In most ways, Blu-ray is fairly similar to DVD. The players
look the same, the discs look the same, and even the disc menus
are similar. So why pay more?
Blu-ray brings three major improvements over DVD: better
image quality, better sound quality, and more special features.
All three are made possible by the larger storage capacity of
Blu-ray, which is capable of storing 50GB of information on a
single Blu-ray Disc, compared with DVDs, which can hold about
8GB.
What's better about Blu-ray?
Image quality: Superior resolution is a big part of
what makes Blu-ray look great. In layman's terms, this means
you'll see a more detailed image: more clearly defined strands
of hair, wrinkles in clothing, etc. The technical difference is
that Blu-ray's maximum resolution is 1,920x1,080 (1080p), while
DVD is limited to 720x480 (480p). Beyond resolution, Blu-ray
also uses better video-compression methods, resulting in more
contrast and richer colors. If you like the way HD from your
cable or satellite provider looks, Blu-ray looks even better.
It's the highest-quality video format available today, and in
some ways it surpasses the picture quality of your local movie
theater, especially when shown on a good-performing HDTV or
projector.
Audio quality: Audio quality is also improved. New
high-resolution soundtrack formats, such as Dolby TrueHD and
DTS-HD Master Audio, are essentially identical to the studio
master, so you'll be hearing things exactly as the director and
audio engineers intended.
Special features: Blu-ray also has additional special
features over DVD. The most basic innovation is the pop-up menu,
which allows you to access the menu functions while the movie
continues playing. Other innovations include picture-in-picture
video commentary and the ability to download new content right
from your Blu-ray player, although your player needs to have the
right Blu-ray profile to access these features. In our opinion,
the special features on Blu-ray have mostly been underwhelming
and aren't a good reason to upgrade.
What's worse about Blu-ray?
Cost: Blu-ray's main drawback is cost. Prices for
players are still generally over $200 and blank discs cost about
$5 compared to
DVD's $1