Ever popped in a DVD lately? I bet you’ve already seen those annoying Blu-ray commercials. Blu-ray, the ultimate hi-def blah blah blah. We’re constantly reminded that Blu-ray is so much better than DVD. But is it really?

First off, what is Blu-ray? Blu-ray is a proprietary media format produced by a little company named Sony. These are the same folks who introduced us to the failed UMD, mini-discs, and even Beta tapes. This format is called Blu-ray since these discs are literally made using a blue laser. DVDs on the other hand, are produced with a red laser. Because blue has a much shorter wave length than red, a blue laser can burn more data onto a disc. Imagine writing with a fine-tipped pen vs. writing with a highlighter marker.

From the naked eye, there isn’t much distinction between Blu-ray and DVD discs. But what makes Blu-ray so special is that it can hold about 6x more data than DVD. Dual-layer Blu-ray discs can hold up to 50 GB while a dual-layer DVD can only hold up to 8.5 GB. With DVDs, movie studios need to compress and reduce the video quality so that it can fit onto the disc. Watch a DVD movie on an HD display and you will notice quite a bit of pixilation and artifacts that degrade the picture quality. Blu-ray movies are clear as day since the video looks extremely vibrant and crisp. That’s because it also provides 6x the resolution of a standard DVD movie. The higher the resolution, the better the picture will look.
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Post tags: Blu-ray, Features, Media, Technology