Blu Ray Technology

Archive for February, 2009

Author: Jason Cole

The compact disc has been around since 1978, developed by Phillips and Sony. The reason it was developed was to take over for the Laserdisc as the industry standard digital audio disc. Since its invention, we have seen many updates on the compact disc technology. The most recent being the CD-R and DVD discs. With the CD-R, you can now burn your own discs at home, and then modify those discs at a later date. DVD technology allows us to record video onto a disc, where we used to only be able to record audio and data. As time rolls by, and the disc industry advances, we are presented with new forms of these technologies. The two new contenders are Blu-Ray discs and HD-DVD, here’s a little information about each of these new disc types.

1. Blu-Ray

This type of disc, also known as Blu-Ray Disc, is the next generation of optical disc. It was developed by the Blu-Ray Disc Association, a group of consumer electronic/PC/media manufacturers, including: Apple, HP, Mitsubishi, Phillips, Sony, and others. The Blu-Ray disc type was mainly developed for recording, rewriting, and playing back high-definition (HD) video. It’s also perfect for storing large amounts of data, exceeding previous DVD-R disc storage capabilities. It can hold more than 5 times the amount of information that a traditional DVD can hold, up to 25GB single layer, and up to 50GB dual layer. One of the main differences of the Blu-Ray disc is the type of laser that the disc is read with. Normal DVDs are read with a red laser, the Blu-Ray discs are read with a blue-violet laser. The main benefit of this change is the wave length of the laser types. The traditional red laser has a wider focus, so the blue-violet laser can be focused more precisely allowing more tightly packed data. This equals more data in less space on the disc, this results in the additional storage space available on the new Blu-Ray discs. These new discs are backwards compatible with regular DVDs, which they are expected to replace in the near future. Read the rest of this entry »

Author: Mikael Rieck

There has been much hype about the “war” between Sony’s Blu-Ray technology and the HD-DVD technology of Toshiba. Both are high definition digital video disc formats but then factor that will reveal the outcome of the war is what format will be most appealing to the consumers.

Since the formats appeared in the market space (which the did almost simultaneously), both have been a though sell to consumers because so far it hasn’t been clear which one will come out on top on the format war. Naturally both the Sony Company and that of Toshiba promotes their own standard heavily through both advertising and through partnerships.

Repeating the Beta-max vs. VHS war
However it is generally agreed that there can be only one format that will come out on top, and with memories of the format war between the VHS and Beta-max video tapes no more than a few decades ago, most consumers are waiting to see which standard will win the battle. They are afraid of getting burned by investing in technology that will soon be obsolete.

The funny part is that it is the customers that will determine the outcome but many await the outcome before investing. Luckily there are some people that will always invest and the major companies are spending millions and millions to add trust to their particular brand or technology. Read the rest of this entry »

Submitted By: Michael Zeet

Gone are the days when people had to endure tapes in order to watch their favorite film. The trouble with VCR tapes is that they are hard to rewind and fast forward when need be. When you skip a scene without your intention, it’s often hard to go back to that because tapes run in film rolls even when using VCRs and not the usual projectors. In addition, tapes are also more vulnerable to scene deletions. One unauthorized press of the record button can send an entire film into oblivion.

Then eventually, the advent of CDs as means of distributing data also came to be. The advent of using discs did not just prove to be very useful when it comes to distributing film copies. Even other forms of media such as music albums and data transfers between computers have found the necessity for using CDs. But just as people have begun to really appreciate the use of CDs in our everyday lives, things have been taken further by the release of Blu-Ray technology.

Blu-ray takes using DVDs up a higher notch. With blu-ray discs, people can finally manage using high density data and store them accordingly. The name blu-ray is coined from the blue violet laser color being emitted for file utilization. Blu-ray discs use shorter wave lengths with a bluish colored laser. In effect, this makes the disc effective for storing higher types of information as compared to usual CDs and even DVDs. The laser being used and emitted in blu-ray discs is essential because this is the tool that reads the data. Even CDs and DVDs use laser technology to facilitate data transfers and recording, however it uses longer wave lengths which affect the storage capacity of the disc. Read the rest of this entry »

Author: Pablo Zedd

As new digital media formats are introduced into the market, its time to consider a change in the movies that we purchase.

Blu-ray Media is slowly becoming the must have technology for high definition entertainment.

