Now that HD DVD is dead, Blu-ray is ready to take over as the home video format of choice for consumers. It offers high-definition video and high-resolution audio, offering a viewing experience on DVD, even if you need a modern theater to enjoy at home. Like any new format, Blu-ray has a range of new terms such as 1080p, Blu-ray player profiles and decoding on board. It can be overwhelming, but remember that the Blu-ray is basically just like the DVD: Pop in the disc, then sit back and watch movies in high definition.
Blu-ray has certainly its struggles since the beginning of the presentation to the format against HD DVD, high prices, and equipment that was not fully cooked. But the format a lot of progress over the last two years has done, and for movie lovers who want to maximize their home theater high definition.
Blu-ray VS. DVD
In most ways, Blu-ray is very similar to a DVD. Players in the same way, the discs are similar, and even the menu of the disc are similar. So why pay more? Blu-ray offers three major improvements: a better picture, better sound quality, features and details. All three are made possible by the increased storage capacity of Blu-ray, which is capable of storing 50 GB of data on a single Blu-ray Discs, compared to the DVD, which can hold about 8 GB.
What better about Blu-ray?
The image quality, higher resolution is an important part of what makes Blu-ray disc is superb. Quite simply, this means that you will see a more detailed picture: more clearly defined strands , clothes lines, etc. The technical difference is that the maximum resolution of Blu-ray 1920 x 1,080 (1080p), while the DVD is limited to 720x480 (480p). Beyond the resolution, Blu-ray also uses a better video compression methods, resulting in better contrast and richer colors.
If you like the way in HD from your cable or satellite appearance, Blu-ray looks even better. And high-quality video format available today, and in some ways exceeds the image quality of your local cinema, especially when shown a good performance HDTV or projector.
Audio quality: the sound quality has been improved. New audio formats such as high-resolution Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio, substantially identical to the studio, you hear things exactly as the director and sound engineer.
Distinguishing features: Blu-ray also has more special features of a DVD. Innovation is the most basic pop-up menu that lets you access the menu while the movie continues to play. Other innovations include video comments Picture-in-picture and the ability to download new content from their Blu-ray, even if the player needs to have the right to Blu-ray profile to access these functions. In our opinion, the special features on Blu-ray were mostly poor and are not a good reason to change.
What Blu-ray 's logos should I look for?
In general, you can identify the capabilities of a Blu-ray player or AV receiver control unit logos. This is not foolproof - we have seen some bad products - but the idea is that the product is not "earn" its logo unless it has the capacity indicated by the logo.
Dolby: Dolby certification is very simple. If the product can decode Dolby TrueHD, Dolby TrueHD is a logo, if it is able to decode Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Digital Plus logo If you can not decode Dolby new logo will be standard Dolby Digital. There have been some previous products that the logo that could decode the Dolby TrueHD in stereo format, but are now rare.
DTS: DTS certification is less clear. If the product can decode DTS-HD Master Audio, DTS has a logo-HD Master Audio, so you can decode DTS-HD High Resolution, DTS-HD logo has a high resolution. The logos are similar, so be sure to check out. Sometimes you just see the DTS-HD, and that usually means it is capable of decoding DTS-HD High Resolution, but not DTS-HD Master Audio. If you are not able to decode the two new formats, DTS contains the standard logo.
DTS also has a DTS-HD Advanced Digital Out logo, which indicates that the Blu-ray can output DTS-HD Master Audio and DTS-HD high-resolution streaming format to a compatible receiver. Again, the logo is similar to other logos DTS-HD, so check before buying logos.
What do you need for Bly-ray?
If you want all the Blu-ray support for sound and image, you can get away with regular television, as it has a standard AV input (yellow cap, red and white). But the only reason you should pay extra for Blu-ray is to make the experience more best watching movies. To do this, you will need more equipment. Here is a little cheat sheet to help you understand just what you need.
HDTV: The big advantage for Blu-ray high-definition video, which means you'll need an HDTV to enjoy. Improving the quality of the images you see on virtually any HDTV format, in our opinion, the difference stands out on screens 40 inches or more, assuming the normal seating distances. If you try to get the most from Blu-ray, you might consider buying a relatively large screen.
AV receiver: We have mentioned high-definition video, Blu-ray, but also allows high-resolution audio. To listen to the new high-resolution soundtracks of their high fidelity, you will need an AV receiver, but you do not need a new receiver with onboard decoding.
Surround sound system: do not get the full Blu-ray unless you have a surround sound speaker system. While that used to mean you have to be stuck with big boxy speakers, our list of the best home theater speaker includes a large number of small speakers interpreter packages high-minded buyers. You can opt for the surround speakers only option, but not always the whole Blu-ray.
HDMI cables: This is an easy thing to forget when you buy all the equipment, but you need to find a way to connect everything, too. The best way to connect the Blu-ray player to your HDTV and AV receiver is to use an HDMI cable, which is capable of carrying both video and audio HD 1080p resolution. The most important thing to remember with an HDMI cable is not to pay extra for HDMI cables. In fact, you should never pay more than $10 for a standard HDMI cable 6 meters because there is absolutely no difference in quality.
Should also remember that you must use an HDMI cable for high-definition video from your Blu-ray, even if we have to go HDMI if you can. For large high-definition screens that do not support HDMI, every Blu-ray has a component video output, which can produce Blu-ray in 1080i and 480p.
