can you do? That’s just the nature of technology. I think the only thing you can do is wish for a healthy dose of good luck and discretionary income.

Luckily, some of that good luck has already headed your way if you have an HDDVD player.

One of the nice things about HDDVD players is that ALL of them come with ethernet connections allowing them to connect to the internet. The most common reason to be connected is to download supplementary content for a movie you might be watching, but a more practical reason is for upgrading the player. You are probably accustomed to updating your browser, operating system and other software on your computer, and in the world of HDDVD, you can do the same for your player!

These downloads are called “firmware” updates. Firmware is the software running in your hardware (but I don’t think that’s why it’s called “firm”). To a certain extent, support for new features is only a firmware update away. As long as new features do not rely on specific hardware components, it’s very likely that firmware updates will allow even a year-old HDDVD player to continue to keep up in many ways with newer models.

Let me repeat an important part of that statement about future-proofing: it only applies as long as new features do not rely on specific hardware components. That’s not the kind of upgrade you can get from firmware alone. Remember, firmware is just the software that drives your hardware.

You might have heard that there have been issues with some discs not working on some players. In most recent cases, either the discs got replaced by the manufacturer, or it turned out that the players could be upgraded right in the comfort of your living room. Next time you hear someone criticizing HDDVD technology over compatibility issues with discs and players, take a moment to check the internet for news about updates to the players or the discs. It’s very likely that the relevant manufacturer has a fix in the works.

Here are recent examples of compatibility issues and their relatively swift resolutions:

If you were affected by any of these glitches, I’m sure you might not have appreciated the problems. But at least the fixes came along within a couple of months. Why can’t they just issue the fixes within days? They’d do it if they could, but it takes time to ensure that a fixed version is not broken in other ways. In some cases, the fixes might need to be coordinated with other companies.

The various companies involved with HDDVD are very serious about their commitment to the technology. The last thing they want to do is allow discs and players to have compatibility issues. A lot of money and reputation can be lost by malfunctioning products. Sure, there’s going to be a case when a player didn’t get its upgrade soon enough, or a studio didn’t exchange bad discs immediately. But in the bigger picture, everybody does move pretty quickly to make the HDDVD experience work out.

Take pride in your HDDVD investment. It’s not totally future-proof, but you have far less reason to worry about getting left behind as newer machines come out than with your previous technology experiences.

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