If you are after making your movie collection artwork lasting, then DVD Blu-Ray media disc is the right one for you.

Blu-ray Disc

The DVD Blu-ray disc is an optical disc storage media format, which is developed and promoted by the Blur-ray Disc Association (a group of companies that represent computer hardware, consumer electronics, and motion picture production). The structure of the disc contains a unique reading formulation. It uses blue-violet laser for reading mechanism resulting for a shorter wavelength of 405 nm, roughly shorter than those of a standard DVD or CD (650 nm wavelength). The shorter the wavelength is, the bigger the data storage capacity. Also, the DVD Blu-ray disc both a 25 GB capacity (single layer) and 50 GB capacity (dual layer) and a wide range of usage.

Since the Blu-Ray disc’s launched in 2007, its acceptance as DVD media replacement has significantly increased. Blu-ray has had much support from consumers as well as movie studios and this has greatly contributed to its triumph over HD-DVD.g., Warner Brothers, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Walt Disney). Such positive events led for people to think of it as the next generation media.

Its Unique Recording Layer

Normally, the standard DVD would have a recording layer that is squeezed in between two 0.6 mm layers of polycarbonate plastic. The Blu-Ray Disc on the other hand, has a recording layer of 1.1-mm think plastic substrate and is secluded by a 0.1-mm thin cover layer. Because of this, better disc reading is achieved since the laser does not require traveling distantly to the point of focus. A 0.85 NA lens aperture manages to to hold greater capacity due to larger density which is more focused.85 NA lens aperture. Read the rest of this entry »

Author: Alexander Golishev

Blu-ray is making its way to the backup storage media market.

Blu-ray is a new format of optical disks which brings users more power of backup. The most important thing to decide when you’re doing a backup is where you are going to store it. Until recently, the most popular backup storage medium was DVD. It was available in any store and allowed recording large amounts of data to a single disk without having to change disks very so often. However, the new format of optical disk, such as Blu-ray is quickly making its way to the consumer market, which means it’s time for all of us to get rid of the old DVD backup solutions.

What is a competitive advantage of Blu-ray in comparison with other backup storage media? Of course, it is the capacity of a single disk. Having the same physical size, Blu-ray allows recording ten times more information than a regular DVD. In terms of backup, it means that you will have to buy just one Blu-ray disk instead of ten DVDs. Besides, most likely you won’t even have to change disks in the drive to record a middle-sized backup. Just one Blu-ray disk will be enough to protect all your critical data.

If you already have a Blu-ray drive installed on your computer, you probably wonder if there is a backup solution which can record backups to Blu-ray. Today there are not so many backup programs that can record data to Blu-ray as part of a backup job. However, you can find this functionality on the market now, if you are ready to do a little web search. Read the rest of this entry »

Author: Titus Hoskins

Have you ever wondered how Blu-ray was born or developed. Why this High Definition technology is far superior to DVDs and why it is probably the wave of the future in both data storage and image recording… read more.

Copyright (c) 2008 Titus Hoskins

By now, you have probably heard of Blu-ray or Blu-ray discs and players, but do you know how this high definition technology came to be born or developed? It’s a fascinating story, with some major battles thrown in for good measure, a story that is well worth reading even if you’re not a tech junkie.

In order to truly understand Blu-ray, you have to go back to the early 80’s when CDs or Compact Discs were introduced. CDs were a giant leap forward if you compared it to the current media at the time; mainly because the CD offered more storage, better sound quality and quickly became the universal standard for pre-recorded, recordable and rewritable media. CDs had around 650MB of storage capacity which was revolutionary at the time for data storage and retrieval.

However, no technology stands still, especially when you consider our insatiable need for more compact storage and higher quality images. Hence, we had the introduction of the DVD in the 90’s which had a 5-10 X increase in capacity over the CD. The DVD allowed for high quality, standard definition video distribution and recording, not to mention accommodating larger data application. Another key element to this seamless transition, was that the DVD spec used the same factor as the CD which allowed for full backwards compatibility. These key factors would not be lost on the development in the next generation media; this being the Blu-ray Disc. The beginnings of the Blu-ray started in the mid ’90’s with the introduction of HDTV sets. Consumers soon realized there was no media capable of recording or playing back High Definition content. There were no mediums that could store HD codecs, with the exception of JVCs Digital VHS and Sony’s HDCAM; but nothing practical like the CD and DVD media. Read the rest of this entry »

Thanks to relatively fast internet speeds and cheap hard drives, we’ve never had access to so much digital media. Many people’s music collections run to tens, if not hundreds of thousands of songs, and while most methods of downloading TV shows and movies are generally not exactly legal, you can bet that most technologically aware consumers have a healthy library of AVI and MPG files.

