By Kyle Duffy – Product Specialist
Most people have heard the name Blu-Ray and commonly misspell it Blue-Ray or Blueray. No worries though, that is not the most important aspect of Blu-Ray technology. What is Blu-ray? Blu-ray disc format offers more than five times the storage capacity of DVDs and can hold up to 25GB on a single-layer disc or 50GB on a dual-layer disc. This means you get unprecedented high definition audio and video from a single disc provided you have an HDTV and Blu-ray disc player. So, why should you upgrade to Blu-ray from your massive DVD collection? Here are a few good reasons:
1. Prices for Blu-Ray discs, Blu-ray players and HDTVs will drop
If you go into your local movie store and browse the selection you will find DVDs and Blu-ray discs. In most cases the Blu-ray discs are more expensive but sometimes you will find their high-quality goodness for the same price as DVDs. This also applies to Blu-ray players. Their price will continue to drop as Blu-ray technology improves and it becomes cheaper to produce the units. This is how business works after all. And finally HDTVs are becoming larger and their prices are becoming smaller. No worries, your old DVDs will still work on your new Blu-ray player.
2. Digital downloads can’t compete with Blu-Ray discs
Netflix is everywhere slowly taking over your electronic devices. You can find Netflix support on your Xbox or PS3 and even some DVD/Blu-ray players and HDTVs. Netflix allows you to download a movie on demand and watch it instantly. Despite the convenience of Netflix you won’t see it trump Blu-ray any time soon. Downloading 25GB for one single Blu-ray movie would take most people days of waiting or you could go out and rent or buy the movie and watch it a half hour later. Blu-ray simply looks too pretty, which is a result of its huge storage capacity, which current internet technology cannot handle very well.
3. Blu-ray isn’t going anywhere anytime soon
Lets face it; no one has the money to upgrade to something more advanced. Blu-ray technology is great and will be for the next 4-6 years. It ties well into the advancements in HDTV technology so the two are advancing hand in hand. While such things as holographic storage or crystal chips are really awesome, they have maturing and price dropping to do.
4. Blu-ray plays 1080p high definition video
This reason is a no brainer. Blu-ray gives you that delicious looking picture on your HDTV that you thought only movie theaters could produce. Stunning HD picture allows you to see details you never thought you could see from your HDTV such as sweat dripping off basketball players or that freshly cut dew smothered grass. HD is kind of like opening your eyes for the first time.
5. More features crammed onto one disc
Your DVD might have special commentary or behind the scenes footage, but let’s face it, it’s time to grow up. BD-Live allows you to utilize your internet connection to download addition content for your BD-Live compatible Blu-ray movie. For example, some movies allow you to record your own commentary track for the movie while others allow you to download snippets about the movie or facts relating to it while you watch. It will only become more interactive as time goes by. Let’s see your DVD do that! HA!
So there you have it. If you have been shy or fearful about taking the plunge into Blu-ray infested waters, don’t worry, you will come out with a purified high definition view of the world around you. And best of all, your DVD collection is not obsolete so there is no need to throw it out which means no hard feelings. Blu-ray, it’s like getting new prescription glasses.
