Traditional DVDs vs. Blu Ray

In the entertainment world in the past few years, there have been some changes to how people view their movies.  The regular VHS tapes have been phased out in stores because most major retailers and entertainment stores only sell DVDs and Blu-Ray formats.  For some, that may raise the question of the differences between regular DVDs and Blu-Ray DVDs.

According to www.didyouknow.org, DVDs or Digital Video Discs have been around since the 1990’s. Until DVDs came out in 1996, companies such as Phillips, Sony and Toshiba were working on prototypes of discs to hold the most data and succeeded with the “Version 1.0.”  The first DVD players and discs came to the United States. in March 1997, and they came out earlier in Japan. 

Most DVD players displayed the picture in standard definition, or in technical terms, 480i.  Some DVD players were able to display a better picture using a special cord called component wiring; it consists of a red, blue and green wire instead of standard which was a red, yellow and white cord.  Both cords did the same things, but the component cord provided a picture up to 1080i, which is close to high definition viewing. The DEG or Digital Entertainment Group displayed a $21.2 billion revenue from DVD sales and rentals in 2004. 

The new technology in the movie world is the high definition quality of Blu-Ray discs.  The new Blu-Ray technology has been around since 2005. People will usually find a section of Blu-Rays near the DVD section in any store that sells movies.

Back when Blu-Rays first hit the shelves, they already had a competitor — High Definition DVD. In the summer of 2007, HD DVD lost the battle due to Blu-Ray discs having more capacity to hold information and the ability to do more with special features and setup.

Blu-Ray discs are able to hold more video information than a regular DVD. Blu-Ray players are built to play all Blu-Ray movies in the highest definition possible. There are many extras someone could access while watching a Blu-Ray movie, such as looking through special features while watching the movie or jumping to another scene while watching the movie.

There are many more interactive features that can be used with a Blu-Ray player.  The Blu-Ray disc also plays closer to the laser built into players for maximum viewing quality. Blu-raydisc.com, the corporate site for the disc, states that “no other format can offer the data capacity of Blu-ray Disc, and no other format will allow for the same high video quality and interactive features to create the ultimate user experience.” 

No DVD player will play a Blu-Ray disc. You can watch a Blu-Ray on a standard television, but you won’t get the HD quality.  To get the full capabilities of the Blu-Ray technology, it is wise to purchase an HD TV as well as an HDMI cord, which allows for optimum viewing and clearer picture.

Kristi Wiltgen, sophomore public relations major, has heard of Blu-Ray movies.  Wiltgen said she would spend the money to upgrade to a high-definition setup with Blu-Ray movies and a player because “eventually Blu-Ray will be all that is available sooner or later.”

Chris Colbert, junior communication major, has also seen a Blu-Ray movie.  Colbert doesn’t look forward to upgrading his system because he doesn’t buy movies anyways. 

With the differences in technology changing daily, people may tend to wonder what will come next.