Introduced into the retail world in 2006, the Blue ray format is set to become the next generation home video format of choice. Displaying movies in 1080p content (the best standard endorsed by the home theater industry) with digital surround sound audio and tons of bonus features, this format now has far more exclusive movies than its rival format, HD-DVD. Many people have heard about the HD-DVD and Blue ray format war, but most people don’t understand the pros and cons of each side. Read on and you’ll understand what makes Blue ray technology so appealing to everyone.
Different from DVD, How? They Look the Same!
Same shape. Same size. What makes DVD’s different from Blue ray discs and Blue ray technology as a whole? They both use lasers to record and store data, but the difference mainly lies in the wavelength of laser. DVD’s use red wavelength lasers to record and store data, a fairly cost effective way of storing data. However as the name implies, Blue ray technology uses blue (and violet) wavelength lasers to record and read data. With shorter wavelengths, you can store more data on the same amount of space, and while Blue ray technology uses some different materials to make this all possible, both DVD’s and Blue ray discs and players use essentially the same technologies, just different variations on it.
Twentieth century storage capacity is quickly falling behind twenty-first century storage requirements. A standard DVD could hold up to 4.7 Gb of data, and traditional, magnetic hard drives have just recently reach a capacity of 1 Tb (1000 Gigabytes). However, DVD’s are incapable of storing high definition video (for longer than just a few minutes at least), so we need a type of disc that can hold entire high definition movies in just one disc. If you calculate just the video requirements, DVD’s play 480p video, which is 640×480 pixels for a total of 307,200 pixels. However, high definition video is 1080p (1920×1080 or 2,073,600 pixels), which is nearly 7x the number of pixels on screen at any given time. Add in digital audio and other special features, and you soon see the need for increased storage capacity. With a Blue ray disc, you can meet your storage needs into the next decade.
Record Data or Play It
Blue ray disc players began shipping in notebook and desktop computers at several hundred dollars a piece. That’s about the price you could expect to pay for a stand alone Blue ray disc player for your home theater, but these drives fit into your computer and allow you to also burn content onto Blue ray discs. As physical media goes, Blue ray is the way to go for unparalleled capacity and transfer speed (although future technologies such as holographic discs are expected to reach several Terabytes in size in the next decade or so). Nearly 70% of new movies are being released on Blue ray discs, much more than are being released on Blue ray’s rival format, HD-DVD, and you can now purchase blank Blue ray discs to record your own content.
When it comes to home theaters, a few names probably come to mind: Sony, Pioneer, Sharp, and of course Samsung, to name a few. Any of the big name companies generally produce very high quality home entertainment equipment, and one of the best of the best would have to be Samsung. They have consistently built top notch electronics for decades, and if you’re looking to upgrade to Blue ray, the next generation home theater video format, then you’ll need to check out Samsung’s Blue ray offerings.
Which Player is Right For You
Samsung offers numerous Blue ray players, and there have been recent developments you might not know about if you’re looking to upgrade to Blue ray. Firstly, their much hyped about hybrid player which plays both HD-DVD’s and Blue ray discs has been canceled due to faltering support for Blue ray’s rival format and the Warner Bros. Announcement throwing their exclusive support behind Blue ray near the beginning of 2008. Therefore, Samsung only offers Blue ray players now as their hybrid player has been officially canceled, but Blue ray appears to be winning the format war anyway, so the consumer will be less confused about which choices to pick.
Blue Ray is a very popular name these days, and it is the name of a next-generation optical disc format which is a format that was developed for the purpose of enabling recording, rewriting, and playback of high definition video. Of course there are already many other similar formats, including DVD, DVD/R, and DVD-RAM, but none of these are quite as high quality as the Blue Ray options.
Blue Ray TV
There is what is known as Blue Ray TV, and many people get confused and wonder if Blue Ray TV is the same as HDTV. Blue Ray is different from HDTV in that although it too helps improve the quality of television and movie watching, at the same time it is better than HDTV overall because it is like an upgrade on the regular television sets. HDTV is as well in its own right but not as far advanced as Blue Ray.
It seems like every couple of years there are new advances made and our technology springs forward. Sometimes it can be difficult to keep up with all of the incredibly fast paced advances made. Currently, blue ray technology has been brought into the mainstream and learning what is blue ray technology can keep consumers up to date with the latest inventions in home entertainment.
Discovering What Is Blue Ray Technology
For many, home movies were originally played on the classic vcr tape. Then, the technology moved onto DVD players, and the look of the movies was sharper and of a much better quality. Now the next evolution has started with blue ray technology.
The answer to any question regarding what is a Blu-ray disc is best given by describing it as being a futuristic optical disk that is poised to take over the home entertainment industry and more particularly is a worthy alternative to DVDS. In fact, the Blu-ray disc has really been developed by a number of international manufacturers of electronic items that have pooled their resources and formed what is known as the “Blu-ray Disc Association” or BDA which includes big names such as Apple, Hitachi, Dell, JVC, HP as well as many others.
Five Times The Storage Capacity Of DVDs
Another feature that is sure to come to your notice when considering what is a Blu-ray disc is that it has as many as five times the storage capacity as is found in a DVD and a single Blu-ray disc can hold as much as fifty GB of data. The answer to what is a Blu-ray disc is also found in its primary use, which is of storing high-definition movies though it is also very useful in storing high volumes of data, and it also still does look much like any ordinary DVD disc does, which means that you won’t really notice any physical difference in the Blu-ray disc when comparing them to DVD discs.
There are a number of half price Blue Ray disks circulating in the market. With so many supporting companies behind the Blue Ray technology, consumers may not be able to determine and verify the authenticity of products. It is important to know that Blue Ray is still rather expensive at this time. Lower costs may also mean poorer quality.
Qualities To Look Out For
Half price Blue Ray disks cannot provide high-definition or HD. The technology specifically uses a blue laser having a wavelength of 405 nm to have a video resolution of 1920×1080 (1080p). The blue laser is one of the reasons why the disks are relatively expensive. If so-called Blue Ray disks are sold at half the regular price, materials, process and/or quality may have been compromised. Without the specific wavelength of 405 nm, it is impossible to attain the ultimate HD experience.
Though the numbers of good quality Blu-ray players available on the market today are many, there are a couple that simply stand out from the rest and thus can safely head any list for top rated blue ray player. Thus, without having to read everything that there is written about Blu-ray players, you should simply only consider the Sony Playstation 3 as well the Pioneer BDP-HD1 as being worthy contenders for the title of top rated blue ray player.
Sony Has A Better Reputation
However, even between these two contenders, the Sony Playstation enjoys a better reputation and is thus sure to win the honor of being called top rated blue ray player because of its excellent quality and also because at a price of between five hundred and six hundred dollars, is good value for money and it is also very easy to use and a good quality player to boot.