Michael Hehn asked:


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 a 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.

Blu-ray discs are thus of the same size as DVDs and so any player that is capable of playing Blu-ray discs will also be able to play DVDs and also CDs. However, a difference between what is a Blu-ray disc and what DVDs and CDs are lies in the color of the laser used for Blu-rays which is blue as opposed to the red laser used in the case of DVDs and also CDs.

Most people, when they wish to know a lot more about what is a Blu-ray disc will also wonder as to what the benefits of using blue ray lasers are as compared to using red lasers, and for them the answer lies in the fact that blue lasers have shorter wavelengths, thereby providing greater accuracy as compared to red lasers which have a longer wavelength. This, in turn means that the answer to what is a Blu-ray disc, shows that with Blu-ray discs you get far greater precision when storing data and thus a Blu-ray disc of the same size as a DVD can store far greater amount of data.

Furthermore, having once learnt about what is a Blu-ray disc, you would immediately realize that this storage capacity of fifty GB of data on a single Blu-ray disc has opened up some serious new vistas in mass storage, which when combined with the fact that it is now possible to record HD DVD movies and audios better with a Blu-ray disc means that you are assured that it will serve the needs of a much greater number of people that have switched over to watching high-definition programs and who thus are ready to use the best recording media available today.

Michael Hehn asked:


Next generation home video format wars always end up confusing the consumer to start off, and it can take several years before one format gains dominance over the other. This was the case with the VHS versus Betamax format war, and thankfully the various companies quickly came together to develop the DVD, or digital video/versatile disc, so that became dominant with no competition. Unfortunately, various companies have banded together into two different camps, and now a new format war has been created where consumers are asked if they want HD or Blue ray, and many choose neither for now.

Making a Wise Investment

Through 2006 and 2007, people would have to choose to go with either HD or Blue ray on a relative whim as both offered about the same amount of movies from major movie studios. Near the start of 2008 though, Warner Bros. decided to go Blue ray exclusive, resulting in a majority of movies being released on Blue ray over HD-DVD, helping consumers to choose HD or Blue ray. While many people could argue the pros and cons of both formats, having two competing formats only ended up hurting everyone as companies released movies that nobody bought and consumers risked making a high definition movie player purchase only to find out that months later, no more movies would be released for it. By making most of the movies be released on a single format, movie studios help to ensure that consumers can choose HD or Blue ray without wasting their money.

HD-DVD players might be a little bit cheaper, but Blue ray discs offer superior data capacity, resulting in greater longevity as studios put more content onto discs for consumers to enjoy. However, by making consumers choose HD or Blue ray, studios allowed another format to gain traction. Downloadable videos have gained popularity as they work on all computers with a high speed Internet connection, which is becoming the dominant form of connection in all countries around the world. Many people prefer to actually be able to hold their purchase in their hands (as is the case with DVD’s or Blue ray discs), but by buying a next gen video format, they might have ended up wasting their hard earned money, so they preferred to download movies to their hard drive instead of risking wasting a thousand dollars or more.

Blue ray is expected to gain even more traction in 2008, helping consumers to easily choose HD or Blue ray. As prices come down and the selection of movies grows, then more people will upgrade to Blue ray over their old DVD player. With more special features and high definition video and audio, this format is the clear choice for the next generation home theater experience.

boudongmama asked:


Will I be able to play the HD movies on my old player? Or will I have to buy yet again another system. I know some movies are going to be only released on HD or Blue Ray. It is only about 2 years old. The new systems are very expensive at this time.