[Higher Definition->]
[Loli Technology->]
Somehow the title doesn’t make sense eh? Well, for me it means that because of further advances in technology, we are not only able to make things smaller, we are seeing smaller things become more awesome. Let me start first with the current status of video.
LOW DEF
Well, believe it or not, VCD quality video is still being used, but for the digital age. With YouTube leading the wave of streaming video, we still have a horrible bottleneck of internet services for consumers. While there is already an HQ and HD mode for YouTube, I don’t think it’s being used that often. Most broadband subscribers are still stuck on low internet speeds, even below 384kbps, in our country at least. Well, for the developed countries, their problem is not so much the speed, it’s the ongoing [war on yarrr->bluemist-anime-blog-pirated-edition-7-release-candidate] and also download cap limits. Because of these little annoyances, we can’t get rid of low resolutions in video.
STANDARD DEF
Of course, for ones who have the bandwidth, they can enjoy TV-quality video right now. Also, the DVD industry is still flourishing as ever, despite the HD standard already being defined as I will mention later. In the anime side, I’m quite surprised that this format still stays. I thought anime fans are techie enough to want higher definition video. The new standard in fansubs seem to be multiple-format releases. Let’s say one group releases the same episode both in HD form (usually 720p) or SD form (usually 480p). Sometimes there’s even an xvid version for the real slowpoke computers.
HIGH DEF
The energy is here. People are starting to notice the visual difference. Blu-ray won, creating the video disc standard. Unfortunately, high prices will make this format lag, especially with the current economic climate. Well, call me an early adopter, but I “do” have a Blu-ray drive on my PC. I only have a few movies, but I can tell you… it’s awesome! This is the quality I wanted ever since, and a high threshold for years to come. Another unfortunate thing is the slow adoption of this format in anime as well. Only few anime are being released in the high def format. At least my all-time favorite is available in Blu-ray, albeit in an extremely impossible price. Someday my Sakura-chan, someday.