What Is Blu Ray technology
Author: Adrian Whittle
If you are purchasing a home theater system, or any new technology for that matter, it is often a bit bewildering coming to terms with all the jargon. No doubt a lot of the jargon is sales speak aimed at making the product sound grander than it’s rivals. Some, however, is genuinely useful information. As you become more familiar with the terms and your home theater set up, this difference will become apparent. This article will jargon bust what exactly blu ray technology is and it’s implications to home entertainment systems.
Blu ray is simply a method of storing data. It is primarily used for storing digital media and high definition (HD) video on a disc format. It is considered ideal for HD video because it can store considerably more data than a standard DVD. As the name suggests High definition video gives a clearer picture than standard video but requires more space to store the data on.
Blu ray technology can store more data per disc than the standard formats because it uses a blue laser that has a wavelength of 405nm. This is much shorter than the standard red laser wavelength at 650nm. The blue laser is also where it derives it’s name from.
Therefore blu ray discs are likely to be a standard format for movies, games, features or music videos filmed in high definition video. So should you add a blu ray disc player to your home theater system ? Well, that is where things become a bit more complex. Blu ray is involved in a ‘format war’ with another data storage technology known as high definition (HD) DVD. HD DVD is the successor to the standard DVD format. It can store more information on a disc than a standard DVD but less than a blu ray disc so it would seem that blu ray is superior.
Again, this is not necessarily so. As we have seen in the old VHS vs Betamax video format war , it was not necessarily the superior technology that wins but the muscle behind the rival technologies.
In the case of blu ray vs HD DVD there are some big players in the high technology industries squaring up against each other. In the games console field Sony playstation 3 is using blu ray technology to play DVD’s whereas Microsoft’s Xbox is using HDDVD technology.
In terms of DVD or high definition movie players, Toshiba and NEC are supporting HD DVD technology whilst Sony and Panasonic are supporting blu ray.
Most of the major Hollywood film companies have taken a side in the war too. Universal support HD DVD. Disney and 20th Century Fox support Blu ray. Others, like Warner Bros and Viacom have said they will support both.
So what does this mean for the consumer. To date blu ray and HD DVD players are fairly new and quite expensive. Blu ray discs are more expensive than HD DVD discs. So maybe the stance to take is a wait and see attitude. Ultimately the prices will drop and a clear winner may appear. Then you can make your choice.
About the author: Find reviews on the latest home theater components, including Home theater receivers and Home theater decor at http://www.hometheaterreviewed.com. Adrian Whittle writes reviews and features on home theater equipment and accessories.