What's Up With Blu-ray?

Nearly a decade after DVDs gobbled up the VHS market share, consumers once again face a format change. Fortunately, the transition from DVD to Blu-ray won’t be nearly as drastic or as expensive; (Blu-ray Disc players can play both Blu-ray products and DVDs). Still, many consumers might be hesitant to invest in the new players, while others may not understand the differences between DVDs and Blu-ray. Let’s break it down:

Difference Between the Two Formats

Standard DVDs are read with a red laser, allowing each disc to hold between 4.7 and 8.55 gigabytes of video. Blu-rays, on the other hand, are read with a low-frequency blue-violet laser which allows each Blu-ray disc to contain up to six times more storage (25 to 50 gigabytes of video). Consequently, Blu-ray discs contain higher quality pictures than DVDs and offer superior extras and functionality.

Past

Introduced in 2003, Blu-ray faced stiff competition to become the premier next-generation media. However, after winning out over Toshiba’s HD DVD in 2007, Blu-ray started gaining steam in the market. And while the brand struggled with sales through late 2008, Blu-ray has maintained its niche in the movie rental and retail industry with a 16% market share (early 2009 statistics)¹. Furthermore, studios continue to release more and more titles in the Blu-ray format, piquing consumer interest and making Blu-ray a more mainstream format for libraries to consider.

Present

Blu-Ray Disc Association companies (Sony, Apple Inc., Hewlett Packard, Intel Corporation, Samsung, Walt Disney, and 20^th Century Fox) continue to make updates and improvements to their products and services. For example, BD-Live enables viewers to upload additional exclusive features for their movies—like looking up a particular actor’s background while the film is playing—all from their Internet-connected Blu-ray Disc player ². Additionally, Apple Inc. offers applications that enable iPhone and iPod Touch users to control interactive content on their Web-connected Blu-ray Disc players³.

Blu-ray titles on average cost $10 more than standard DVDs (early 2009 statistics), and Blu-ray Disc players (priced between $100-200) remain significantly higher than budget DVD players (priced as low as $30). However, every Blu-ray Disc player is backwards compatible with DVDs, meaning DVD titles will play in Blu-ray Disc players. Furthermore, PlayStation 3 video game consoles can play Blu-ray titles, thus enhancing the appeal not only of the video game platform, but of Blu-ray products as well.

Future

At an Entertainment Supply Chain Association conference, Futuresource postulated that by 2012 Blu-ray will consist of roughly 50% of the home video sales market⁴. With consumer demand for improved sound and picture quality intensifying and companies competing to manufacture cost-effective players, Blu-ray seems headed for dominance in the home video marketplace. However, only time will ultimately tell how Blu-ray will fare in the digital age.

Overview

Blu-ray Pros	Blu-ray Cons
Higher storage capacity	More expensive than DVDs
Higher quality picture and sound	The Blu-ray format is still evolving
Loads of extras as well as additional special features through BD-Live	Blu-ray players require regular software updates via an internet connection
Blu-ray players can play DVDs	Fewer titles available compared to DVDs

¹http://www.blu-raystats.com/NewsLog/2009/01/12/first-week-of-2009-sets-record-blu-ray-market-share

²http://us.blu-raydisc.com/#/pages/bdlive

³http://www.homemediamagazine.com/iphone/universal-bows-ipod-touchiphone-apps-blu-ray-16403

⁴http://www.videobusiness.com/article/CA6667297.html?q=blu%2Dray