Blu Ray has created a new standard for a high definition video source with superb picture quality at 1080P.
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This is the ultimate in video viewing and there is no better way of delivering a television image to your high definition LED Tv, LCD television or Plasma Tv set. With the ability to drive 720p, 1080i or 1080p, Blu Ray DVD supports all the different varieties of HD flat screen television on the market, all you need to do is plug in your HDMI cable and sit back and enjoy the very best image available today.
But what is Blu Ray? Good question. Blu ray technology derives and the Blu Ray Disc derives its name from the blue laser used to read and write on these types of discs. Since the wavelength of the Blu Rays light beam is much shorter, a lot more data can be installed on a Blu Ray Disc compared to a typical DVD disc which is burned using a red beam light that has a wider wavelength and thus cannot read as much information. How much more info can a Blu Ray Disc store? Believe it or not, it can store approximately six times the amount of a two-layer DVD, and even as much as ten and a half times that of a standard DVD. Now you can see why they can put all of the information needed to give you a better, clearer picture on a single disc. Blu Ray disks can store a much larger amount of data and video than the traditional DVD-R and DVD-RW disks, up to 25GB of data on a single layer disk and up to 50GB of data on a dual layer disk and over 9 hours of high-definition video on a 50GB disc.
So do Blu Ray DVDs work on regular players, perhaps you have been wondering about that? Unfortunately Blu Ray Discs will not play on your run of the mill DVD player. Why is that? The Blu Ray disc uses a blue/violet beam of light to read the data whereas a traditional DVD player uses a red laser and is unable to read it. So it looks like you will have to upgrade your DVD player to a Blu Ray if you plan on buying and watching your 1080P high def movies the way they were meant to be seen. And by the way, that goes for HD-DVD technology as well. HD-DVD players use another kind of blue laser that cannot read Blu Ray Discs, just as Blu Ray players cannot read HD-DVD“s.
Can you play regular DVD“s in a Blu Ray player? Now this is some good news if you are outfitting a new home cinema room. No you do not have to buy a DVD player as well. Yes, Blu Ray players can play standard DVDs. And don“t worry...they don“t change the DVD formatting or alter the disk in any way. In fact they will look even better than they do when played on your old DVD player. Now don“t get me wrong, a standard DVD played in a Blu Ray player will not have the high definition of a Blu Ray disc, but they certainly be up converted to a better quality than they used to.
Here is a nice surprise they will even play your CD“s as well! That means you won“t need to invest in a CD player either.
Choosing a Blu Ray player will mostly depend on your personal budget as their prices range from budget models to very expensive high performance types.
Blu Ray players can be either stand alone Blu Ray DVD or they can also have Smart Tv functionality as well as network capability with Wifi. Other advances are Blu Ray recorders as well as Blu Ray Hard Disc DVD Recorders too. Check out some of the features like BD-live internet-connected activities, social networking ie Facebook / Twitter, catchup Tv like 4 OD or BBC iPlay plus interactive gaming; as long as there is an Ethernet connection or the player supports Wifi, you can be up and running in no time! Don`t forget your HDMI cable!
Don`t forget also, if you are lucky enough to own a 3D Tv or are thinking of buying, aprt from Sky HD 3D Tv, Blu Ray is the only other way to really enjoy true 3D on your flat screen HDTv. Make sure that the Blu Ray DVD is 3D compatible and your HDMI cable is HDMI profile 1.4 to enjoy stress free 3D television enjoyment.
There are several brands to choose from on the market; the problem is that most consumers do not know how to compare one Blu Ray with another. As far as image quality goes, most of today“s brands offer the same high-definition picture quality and really just differ in the features of each player. A new feature to look for is called BD-live which supports Internet-connected activities such as social networking and interactive gaming as long as there is an Ethernet connection to the player.
At Digital Direct we have got some of the latest Blu ray players available including Sony Blu ray players, Panasonic Blu ray players, Pioneer Blu ray players, Philips Blu ray players, Toshiba Blu ray players, LG Blu ray players, Yamaha Blu Ray players and Samsung Blu ray players.
