When high definition TV sets first started surfacing in stores in late 90s consumers were dazzled at the clearness HD offered over standard television screens. Since that point millions of men and women have upgraded their televisions to take advantage of wide screen flicks with DVDs and high definition cable and satellite channels. While many folks still haven't made the jump, a recent technology breakthrough has made even HDTV backers take notice. Developed by Sony, Blu-Ray has pushed TV quality to a higher level. Just a couple years back, nobody had a clue what format would become the successor to DVD, but now Blu-Ray has won and I'll tell you why you should think about adding Blu-Ray to your home entertainment system.
Though research started almost a decade ago, Sony and its partners failed to release a final commercial product until mid 2006. The name Blu-Ray comes from the blue laser that is used to read data from a Blu-Ray formatted disc. This conflicts with the red laser utilized to read standard DVD discs. Yet why is Blu-Ray better than current DVD formats? Although Blu-Ray discs and players don't look any different than normal DVDs, they can store much more info which means sharper picture, improved audio, and more special extras. DVDs can hold up to 8 gbs. of information while Blu-Ray discs can hold 50 gbs.. Big difference. The max resolution of a DVD is 720x480 lines whereas Blu-Ray has a maximum of 1920x1080 (also referred to as full hi-def). If you have spent $1000 or more on a 1080p TV, you are really not making use of all the TV can deliver when viewing regular DVDs.
Originally prices for Blu-Ray players were well above what an average consumer wanted to spend. Costs between $700 and $1000 were not unusual for first generation Blu-Ray players. Plus, there was another competing standard on the store shelves that made a lot of confusion. Toshiba and NEC introduced their own DVD follow-up device with the delivery of the HD DVD format. HD DVD, with a capacity of 15 gbs., was a step up over standard DVDs but couldn't match the specs of Blu-Ray. But HD DVD did have some market influence. First, they made it to store shelves 3 months before Blu-Ray. Second, HD DVD devices where a little less expensive to produce and had a cheaper price tag as a result. Lastly, HD DVD had more movie studios on board at launch than Sony did which meant more flicks were at first available while Blu-Ray remained scarce.
Sony had one huge trick up their sleeve that quite potentially saved Blu-Ray from a Betamax destiny. Sony included a Blu-Ray player into their highly anticipated PlayStation three and sold the entire device for a little less than many stand alone players were going for at the time. After that, Blu-Ray started making strides till shortly it outsold HD DVD 2-to-1 by late 2007. More movie studios began to commit to the Blu-Ray standard exclusively, starting with Warner Brothers in early 2008. Right after Toshiba stopped making HD DVD players and recorders. By the end of 2008 rental companies Netflix and Blockbuster, as well as major shops, announced they'd no longer carry HD DVD flicks. Currently all major studios release their pictures on Blu-Ray. A few still produce HD DVD and Blu-Ray releases concurrently.
Costs have fallen significantly over the past few years too. Many name brand Blu-Ray players from firms like Panasonic and LG can easily be found between $150 and $250. Blu-Ray disc recorders are in the $200 - $400 range and dropping just as fast. For anyone that likes watching movies from home and has already invested in a high definition TV, now is a great time to look into adding a Blu-Ray player to your setup. Even those who might be skeptical about Blu-Ray's enhancements over DVD owe it themselves to go down to their local home entertainment store and ask for a Blu-Ray demonstration. The picture clearness and audio fidelity from Blu-Ray is truly outstanding.