However, while the various forms of digital media can all be viewed or played on a PC, few people choose to have a PC located in the living room. Microsoft’s persistent vision of the PC as the centre of your digital living room has generally failed to materialize. Although it’s now easier than ever to connect a flat-screen digital TV to a PC, few of us actually want an ugly, noisy and generally large box in our living rooms.

PCs were never intended as media delivery platforms, and although they now excel at that task, they are generally found in studies and bedrooms. Even if you do have a PC in your lounge, the chances are that it’s tucked away in a corner, probably connected to printers and other peripherals, and nowhere near your TV and surround-sound amp.

There’s also the issue that if you use your TV as your PC’s monitor, the display is going to suck for anything other than watching video, because a horizontal resolution of 720, or if you’re lucky 1080 lines, is frankly horrible for standard Windows operation. Laptops are perhaps more suited to connecting to your TV as they are by their very nature portable, and if you have a relatively new one, it is likely to have an HDMI output and maybe even a Blu-Ray drive. Still, it’s not the most elegant solution, so we’ll look at what options you have for streaming your media around your home.

Hot and Bothered

A couple of years ago, before Vista’s storm cloud darkened the horizon, there was a flurry of enthusiasm for the so-called Home Theatre PC. The idea was to take the PC out of its native environment, and stick it next to your TV, to serve up music, films and TV, and if you were really advanced, use it as a PVR, too. The problem is, no matter how much you spend on a small-form factor case, finished in aircraft-grade aluminium with blue LEDs and a VFD display, it’s still essentially a PC, with all the drawbacks that implies.

If you want to use it as a PVR, it needs to be left on 24 hours a day, which Windows was never designed to do. If you don’t, it can take an age to startup. On top of that is the noise that most PCs generate, which can ruin the ambience during quiet parts of your favorite film. In terms of PVR functionality too. The original version of Windows XP Media Center was also not without its problems, although the version within Vista is much improved. Still, do you really want to use Vista, unless you really have to? The solution then, is not to put your PC next to the TV, but rather get the media files from your PC onto your TV, stereo or laptop that’s situated in another room of the house. Although there have been devices round for a few years to do this, most of them have been pretty limited.

As the technology has matured, things have improved significantly, and there’s a wealth of media streamers and media extenders to choose from. Most will require some sort of network connection, but some make use of internal hard drives, or have USB ports so that you can plug in an external drive. We’ll look at two ways of streaming media, either to your TV or to another PC or laptop, and the software and hardware you’ll need to do the job.

Give us a Squeeze

When it comes to connecting your PC to your TV or stereo, there are some devices that just stream audio, while others can stream audio, video and pictures. Most of the best ones will be of a similar form factor to a hi-fi separate, or DVD player, so that they won’t look out of place in a hi-fi rack, or under your TV.

One of the first audio streaming devices was the Squeezebox, from Slim Devices (now part of Logitech), which used an Ethernet connection to stream audio to any hi-fi source. It had a basic remote and display, but just about did the job. Squeezeboxes now use 802.llg wireless, and can stream pretty much any music format from your PC, as well as connect to a number of internet radio stations.

Terratec has the Noxon which does a similar job, although it has to be said, it not only looks odd, the menu is pretty hard to use, which makes it a bit of a chore to use. The latest streamer from Slim Devices is the Squeezebox Duet, which consists of a base unit, and a handset, complete with color LCD display. The base unit is connected to your stereo or portable speakers, and the rechargeable handset is then used to control your music, in a very similar way to how you would control an iPod. The handset uses WiFi to control the server software, but it will also work with Direct Access Storage devices, such as MAS drives with media server support, so you don’t even need to leave your PC on to use it. You can even control older Squeezebox devices, if you purchase the handset on its own. At around $370 it’s not exactly cheap, but it does represent the ultimate boy’s toy when it comes to music control.

