5 Facts to Help You Better Understand Blu-Ray

There are a lot of misconceptions about the dominant HD video format, Blu-Ray. Let us clear them up for you.

1. Blu-Ray Isn't Just a Fancy Name

"Blu-Ray" refers to the blue laser used to etch data onto an optical disc. Standard-definition DVDs used a red laser with a wavelength of 650 nanometers to write data onto a disc. The blue laser used by Blu-Ray has a smaller wavelength (405nm), which allows it to write more information to each disc.

2. More Storage Equals Higher Quality

Blu-Ray discs can hold between 25 and 50GB of data, far more than older DVDs, which could hold between 4 and 8GB. High-definition video takes up a lot of space, as it holds more image data. You could put an HD Movie on a regular DVD, but you wouldn't get more than a few minutes. The extra storage available on a Blu-Ray disc is best suited for holding long feature length movies in high-definition. The differences between DVD and Blu-Ray discs aren't all hype. There are legitimate differences in storage capacity which affects the overall quality of the video you watch.

3. The Three Types of Blu-Ray

Not all Blu-Ray players are created equal. There are three different types of Blu-Ray players: Profile 1.0, Profile 1.1, and Profile 2.0. Each "profile" refers to a different set of features that can make use of certain specific content on a Blu-Ray disc. Profile 1.0 is a barebones feature set, and can only playback Blu-Ray features. Profile 1.1 is referred to as "Bonus View" which includes picture-in-picture capabilities and most refers to video movie commentaries that run simultaneously with the feature film. Profile 2.0 is the most recent feature set, and includes Internet functionality and the ability to download extra content onto the player. Which profile you should select depends on what features you want. Keep an eye out for which profile player you're purchasing.

4. Blu-Ray Players Make Your Old DVDs Look Good, Too

All Blu-Ray disc players are also capable of playing traditional, standard-definition DVDs. Not only can they play DVDs, they actually improve their quality through a process called "up-scaling." HD video content is typically has 720 or 1080 lines of horizontal resolution, while DVD content has only 480. Up-scaling fills in the extra lines needed to properly be viewed on an HDTV, and improves the overall image quality of a DVD movie, not to full HD, but as close as technologically possible.

5. Blu-Ray Isn't Dead (Yet)

Though many critics are eager to sign Blu-Ray's death certificate, the format isn't quite dead yet. The biggest threat, online HD video downloads and streaming, is still years away from being close to the level of quality provided by Blu-Ray discs. Online streams and downloads are hampered by compression, which is necessary to make the download smooth enough and fast enough on today's Internet connections. In several years, it's quite possible that broadband adoption will reach a level significant enough to allow for full HD downloads, but for the time being, the only convenient way to get true HD video content is via a Blu-Ray disc.