Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeffhs
--BTW, what exactly is the difference, if there is one, between DVD and Blu-ray? I see advertisements on television for movies that are now available on DVD and Blu-ray Disc. I always thought Blu-ray discs were DVDs, only Blu-ray discs may be recorded somewhat differently than standard DVDs. Are the two types of disc so different that they actually need their own classifications these days? I have heard that Blu-ray discs will not work in standard DVD players (and probably vice-versa), so there must be some difference between the two formats.
|
Yes, as mentioned earlier, the formats are not interchangeable, though DVD is actually readable by most Blu-Ray players. That said, the two formats could not be more different. The least of which being compression method and sheer capacity. DVD, at it's height (i.e. DVD-9, or 'dual-layer'--there were others but they were not nearly as popular) could only manage ~9G of data. They managed to get nearly 15G of data from DVD-18, but by then HD DVD and Blu-Ray had appeared on the scene. Blu-Ray, on the other hand, is pushing beyond 60G. Need all that space to add a multitude of features, enhancements, and of course 7.1 and 9.1 surround audio information and 1920x1080 progressive-scan image vs. DVD's 720x480 (i.e. 400 lines).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeffhs
--Speaking of Blu-ray: I recently read in a blog on one of the computing magazine websites (I don't remember which one offhand) that the Blu-ray format is all but dead. If the format is a dead duck, why on earth are movies and TV series still being offered in both formats? If Blu-ray is dead (or close to it), I would think Universal and other motion-picture studios will be losing money just making discs produced in that format. Has anyone here heard of the demise of Blu-ray? If the format is in fact nearly dead, what went wrong?
|
Some have said Blu-Ray and HD DVD were dead before they began, mainly due to the change of venue by a vast majority of video rental and video streaming sources. While it certainly is true that Blu-Ray is quite a bit more advanced than DVD or any other digital optical media, the trend is actually digital downloads via network connected cellphones, televisions, and recorders. Netflix has taken a huge jump in this direction by teaming up with Microsoft on their broadband Xbox Live! Netflix video rental system. This all spins the direction of movies, television and even the local news itself in digital-only mode, where eventually it would be possible to view a movie or the news only through a networked device that could download it directly from the internet. Depending on which side of the conspiracy boat you happen to float on, the movement to abolish "ownership" as we know it regarding movies specifically and place them purely in the realm of 'virtual goods' may seem to be a step in the direction of ending piracy and other forms of copyright violation. That said, the argument continues to rage on whether or not optically-read media is as dead as the magnetic tape era that preceeded it.