If you’re more of an Apple fan, then you can stream your iTunes music library using AirTunes and an Airport Express adaptor, which will work with any router, and not just Apple’s. The Airport Express adaptor plugs into a wall socket, and then into your speakers or stereo. The only issue with this is that you either need to set iTunes to just play a load of music, or you will need to control AirTunes from your PC, unless you have a set of speakers that enable direct control of your iTunes library. Still, if you have a laptop, it’s probably easier to use AirTunes than it is to connect your laptop to your hi-fi, but it’s still not an ideal solution.

Rather than just listen to our music collections though, most of us want to be able to watch downloaded video on our TVs. There are two main types of device that enable you to do this, pure streamers and units that contain an internal hard drive.

Perhaps one of the best known is the Apple TV. The Apple TV looks much like the Apple Mini, is devoid of buttons and comes with the same dinky remote that is supplied with the Apple MacBook.

The unit contains a hard drive (either 40 or 120GB), 802.1ln wireless and a variety of connection methods for attaching to your TV and stereo. The interface is pretty slick (it’s the same one used in Leopard for Front Row), and the latest update enables you to download video directly onto the internal hard drive, rather than the previous method where you had to download videos to your PC using iTunes, then sync with the Apple TV. Although MPEG4 video is supported, it is only in Quicktime or H.264 format, so you won’t be able to playback any DivX or XviD content. TV shows and films can now be both bought as well as rented, although it has to be said the selection is pretty limited.

Still, it’s one of the few legal ways to download and watch high-definition movies, which counts for something. Though it pains us to say it, being an Apple product, it does tend to just work. However, while it may appeal to less technical users, it has too many limitations to recommend to the more savvy PC user.

Dual Band Equals Win

There are plenty of alternatives to choose from though, pick any major brand associated with networking, and the chances are that the company has a solution. We’ve tested a number of them over the last couple of years, and it has to be said that a lot of them have had some serious flaws, from a lack of HD outputs, to slow, or even no, wireless connections.

Usability is a key issue with media streamers and many of the devices produced by networking companies have tended to fall down on this front in the past. The main issue is usually the interface, it’s not uncommon for menus to have too many levels, so just choosing a song to play back involves several minutes of button-pushing on the remote. In addition, any device using an 802.11g wireless connection is going to suffer when it comes to video and you can forget about HD video entirely. Last year saw a raft of new media streamers released, and while most have moved to 802.lln, some are using 802.11n dual-band, which uses both 2.4 and 5GHz spectrum to provide the extra bandwidth needed for HD video. You will of course need a compatible router.

When choosing a media streamer, look for a good range of outputs, including HDMI, Component, S-Video, digital audio output via coaxial or optical ports, and analogue stereo RCA plugs. File format supports is one of the most important aspects, make sure the device you choose can play all the common file types, such as DivX, XviD, H.264 encoded video, MP3, AAC, WMV audio, JPEG, GIF and BMP image formats. Due to Apple’s proprietary DRM, you probably won’t be able to play any music in your music library that has been purchased from the iTunes Music Store, although some manufactures have claimed compatibility in the past.

While some media adaptors come with their own server software, others rely on Windows Media Center, or Windows Media Player 11. Some software is better than others, but the best will enable you to select a series of folders to share, and the server software will then monitor the folders for changes, so that even when you add new files, they are accessible on your media streamer. The problem is that as the software has to be installed on your PC, you need to leave it on if you want your media streamer to be able to connect to it. Some NAS devices come with a built-in media server and this can often be accessed by a media streamer, but you’ll need to check the specs to find out if this feature is supported. The advantage of this system is that you can simply copy all your media to the NAS, and you don’t have to keep your PC on 24 hours a day. Media Player 11 tends to work best when sharing between Vista machines, but can be used to share media with other PCs running Windows XP and some media streamers.

However, we’ve found it can be notoriously fickle, often refusing connections, and it doesn’t seem to update the library with any consistency when you add new files.

Systems that use Media Center tend to be much more reliable. Getting content from your PC to your TV requires a network connection, and few people are fortunate enough to have network points in every room of their house. It is, of course, possible to run network cable from room to room, but unless you’re redecorating and can bury it in the wall, or run the cable under the carpet, it’s not terribly practical or attractive. While wireless has been widely used in the home for quite a few years now, unless you are running an 802.11n system, you’ll find that streaming video is a distinctly unhappy affair, and streaming HD is virtually impossible. Even 802.11n can struggle with HD video, if your house has thick walls, or your router is a long way away from your media streamer.

