Quick Look: How Does Blu-ray Compare to DVD?

With all of the new technology coming out all of the time, it can be difficult to keep up with the latest and greatest, and what the newest generation offers. Blu-ray is the latest available optical storage medium, similar to a DVD. The difference is that it uses a different laser wavelength (blue) instead of the red DVD laser. Blu-ray discs can hold 50gb on a dual layer disc, which is over 10 times the storage capacity of a standard DVD. Due to the larger storage space on these discs, Hollywood movie studios are able to release films in high definition complete with fully interactive menus, network integration, and all sorts of interactive bonus features. High definition televisions are quickly becoming more and more common throughout the country, which only further intensifies the Blu-ray market. Another useful feature with Blu-ray players is that they are backwards compatible with DVDs, so your can still fully enjoy your whole movie collection on one unit. In fact, most Blu-ray units come with DVD upscaling, to make your DVDs look even better on your high definition television. In addition to Blu-ray movies, you can also use Blu-ray discs as a storage medium to store digital photos, videos or audio. They are perfect for home video to DVD, slide scanning or film to DVD projects. Thanks to the greatly enhanced HD video and audio quality as well as the advanced interactivity and networking features, Blu-ray is a huge step forward in the home video experience.