Conclusion

When TV shows made their way to DVD, studios found a whole new income source. Even with a standard definition television, purchasers of a DVD box set would see a clear benefit over the conventional analog broadcast. Now that we’ve moved to the HD era, things have changed.

Owners of HD DVD and Blu-ray players are also going to be owners of an HDTV who watch shows via ATSC over-the-air or digital satellite/cable. In comparing the HD DVD box set of Heroes against the ATSC broadcast, we were surprised to find that the differences were much smaller than we had hoped. While the 1080p VC-1 HD DVD did offer a sharper picture than MPEG-2 1080i broadcast, it is clear that the original source does not have enough detail to really showcase the capabilities of HD DVD. We would hope that NBC Universal move to higher quality film stock or transition to 1080p digital cameras (such as the CineAlta). By doing this, Heroes has had a successful season, the production values can be increased, giving us an opportunity.

As humbling as this may be to the HD DVD camp, the real winner is the consumer and NBC’s top-notch broadcast. With a HD TiVo or a Windows Media Center HTPC, it’ll take about 150GB to record all 23 episodes (less if you edit out the commercials). At today’s HDD prices, you’ll definitely get better bang-for-your-buck by recording your own HD television shows. This may be the reason why there aren’t many HD DVD boxsets scheduled for release by NBC at the moment; with Heroes, they’re relying on the techie market.

Ironically, the situation on the Blu-ray camp is completely different. While the difference between the HD broadcast and HD DVD version of Heroes is relatively small, the Blu-ray-exclusive versions of Prison Break and Lost will probably offer an enticing upgrade to fans of the series. That’s because Fox and ABC only broadcast in 720p. Assuming that the original source was filmed on high-quality cameras and film, the home editions may have as much as twice the resolution of the original broadcast. If this is true, then why aren’t we seeing more Blu-ray TV box sets? Take a look at Fox and ABC’s fall DVD schedule and you’ll see all the big shows Prison Break, Lost, 24, House, Bones, Grey’s Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, and The O.C. – The Complete Series. Where’s the Blu-ray box set of The OC? I’m sure it’d have the same effect as the Phantom of the Opera HD DVD. Is the cost of Blu-ray disc manufacturing/mastering too high? Or is Fox holding these shows back until the cost of Blu-ray players can compete against HD DVD? Speculation is fun, isn’t it?