The latest routers and some media streamers use 802.1ln dual-band, where the extra bandwidth is used in order to maintain a high data throughput. If you want to stream HD content, then you may want to look at these options. Some CD burning software, such as Roxio’s Creator Suite, and Nero Burning ROM also offer media sharing, but we’re not great fans of these suites, as they add a huge amount of bloat to your Windows install.

A Noise Annoys

If you can’t get a good wireless signal and Ethernet cable is impractical, then you could try powerline networking. There are a number of products available from the likes of Devolo and Netgear. These are basically plug adaptors, which you connect a network cable to and then plug into a three-pin mains socket. Plug another one into your router and you can use your house’s electrical cables as an extended network.

Results can be a bit mixed, depending on how old the wiring in your house is and how much ‘noise’ is on the wiring. Noise is high-frequency interference on your wiring, and is generally created by any device that contains a motor, such as a vacuum cleaner, hair dryer, washing machine or tumble dryer. If there’s a lot of noise on your powerline network, then speeds can drop, or you may lose the connection altogether, so it’s something you need to be aware of. Another issue is that there is no single standard for powerline networking, although most devices use either standards from either the HomePlug Powerline Alliance or Universal Powerline Association.

If you are using devices from more than one manufacture, make sure they both use the same standard. An alternative to a networked device, is one that contains a hard drive, and which can be loaded with content by connecting to your PC using a USB cable.

We’re great fans of the Tvix series of devices (www.tvixbox.co.za), because they often do a far better job than most of the standard media streamers, and have menus that are more intuitive and easier to use.

One of our favourites is the HDM-6500A. You will need to pop a SATA hard drive inside, but once you do you get HD output through HDMI or if you are lacking in a TV that has HDMI support you can use either the Component S-Video or composite that are provided. You can connect it to your PC using USB 2.0 and transfer files to the internal hard drive, plug a removable drive into one of the USB ports, or connect it to your network using an Ethernet cable.

The server software is basic to the extreme, as it’s basically just using Windows networking and Samba, but as an added bonus, you can upload files across the network to the unit, using FTP. Tvix is also one of the few companies that provides regular firmware updates, in order to add new features to its devices. Not only that, but the HD M-6500A has an expansion slot, into which you can plug an optional analogue or digital TV tuner card, and the unit has full PVR functionality; something that’s not offered by virtually any other media streamer. Even better than that though, the remote control has glow-in-the-dark buttons, so no matter how low you turn the lights down, you’ll always be able to find the right control.

The final choice is to not buy a media extender at all, because you probably have one in your living room already. Microsoft’s Xbox 360, Sony’s Playstation 3 and the Nintendo Wii, can all be used as media extenders to some degree or other. Although this functionality was built into both the Xbox and the Playstation, it’s not something that was originally intended for the Wii, yet using the console’s internet connection, it suddenly becomes possible. But no matter how good these consoles and streamers are, it’s actually your humble PC that makes it all possible.

One thing that you will inevitably find yourself doing with your Dish Network programming is recording it to save for later viewing. Its almost impossible not to do, because with Dish Network being the leading provider of premium movie channels, you are going to be inundated with all the latest and the greatest that there is in movies. Their newly upgraded user interactive pay per view feature brings literally hundreds of fantastic movie selections to you each and every month alone.

Then there is virtually every premium movie channel that is available that they also feature and this includes channels such as HBO, Turner Classic Movies, Starz Superpak, Showtime Unlimited, Cinimax and so many more than that. Dish Network also has a handy little device for you that they call Pocket Dish and it is small enough to fit in your shirt pocket, yet holds hours and hours of your recorded programming that you can take with you to watch on another TV set somewhere else.
Written by David Johnson. Find more information on satellite dish tv as well as dish network

This little unit is great for teachers, business presentations, travel or just plugging in at your friends place to watch any of the movies or play any of the video games that it holds for you. Dish Network gives each and every one of their new viewing family members a free, state of the art, VIP satellite TV system when they come on board and it includes a top of the line VIP receiver that is loaded with great user friendly functions.

