Years ago, in the late '90s, a new form of digital video and sound was introduced to the world. Gone were the days of VHS and tracking on your VCR. This new era was the time of the DVD and it essentially wiped out video cassettes as the standard for watching movies. Fast-forward to the present and we are witnessing the beginning of yet another era.
An innovative form of technology is well on its way to becoming the new standard for high definition digital video, sound and storage capabilities. This new technology is known as Blu-ray Discs (BD) and now that it has gotten rid of any and all competition (HD-DVD) as the standard for the next generation, its importance for the future cannot be overlooked.
Most people are familiar with the term "high definition" and the general public may vaguely be aware that this term is in some way associated with Blu-ray. But the average individual isn't necessarily aware of how Blu-ray actually works. Here's some info, courtesy of Blu-ray.com and HowStuffWorks.com. High definition simply refers to superior resolution than the standard televisions most likely in your room. Blu-ray earned its namesake for two reasons. "Blu" comes from the color of the laser that is used to make the disc and ray from the fact an optical "ray" is also used.The special thing about Blu-ray is the huge storage capacity. Now in a time where high definition is increasingly becoming standard, there needed to be a way to efficiently transfer those clearer high definition images onto a disc.
Unfortunately, single-layer DVDs only have about 4.7 Gigabytes (GB) of space. That means it has enough room for about a two hour movie in standard definition and some extras. While we could probably put high definition films on DVDs it would probably require many discs. This is because high definition movies require about five times more space than the average standard definition film. This is where Blu-ray Discs come in.
Blu-ray Discs are capable of holding anywhere from 25-50 GB of information, depending on whether it is single layer or double layer. In addition to the high definition and storage capacities, Blu-ray has countless other features to lead us into a new generation of technology, such as:
- The ability to record high definition programs without a downgrade in quality.
- Instead of scene by scene movement, Blu-ray will allow viewers to skip to any area of the disc almost instantly.
- Revolutionary recording technology would allow individuals to record something while viewing another program all on the same disc.
- There will also be automatic access to the internet to download features such as updated subtitles for a film.
This is simply the beginning of an era and new technology does not come cheap. While the prices for Blu-ray players have dropped since HD-DVD died out, it is still not recommended for the price-conscious.
Prices right now are ranging anywhere from $250 to $1,000. That type of large price range simply means the technology has not fully penetrated the market yet.
If you are a big-time gamer, then the Playstation 3 (at around $400) is a no brainer since it is capable of playing next-generation games and films on Blu-ray discs. Also, the discs may start seeing price drops as they get a larger piece of the market.
So whether one wants to stick to DVDs or not, in an age where technology tends to move faster than we can, it is wise to at least stay alert and ready for the next generation.
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