What Size HDTV Should I Buy?
If you're ready to step up to HDTV but don't know how big to go, this handy guide has the answers you're looking for.
Colour Like No Other
With a great range of sizes and specifications there is a Sony LCD TV for everyone.
|
|
|
|
|
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray, also known as Blu-ray Disc (BD), is the name of a next-generation optical disc format jointly developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), a group of the world's leading consumer electronics, personal computer and media manufacturers (including Apple, Dell, Hitachi, HP, JVC, LG, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, TDK and Thomson). The format was developed to enable recording, rewriting and playback of high-definition video (HD), as well as storing large amounts of data. The format offers more than five times the storage capacity of traditional DVDs and can hold up to 25GB on a single-layer disc and 50GB on a dual-layer disc. This extra capacity combined with the use of advanced video and audio codecs will offer consumers an unprecedented HD experience.
The name Blu-ray Disc is derived from the blue laser (violet-colored) used to read and write this type of disc. Because of the wavelength (405 nanometres), substantially more data can be stored on a Blu-ray Disc than on the DVD format, which uses a red (650 nm) laser. A two-layer Blu-ray Disc can store 50 gigabytes, almost six times the capacity of a two-layer DVD, or ten and a half times that of a single-layer DVD.
While current optical disc technologies such as DVD, DVDR, DVDRW, and DVD-RAM rely on a red laser to read and write data, the new format uses a blue-violet laser instead, hence the name Blu-ray. Despite the different type of lasers used, Blu-ray products can easily be made backwards compatible with CDs and DVDs through the use of a BD/DVD/CD compatible optical pickup unit. The benefit of using a blue-violet laser (405nm) is that it has a shorter wavelength than a red laser (650nm), which makes it possible to focus the laser spot with even greater precision. This allows data to be packed more tightly and stored in less space, so it's possible to fit more data on the disc even though it's the same size as a CD/DVD. This together with the change of numerical aperture to 0.85 is what enables Blu-ray Discs to hold 25GB/50GB. Recent development by Pioneer has pushed the storage capacity to 500GB on a single disc by using 20 layers.
Blu-ray is currently supported by about 200 of the world's leading consumer electronics, personal computer, recording media, video game and music companies. The format also has support from all Hollywood studios and countless smaller studios as a successor to today's DVD format. Many studios have also announced that they will begin releasing new feature films on Blu-ray Disc day-and-date with DVD, as well as a continuous slate of catalog titles every month. For more information about Blu-ray movies, check out our Blu-ray movies and Blu-ray reviews section which offers information about new and upcoming Blu-ray releases, as well as what movies are currently available in the Blu-ray format.
Region Codes
Blu-ray Discs may be encoded with a region code, intended to restrict the area of the world in which they can be played, similar in principle to the DVD region codes, although the used geographical regions differ. Blu-ray Disc players sold in a certain region may only play discs encoded for that region. This is primarily used for market segmentation, or price segregation, but it also allows motion picture studios to control the various aspects of a release (including content and release date) according to the region. Discs may also be produced without region coding, so they can be played on all devices. The countries of the major Blu-ray manufacturers (Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, etc.) are in the same region as the Americas. As of late 2008, almost 70% of all released discs were region-free.
What's so Great About Blu-ray ?
Crystal Clear Picture
Blu-ray Discs have up to 6 times better picture resolution than DVD. Resolution refers to the number of number of horizontal lines there are to fill the screen. The higher the number, the better the picture quality. Blu-ray Discs and players display at 1080p resolution, which is the highest standard today.
|
| |
Superior Sound
Blu-ray provides up to 7.1 channels of high definition surround sound for a more realistic and immersive listening experience. DVD uses 5.1 channels, which lose some of the sound quality from the original source.
|
| |
Advanced Interactivity
Seamless menus allow you to navigate the disc without ever leaving the movie. In the future, internet connectivity will deliver new content to enhance your film experience.
|
| |
Backwards Compatible
All Blu-ray players can play DVDs. In addition, Blu-ray players upconvert or upscale DVDs to a higher resolution so that they look even better than before.
|
| |
Huge Storage Capacity
Blu-ray discs can store up to 50 GB of information, 5x more capacity than DVD. This enables the best picture and sound, as well as bonus features and content.
|
| |
For more information about Blu-ray, please see our Blu-ray FAQ.
|
|
| |
