High Definition Discs - Bluray Has Won the War

or the last couple years, the big question in the Audio Video world has been “Who is going to win, Bluray or HD-DVD?” Well, the answer has finally been given. Toshiba announced in mid-February they will no longer be making HD-DVD players. This means Bluray has won the war, and is the “format of choice” for our next generation High Definition DVDs.

What exactly is HD though? Why is Bluray better than your Cable or Satellite channels? Should you upgrade your DVD player to a Bluray player?

Our first question is “What exactly is HD?” In a nutshell, HD stands for High Definition, which is any resolution higher than 480i. The resolutions you will see on the market today are 720p, 1080i, and 1080p.

720p means that the resolution of the picture is 1,280 vertical pixels by 720 horizontal pixels, and is progressive. 1080i means that the resolution of the picture is 1920 vertical pixels by 1080 horizontal pixels and is interlaced. 1080p means that the resolution of the picture is 1,920 vertical pixels by 1,080 horizontal pixels and is progressive.

All HD formats are also in a 16:9 ratio rectangular format, whereas standard definition is a 4:3 ratio (almost a square).

So, with all that technical information out of the way, let’s explain why Bluray is better than your Cable or Satellite picture. Your Cable or Satellite signal is in 720p or 1080i, depending on how it was filmed. Bluray discs can, depending on your television and connections, give you High Definition Discs - Bluray Has Won the War a full 1080p signal. Without HD-DVD, Bluray is currently the only way to get new releases in the 1080p format.

Should you upgrade your DVD player to a Bluray player? Well, a lot of that depends on your TV. If you have an older TV, it likely cannot support the 1080p signal. There are a lot of reasons this could be the case. One of the easiest things to check is if your TV is in a 16:9 or a 4:3 format. If it’s a 4:3 format, it likely cannot accept a 1080p signal. If your TV can handle a 1080p signal, it is definitely worth it for the picture quality alone on a Bluray disc over a standard DVD. DVDs are, at their maximum resolution, a 480p signal. On a large screen, particularly 40” diagonally or better, the difference is amazing. Even if you can’t handle a 1080p source, a 720p picture is a huge upgrade over standard definition.
Contact your local audio video specialist, or even stop in their showroom for a demo, and they can show you the difference.

We haven’t even covered the benefits of Bluray’s new high definition audio formats, which are even better than our current DTS format. However, a new receiver that can decode the signal is needed. We’ve run out of room for now, though, so until next time . . .