Blu-ray: Everything you need to know

By Matthew Moskovciak and Ty Pendlebury on 17 April 2009

DVD is, by some measurements, the greatest success in consumer electronics history. Following its 1997 debut, it took the format just a few years to completely conquer the home-video market previously ruled by VHS tapes.

Before DVD even reached its 10th birthday, however, the electronics industry and the Hollywood studios began putting it out to pasture.

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Twelve months after the death of rival HD DVD, Blu-ray is finally poised to take over as the consumer home-video format of choice. It offers high-definition video and high-resolution audio, providing a superior viewing experience to DVD, and it does this by its ability to pack more information on a disc. Blu-ray, like HD-DVD, is a blue laser technology, and for more information on how it works you can check out our FAQ.

Like every new format, Blu-ray comes with a whole host of new terminology, like 1080p, Blu-ray profiles, and on-board decoding. It can be overwhelming, but remember that Blu-ray is basically just like DVD: pop in the disc, then sit back and watch movies in high-def.

Blu-ray has definitely had its struggles since the format's inception, with the format war against HD-DVD, high prices, and hardware that wasn't fully baked. But the format has made a lot of progress in the last couple of years, so for movie lovers who want the most out of their high-def home theatres, CNET Australia recommends going with Blu-ray. Read on to find out why.

Topics: hd, dvd, blu-ray, blu ray, dts, dolby

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Comments (6)

  • eev commented on 22/07/2009 22:02 Report abuse

    Agree with D - fair enough if I need to buy Australian zone BluRay discs fro now on, but any chance of playing old DVDs multizone?

  • D commented on 28/05/2009 11:41 Report abuse

    Great article, very helpful. However if the article is to be a 'everything you need to know', it also needs a section on Regions. I'm still confused about the Region abilities of Blu-Ray devices for BR's and DVD's. Any chance of adding an article on it?
    Thanks

  • BD Best commented on 21/04/2009 06:29 Report abuse

    Aussie drop kick mor elike it. Blu rays worth every cent. i dont buy DVDs anymore only blu ray. And upscaled isnt anywhere near as good. Long live HD, mate u dont even know.

  • aussiedropbear commented on 20/04/2009 16:30 Report abuse

    I'm all for HD content in the home but at the rpices for the software, no thanks. I am happy to purchase movies for under $10 and have my player upscale it to a quasi HiDef look. Until such time that HD material is within a few dollars of new release SD DVd material, my dollars for now will be going elsewhere. I can buy 4 movies for the price of 1 bluray and with a young family this makes the most econimcal sense. Long live HD.

  • Robj commented on 20/04/2009 16:30 Report abuse

    After purchasing an HD Plasma it makes you want to go out and buy a Blu Ray Player but it's like starting all over again from VCR to DVD and as soon as you are up to speed something will come along and supersede blu ray. The dog keeps chasing its tail

  • pyro commented on 17/04/2009 22:34 Report abuse

    ps3 all the way

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