DVD vs Blu-ray - which is better?
By Andi –
OK, so that title might be a little misleading from the get-go, but it certainly got your attention, right?
With Blu-ray being out for a while now, we still come across customers that either aren't aware of it, or are confused by the platform compared to DVD. We thought it might be a good idea to put a little something together to clear up any confusion and point out the benefits of Blu-ray as a platform.
So what's the difference?
In a single worded answer, the biggest difference between DVD and Blu-ray is capacity – how much information each disc can hold.
This can get pretty technical when you start talking about layering and what have you, but at the end of it all a Blu-ray disc can hold a lot more than a DVD. How much more? On average, a DVD can hold 4.7GB of data, while a Blu-ray at minimum can hold 25GB.
What does that mean when it comes to movies?
The more space you have, the less compression the film has to go through to be small enough to fit on a disc. So DVD films are more compressed than Blu-ray, which is why the image and sound quality is so much higher on a Blu-ray. These are the most noticeable differences between the two formats, but other features are typically available too.
So I can just put a Blu-ray Disc in my DVD Player, right?
No, sorry. To a DVD Player, a Blu-ray disc is about as alien as a VHS or Cassette tape – it doesn't have the right components to read the format.
Without getting too technical, a DVD Player's lense uses a different laser to a Blu-ray player (in fact, the Blu-ray's laser is blue – hence the name.)
In saying this, a Blu-ray Player will play DVDs as well – a common cause for confusion, and also the reason why DVDs have stuck around a lot longer when compared to the transition from VHS to DVD.
So Blu-ray is Better – Why Should I buy anything on DVD now?
Yes, Blu-ray offers you higher quality video and audio – but not every movie, TV show or documentary produces content at a level that requires a Hi-Def experience. Take a look at the budgets of feature films when comparing an Action movie vs a Comedy. A film like Avatar certainly warrants the Blu-ray experience, while a smaller budget film like The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel probably doesn't.
The same can be said for TV, which has an even smaller budget when compared to Film. With the exceptions of shows like Game of Thrones, the majority of shows would still be justifiable to buy on DVD without sacrificing much of the production quality.
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From the Movie Gorilla
16 comments
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But then again, you can get remastered movies on bluray aswell, however the picture quality is in-between bluray and dvd. Still not as good as bluray, but far better than dvd.
Arghhhh! It's 'Blu-ray' not Blu-Ray!!!!
Still closer than Blue-ray Peter... the number of times I read it spelt that way online..
I don't know what you're talking about, Peter - it looks fine to me... :P
Thanks Andi, much better!
Are CDs better than cassettes?
What a silly debate. Of course Blu-ray is better, are you whinging about higher definition? Sure if you have a 22 inch tv there isn't much difference, but blow the picture on a DVD up to 40/50 inches and you're just stretching the pixels.
Watching DVDs when you have the option of getting a HD release is just silly.
I wouldn't go throwing away DVDs and buying full-price Bluray replacements unless you really enjoy re-watching that particular movie, but for future purchases there really isn't an option
I have a feeling however that in today's age with the coming of fibre and unlimited plans, we might end up skipping total Blu-ray conversion and head straight to 4k streaming.
I have a feeling however that in today's age with the coming of fibre and unlimited plans, we might end up skipping total Blu-ray conversion and head straight to 4k streaming.
Any tv that is smaller than a 32 dvds can look ok, but bluray will look even better and then when you get past that size its when bluray really shows its stuff, also if you have a nice fast tv like a 100htz/3d tv ohh man it kicks it another notch with being able to track faster on action scenes and when there is big panning scenery shot its just wow, but with tvs getting even bigger and 4k making its way in also 8k is peaking its head over the fence its gonna get very interesting
@micheal streaming 4k would be nice but nz still needs faster net, even fibre still has has to buffer 4k but 1080 no probs
But can I get a Blu-ray recorder?
Anthony remastered Blu-ray are better than the original release. The studio's typically go back to their film stock to extract and recut etc.
On my first HD TV, a 40" Samsung, I couldn't tell the difference between Blu-ray and DVD. It only had 765 lines. Now I have a 50" Panasonic with 100Hertz, and 1080P, and I can clearly see the difference. So screen size and resolution can make a big difference.
The other difference is not so good, it takes much longer for Blu-rays to get started, they have to load before they will play, and then you get all those legal warnings about copying. I haven't copied it, I have bought the Blu-ray, so why do I need to have the warnings?
The thing is, with modern dvd the picture is not that different. Sound is were Blu-ray makes a difference. With 7.1 DTS HD on Blu-ray compared to DVD's Dolby pro logic, this is were Blu-ray makes a difference.
I don't understand what all the hype is around blu-ray.
VHS = VHBest
But in all seriousness, if you are planning on buying blu-rays, then blu-ray.com gives pretty good reviews on the sound and video quality as well as giving a breakdown of special features, often listing the resolution of those features, as it's not uncommon to have SD special features on blu-ray discs of older movies/TV.
While I understand that Blu-ray have a higher native resolution [1080p compared to the 480p of your standard DVD], I still mostly buy DVDs for two main reason: better compatablity and more universal. It's reatively easy to find an unlocked, region free DVD player whereas blu-rays are still mostly locked. Also, almost everyone has a dvd player, such as in their laptop or desktop computer or a games console whereas they may not have a blu-ray