One of the functions that the VIP receivers have for you is digital video recording capabilities and their standard definition receivers hold one-hundred hours of recordings in their memory. Their high definition VIP receivers hold one-hundred and twenty-five hours of memory and that’s over five solid days of recording time.

Once you get started compiling your own personal film archive, one thing that you will notice is that you can watch other programming on another channel while you are recording a movie on still another channel, so this makes it so easy and convenient to do all of the recording that you want. But wait! The VIP622 DVR receiver can do even better than that, because it will record two movies on two separate channels simultaneously while you are watching programming on still a third channel.

This might sound complicated but its just so simple to do, because you just find the movie on the schedule and simply press the recording button on your TV remote and its just that simple. Then to set up a recording on another channel you just repeat those simple steps again, so you just set it and forget it and go about your day.

Often time’s sports programming can get rescheduled for a variety of reasons including bad game weather but that’s no problem with any of the VIP DVR receivers, because the computer in the receivers DVR simply reschedules your recording and follows it automatically, so it will still get recorded, even if it is rescheduled for a second or third time. To learn more about how you can get started building your own personal film archive with Dish Networks VIP DVR receivers just contact them online.

With the quick demise of the old VHS Magnetic Tapes and more recent VCDs, DVD recording is becoming popular. DVD recorders work by ‘burning/etching’ via a laser to a blank DVD disk. Still, a DVD recorder resembles and functions very much like a VCR.

All DVD recorders can record from any analog video source. It can also record directly from digital camcorders via an i-link input through Firewire and IEEE1394. DVD recorders are provided with AV inputs as well as onboard TV tuner for recording TV shows directly. They come in different configurations: Standalone, DVD Recorder/VCR Combo or DVD Recorder/Hard Drive Combo units.

Unlike DVD Writers which comes as internal add on card in a PC, the standalone DVD recorders cannot read or write computer data. The great advantage of a DVD Recorder over a DVD Writer is that in order to record video and audio through a PC, the user has to save the video in the computer’s hard-disk using Firewire, USB, or S-Video using a video card and then copy the resultant files from the hard-disk onto a blank DVD disk, whereas a DVD recorder can record from video sources in real time, directly to blank DVD.

Standalone DVD recorders do not come with drivers that connect directly to a PC. In some brands, it may be possible through PC video editing software that allows for the exporting of standard DVD video files made on a PC to the standalone DVD recorders using firewire interface.

Copying and Piracy Possibility in DVD Recorders
To check software piracy DVD recorders are designed to detect the anti-copy signal on commercial VHS tapes or DVDs. It will not start the recording and display an error message either on screen or on its front LED panel display.

On the other hand a DVD recorder can copy any homemade camcorder videos or videos made from TV shows, copy Laserdiscs or any non-copy-protected video material. As it has a built in tuner for recording TV programs directly. The tuner is programmed to record a series of programs on different days and times, much like a VCR.

Thus any antenna, cable or satellite set-top box with AV, RF or S-video outputs can be connected to any DVD recorder. But DVD recorders are not designed to accept HDTV signals.

These are the various standardized formats for recording a DVD and they are,
DVD-R, DVD-R DL, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD+R, DVD+R DL and DVD-RAM

span style=”font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";”>Readers here at Techno Station know about the assertion that appeared
here and it said the Blu ray may not last longer than a couple of
years. There is more to it. Let us have a closer look at Blu ray
technology before forming an opinion.

Are you a movie fan and watch one everyknow and then, say weekly or
biweekly. Do you love idea of a nice home therter, high-definition,
surround-sound experience, then a Blu Ray disc player is for you.

Blu Ray format has been developed for optimal recording, rewriting,
playing and storing of high-definition video. The world first learned
about the new technology back in 2006 when Sony released its
Playstation 3. 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. Now Sony, Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips,
Samsung, Sharp and JVC and some others are using a different type of
laser (blue versus the traditional red) to pack more data with better
precision.

Blu ray features 7.0 Surround Sound for better sound, shouts and
vibrations than ever before. Likewise, the picture quality is said to
be much better than a regular HD-DVD. Best thing 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.

Trend watchers and market analysts are speculating that demand for Blu
ray might surpass the supply soon. It is said that the demand is
around 43 million units worldwide, but factories can only handle
production for 38 million, and that’s after an upgrade to their
facilities.

I would like to settle for Blue ray player. What is your choice?