Both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD use Blue lasers (the legend that HD DVD uses red laser is incorrect – check the official HD DVD site)

Also, both HD DVD and Blu ray can use the SAME compression algorithms (MPEG-2, H.264 or Microsoft’s WMV).

However, there are differences in disc format, disc navigation, etc.

It costs extra $$ to combine the technologies, since one will have to pay royalties to both camps!

A few years ago, from what I heard there was talk at a convention to get ALL manufacturers to agree to one set of remote control codes – that means that your sony remote would control your rca tv and so on, the reasoning being that the consumer would be happier because it would not be such a hassle to try to work a sat reciever, tv, vcr, and dvd player, wouldn’t that be great? but then they thought that would ruin brand loyalty and the more expensive brands would be run into the ground. so they broke down the talks and have now entered into this mess.

Every brand out there has a different business plan and because that statement doesn’t align with other companies, we are stuck with this mess-Same as betta and vhs it sucks, but there is nothing we can do to speed it up but get the world to agree on one format and one only will we be done with this—on the bright side, at least there is a combo player on the market so if one does go out you can still watch the other format.

CAN’T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG?????

Actually the easier answer is to get one player to play both formats. It’s entirely possible and already existing. It’s the equivalent of having one machine being able to play XBox, PS3, and Wii games.

HD-DVD is a Red Laser based media, just like current DVD’s, meaning they are cheaper and easier to produce.
Blu-Ray is a Lavender (blue) laser with a shorter wavelength, and smaller impact area on the disc. This means more storage per square centimeter, but also significant extra costs involved in producing and distributing those discs.

So either way since both systems have incompatible lasers, you need to have 2 laser systems in any player designed to play them back (although it is possible for blu-ray lasers to read HD-DVD’s but not vice versa). So there is an inherent problem in combining the two standards. You can of course get a dual format player for more than twice the cost of 2 individual players though (and not get the full benefits from both formats such as the interactive layer on HD-DVD’s). The gentleman above is correct at some level, it’s sort of like saying “why can’t VHS and DVD’s be combined into one standard?” They just cannot be that way!

Hope this helps.

yeah, and why can’t Mac and PC, or VHS and Beta, or English and Spanish, or Satellite and Cable. Get it?