Why choose Blu-ray instead of DVD

Why choose Blu-ray instead of DVD?

What are the differences between Blu-ray Disc and DVD?
Blu-ray Disc gives an increase over DVD capacity by up to 10 times. This is due, among other reasons, to better lens specifications, giving a much smaller focus laser on the Blu-ray players and Blu-ray recorders. This enables the recording of much smaller and higher density pits on the Blu-ray disc.
Due to the fact that the data layer on a Blu-ray Disc is placed much “closer” to the laser lens than in DVD, there is less distortion resulting in significantly improved tolerances. Hence, more precision and ultra-high storage densities are now possible on Blu-ray discs.

Will Blu-ray Disc replace DVDs?
The expectation is that when Blu-ray takes off, it will eventually result in a phase out of DVDs. The Blu-ray disc format has received so much support from movie studios who have released some movies in the Blu-ray format. Most studios will begin releasing new feature films on Blu-ray Disc as standard, and will update their existing movie titles every month with more Blu-ray discs. It is anticipated that both Blu-ray and DVD will both exist until HD TVs become more widespread.

Will I still be able to play my DVDs on Blu-ray players and Blu-ray recorders?
You won't have to worry about your existing DVD collection becoming out of date because most of the current manufacturers will release Blu-ray players and recorders which are compatible with both DVDs and CDs. Most of the Blu-ray players and Blu-ray recorders coming out will support upscaling of DVDs to 1080p. This means that existing DVD collections will look even better. The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) wants all Blu-ray Disc players and Blu-ray recorders to be backward compatible with DVDs.

Why should I upgrade to Blu-ray?
Blu-ray is an improvement on existing HDTV. If you’ve ever seen HDTV then you know the picture and colours are amazingly sharp. HD provides at least five times the detail of normal TV. Currently, DVDs do not have the required storage capacity for HD. Blu-ray has provided the solution to this problem. Blu-ray discs offer up to 50GB of storage capacity. Blu-ray also supports high definition audio formats for an incredible sound quality.

As well as massively improved video and audio quality, extra storage capacity provides plenty of room for additional content and special features on Blu-ray movies. The menus, graphics and special features are also brought to a whole new level eg the menu can be shown as an overlay without stopping the movie, or you could have a Director’s explanation of a scene in a separate window on the screen while the scene is playing in the background.

The interactivity which is being built into Blu-ray will allow movie makers to add new features such as downloading extras or watching live broadcasts of special events.

Thanks to the greatly enhanced HD video and audio quality as well as the advanced interactivity and networking features, Blu-ray represents a huge leap forward in the DVD viewing experience and will offer consumers an unprecedented HD experience. Using Blu-ray recorders you will able to record in HD with Blu-ray discs.

Blu-ray for PCs and laptops?
There are now more PCs and laptops than ever before on the market which have a Blu-ray drive pre-installed. The Sony Vaio and Dell XPS laptops both have pre-installed Blu-ray drives. Most large PC manufacturers will now allow you to add a Blu-ray drive to new computer systems. If you’re technically minded, you can also build your own by buying a Blu-ray drive. Drives are available from Asus/Lite-on/Pioneer and Sony, and LG are currently offering dual format drives.

Computer based playback has some strict hardware requirements, including a fast CPU, lots of RAM and a HDCP enabled graphics card and monitor. Currently, PowerDVD Ultra from Cyberlink, WinDVD 9 Plus Blu-ray from Corel and Arcsoft Totalmedia Theatre are the players of choice available for PCs.

Blu-ray Disc Information
A single-layer Blu-ray disc has a storage capacity of 25GB, and dual-layer versions of the discs can hold 50GB. It is believed that as the technology progresses, it will only be a short time before 100 GB (four-layer) discs and more will be developed. This shows that Blu-ray is the new format for the long term.

What format will Blu-ray discs be available in?

Blu-ray plans to follow the route of DVDs and will provide a range of formats including ROM/R/RW. The following formats are part of the Blu-ray Disc specification:

BD-ROM - read-only format for distribution of HD movies, games, software, etc.
BD-R - recordable format for HD video recording and PC data storage.
BD-RE - rewritable format for HD video recording and PC data storage.

What is the data storage capacity of a Blu-ray disc?
A single-layer Blu-ray disc can hold 25GB.
A dual-layer Blu-ray disc can hold 50GB.
In the future simply by adding more layers to the Blu-ray discs the capacity can be increased to up to 200GB.

To summarise, Blu-ray Disc technology offers these key characteristics and advantages:

With the format wars now over and Blu-ray Disc emerging as the winner, it can now enjoy full support from virtually all of the major Hollywood studios, some of the top computer brands, consumer electronics companies and the largest music companies. Obviously, the gaming companies will also take advantage of the awesome gaming experience on Blu-ray.

Blu-ray discs will have the highest capacity available on the market with discs expected soon with a capacity of up to 100GB. Even the smallest capacity Blu-ray discs will have up to five times the capacity of DVDs!

The greatest picture resolution there has ever been. Blu-ray Disc technology provides 1080p video resolution to give perfect picture quality.

The audio from Blu-ray is excellent. Blu-ray Disc has up to 7.1 channels of native, uncompressed surround sound for precise audio entertainment.

As with all new formats, it is now almost a pre-requisite that there is backward compatibility, ensuring Blu-ray Disc players will allow you to watch your existing collection of DVDs without any problems.

Blu-ray will provide much greater interactivity. It is expected that soon Blu-ray will offer interactive features including bonus features, simple and seamless menu navigation, and internet connectivity.

Blu-ray discs now employ a method of hard-coating its discs with the strongest resistance yet to fingerprints or scratches.