Q: Why’s it called Blueray?

A: This is because Blueray Disc players and PC drives, and also Sony’s PlayStation 3, use a blue laser beam to read data from discs. DVDs used a red laser. A blue laser is focused much more tightly, so disc makers can put a whole lot more data on a disc the same size as a DVD. A Blueray Disc can hold up to 50 gigabytes, in comparison to a DVD, which holds lower than 10 GB. With the additional space the video can have up to six times the resolution of DVD, plus you get further bonus features and better surround soundtracks.

Q: Can you really notice the variance between Blueray and DVD?

A: If you ever were to compare a DVD against a BlueRay side by side then most people will readily see that Blueray provides a much much better picture quality.

Q. What equipment do I need to watch Blueray?

A: Besides a BlueRay Disc player you really need a HDTV so you can grasp the full quality and widescreen effect. For those who have not got the cash to purchase a new HDTV then before purchasing a Blueray player to connect to an older TV, check the player’s back panel: Not all have the kinds of outputs needed to connect to older sets. Most players send audio and video to newer TVs and displays via a single cable called HDMI. There are various categories of HDTV – 720p, 1080i and 1080p – regardless of which one you have a Blueray player can send a HD signal to any of them. Ideally you need a 40 inch screen to really enjoy the quality.

What is Upscaling?

Your old DVD collection was designed to be viewed on a CRT screen, and as such was encoded at the lower quality 576i resolution. Because your High Definition TV was designed to screen in either 720p, 1080i or 1080p resolution it uses sophisticated ‘scaling’ technology to take a video source and scale it to fit the screen, or ‘upscale’.

Blueray player manufacturers have taken the upscaling concept a step further with the addition of detail to an upscaled source to create sharper more detailed images, enhancing the perceived quality of, for example, your existing standard DVDs.

Sophisticated upscaling algorithms are making an educated guess as to what extra detail should be added. Although the extra detail is essentially ‘made up’ the results can be surprisingly good, and can give your old DVDs a new lease of life.

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