Blu-Ray or HD? - The Guide
Both these formats claim to be the future of TV and Gaming. Now - the vast majority of us don't even know what Blu-Ray is, let alone know what it does and how it works. We'll start off by giving a short insight into "the future of television".
Blu-Ray, created by the Blu-ray Disc Association, is simply a superior format of what to most of us still feels like relatively new technology, the DVD (Digital Versatile Disk). Blu-Ray differs in it's video and sound quality. It offers the user more than five times the storage capacity of traditional DVDs and can hold up to 25GB on a single-layered disc and an amazing 50GB on a dual-layer disc. This extra capacity combined with the use of advanced video and audio codecs will offer consumers an unprecedented experience. As the name suggests it uses a blue laser instead of the traditional red as seen with DVD players. This gives you a fantastic image, better than any other DVD could give you.
So should you go out and buy yourself one?
If you have already had a look at the market you will see they are extremely expensive! But you should expect the prices to fall in the next few years. The bonus to Blu-Ray is that there are better companies supporting it over HD, for example Fox and Vivendi have become members. And there is greater protection of Blu-Ray discs with it's added security. But it is just so expensive at the moment, what's the alternative?
Well, HD DVD is another option, boasting jaw-dropping picture and sound quality - without the frustrating region locking. Crucially, with HD DVD comes wallet-friendly hardware prices that put its bitter rival format Blu-Ray to shame. There are some truly cracking deals about when it comes to HD DVD players. Great! You can kit yourself out with the full HD range! But is it all worth it? In the future we may see some DVDs being released on only one format, much like a Sony only releasing the latest video games on their Playstations, so will you be missing out on your favourite films? That is a question that simply can't be answered at the moment. Another possible worrying factor, is that a small number of large corporations own all the rights to Blu-Ray technology, which may cause an oligopoly. The future of high definition filming is an uncertain one.
In simple terms, Blu-Ray technology is superior to the quality of the standard high definition - an interesting thing to note may be whether your new-high definition TV is even capable of playing Blu-Ray formats. Confused?
Blu-Ray technology uses a video output method named 1080p - 1080 for the resolution and P for progressive. All you need to know is that this is an advanced format of High definition technology, and is not availiable on all HD Ready sets. Standard "HD Ready" television sets can only display in 1080i, which HD DVDs as well as Sky HD both transmit in.
I'm sure there is little separating whether one is better than the other and the argument will always continue. The best thing to do is decide on which format you want and find yourself a good deal. One thing is certain however, if you have already purchased a HD television, spending an extra couple of hundred pounds to get the best out of your TV is essential, and if you fail to do this you will appear to be no more than any other plasma or LCD television.
We advise you to be hesitant in your purchases, as we expect the high definition market to bloom in one direction - but really it's anyones guess.
Choose wisely and get watching!
Joe Moverley
Have Your Say
Yeh - I've got a 1080p TV, and I really want to get a BluRay player - maybe the PS3 - but at the moment the BluRays themselves cost around £20/25 and the player is like £230+ so it's a lot of money. Might wait a while for them to come down, if they are the latest technology they will come down for sure.
PermaLink
Well now that the big wigs are entering the game and choosing their side it looks as though we may be nearing a conclusion in this war. Warner Bros are now strictly Blu-Ray, lets see how this changes things!