Blu Ray and DVD Player Compatibility

Blu Ray is a term which has gotten quite some jazz. Being featured in advertisements, in print ads, in online tech forums, there is much clamor about Blu Ray. Many have come across the term, but have yet to question just what Blu Ray is.

Here is a simple breakdown as to what it is, along with the DVD Player compatibility concerns over it.

Blu Ray and DVD Player Compatibility

Blu Ray basically stands to be the next in line when talking about the development of optical storage systems. Blu Ray is basically what would come next after DVD, similar to when DVD took the place of the CD optical storage system class.

It is basically the result from the joint efforts of the Blu-Ray Disc Association, a group composed of the world's leaders in media manufacturing, consumer electronics development and manufacturing, as well as personal computer system manufacturers. The association's member roster include giants like Mitsubishi, Dell, Apple, Hewlett Packard, Hitachi, JVC, LG, Pioneer, Panasonic, Samsung, Sharp, Philips, Sony, Thomson and TDK.

Blu Ray discs boast an impressive storage capacity of up to 25 gigabytes, 50 gigabytes on dual-layer class of Blu Ray discs. This impressive storage value makes Blu Ray the perfect medium for High Definition movies to be distributed on, bringing about the concern with Blu Ray and DVD Player Compatibility. Blu Ray discs come in three formats, similar to the format classes of DVD discs and CD discs. There is the BD-ROM, the read only type of Blu Ray disc, the BD-R, the writable/recordable type of Blu Ray discs, and the BD-RE, the rewriteable breed of Blu Ray discs.

Most Blu Ray players are built with DVD player compatibility features, meaning they are primarily aimed to work with Blu Ray discs, but could easily work with standard DVD discs as well. Standard DVD player compatibility to Blu Ray discs though, would be another story, as a different type of laser is utilized to read Blu Ray discs. A blue-violet laser stands as the primary "reader" for Blu Ray discs. Red hued lasers are what DVDs and CDs work on.

Currently standard DVD player compatibility to Blu Ray discs is non existent, as Blu Ray demands a different reader, while the readers of Blu Ray players could easily handle DVD class of optical storage media. Should you be on the lookout of getting, or upgrading, your home theater entertainment system, investing in a Blu Ray disc player would be a smart move, as DVD player compatibility to Blu Ray concerns would be eliminated.