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What is an HD notebook? Should I get it?

By Joonyoung Ryu, ZDnet Korea, and CNET Asia staff (products@asia.cnet.com)
Feb 01, 2007


What is an HD notebook?
The High-Definition (HD) notebook, which has recently been attracting considerable attention, may be regarded as “a secret weapon” that embodies hidden strategies by computer laptop makers.


The Toshiba Qosmio G30 is HD video-ready with its HD-DVD optical drive.
In particular, the performance of the HD notebook's core components including the CPU has been improved to the level of high-end desktop computers. The LCD panel and graphics processor of the HD notebook have top-class performance, which consumers can easily confirm. In some cases, users can enjoy video on a notebook whose quality is as sharp and as good as an expensive HDTV. In short, the HD notebook is a "PC and TV", on which you can perform various tasks and enjoy entertainment features.

The HD notebook is equipped with a dual-core CPU (Intel's Core Duo and Core 2 Duo, and AMD's Turion (64x2)) as an essential component, enabling it to display high-quality video which was difficult on traditional notebooks.

The most compelling characteristic of the HD notebook is the LCD panel. The resolution of the HD notebook's LCD panel is 1,920 x 1,080 pixels, which is superior to that of ordinary LCD TVs. As a result, you can even clearly see the skin pores of an actor displayed on the notebook.


Sony's Vaio VGN-AR18GP packs in a high-capacity Blu-ray drive.
The strongest point of a laptop is mobility. You can take the notebook with you anywhere, which is something you cannot do with an HDTV due to its size. If you can use the wireless Internet service Wibro or the wireless LAN service of high-speed Internet service providers, you can enjoy high-quality video content while on the road.

Currently, there are four or five computer makers that are producing or set to produce high-end HD notebooks. The market for notebooks is undergoing great cuts in prices, which negatively affects the desktop PC market, so there are so many low-priced notebook computers in the market offered at less than 1 million won.

We expect the market share of the HD notebook will increase gradually. Alongside that, the market for notebooks will be subdivided more specifically. These developments will further draw in a significant number of users who enjoy viewing or editing HD digital video or playing 3D games, which were impossible to do on existing notebooks.


 Differences between Blu-ray and HD-DVD
Blu-ray technology is supported by electronics giants such as Sony, Samsung, Phillips, and Panasonic. The storage capacity of Blu-ray media is at least 50 gigabytes (GB), which is six times higher than any existing DVD.

Blu-ray DVDs can store a 13-hour normal-quality video or 2-hour high-quality video. HD-DVD, which is supported by Toshiba and NEC, and is compatible with the current DVD standard and cheaper than Blu-ray. HD-DVD's storage capacity is about three times that of the DVD disk (4.7 GB), which is 15GB for single-layer discs and 30GB for double-layer discs. It can support recording and playback of existing CD or DVD discs. You can enjoy high-quality video at 1080p resolution, which is about six times sharper than the existing DVD. Blu-ray’s advantage is its huge storage capacity, whereas HD-DVD is comparatively cheap. So these two products are leading the market with equal influence.


What can you do with one? »


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