Understand Blu Ray Players
Few things are more confusing to the average consumer than blink-and-you-missed-it turf wars between technology firms. Toshiba and Microsoft figured that HD DVDs would be the next big thing. However, Sony’s Blu Ray DVD format emerged the victor. The demise of HD DVDs has resulted in an increased demand for the more expensive Blu Ray disc player, according to recent PriceGrabber.com statistics. If you’re not quite familiar with Blu Ray technology, then think of it as what DVD players were to VCRs ten years ago.
Blu Ray (BR) is the new format developed for optimal recording, rewriting, playing and storing of high-definition video. The world first learned about the new technology with the release of Sony’s Playstation 3 in November 2006. To make more advanced games, Sony needed a way to “fit in” more data. While the DVDs in your current collection hold 9 GB of information, the Blu Ray discs are able to hold 25-50 GB, making it five times more efficient! Manufacturers like Sony, Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Samsung, Sharp and JVC (to name a few) are using a different type of laser (blue versus the traditional red) to pack more data with better precision.
When 5.0 Surround Sound first came out, it revolutionized how we heard movies and music. Blu Ray features 7.0 Surround Sound for more bumps, shouts and vibrations than ever before. Likewise, the picture quality is said to be six times better than a regular HD-DVD. The good news is that old CDs and DVDs will still work on the Blu Ray players, although all new movie releases will only work on the new Blu Ray players.
You may be wondering how the Blu Ray phenomenon is going to ripple out through the rest of the technological world. Dell has started making Blu Ray disc drives on their PCs and laptops for under $1,000, Blu Ray CD burners are available at Best Buy for $200 (internal) – $500 (external), and Sony is even planning BR high-definition LCD televisions. Don’t see BR technology as a nuisance, but rather see it as the next step of evolution, and a way of making entertainment more efficient and valuable to the consumer.
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