When high definition television sets initially began cropping up on the market about 10 years ago people were dazzled at the sharpness high definition delivered over regular television screens. Since that point millions of men and women have bought new TVs to enjoy wide screen movies with DVDs and high definition cable and satellite programming. While many people still haven't made the leap, a recent technology discovery has made even HDTV backers take notice. Developed by Sony, Blu-Ray has pushed television quality to the next level. Just a couple years back, nobody knew what format would become the inheritor to DVD, but now Blu-Ray has take the crown and I'll tell you why you should think about adding Blu-Ray to your home entertainment system.

Though research began almost ten years ago, Sony and its partners didn't manufacture a final commercial product till mid 2006. The name Blu-Ray derives from the blue laser that's utilized to read data from a Blu-Ray formatted disc. This contrasts with the red laser utilized to read standard DVD discs. But why is Blu-Ray better than current DVD formats? Although Blu-Ray discs and players don't look any different than normal DVDs, they can save much more data that means clearer picture, improved audio, and more special features. DVDs can hold up to eight gbs. of information while Blu-Ray discs can hold fifty gbs.. Huge difference. The max resolution of a DVD is 720x480 lines whereas Blu-Ray has a maximum of 1920x1080 (also called full high definition). If you've spent $1000 or more on a 1080p TV, you're actually not exploiting all the set can deliver when viewing regular DVDs.

In the beginning costs for Blu-Ray players were far above what a typical home user needed to spend. Costs between $700 and $1000 were not unusual for the first Blu-Ray players. Plus, there had been another competing standard on the market that created plenty of bewilderment. Toshiba and NEC introduced their own DVD successor with release of the HD DVD standard. HD DVD, with a storage capability of 15 gigabytes, was a step up over standard DVDs but couldn't equal the specs of Blu-Ray. However HD DVD did have some market benefits. First, HD DVD was on the market a quarter before Blu-Ray. Second, HD DVD devices where a little cheaper to make and were sold less expensive as a result. Finally, HD DVD had more Hollywood studios on signed up at launch than Sony did which meant more movies were initially available while Blu-Ray remained rare.

Sony had one gigantic ploy up their sleeve that quite possibly saved Blu-Ray from a Betamax fate. Sony made use of a Blu-Ray player into their highly anticipated PlayStation 3 and sold the entire device cheaper than many stand alone players were going for at the time. After that, Blu-Ray commenced making strides till soon it outsold HD DVD 2-to-1 by late 2007. More movie studios started to sign on to the Blu-Ray format totally, starting with Warner Brothers in early 2008. Right after Toshiba stopped making HD DVD players and recorders. By the end of 2008 rental firms Netflix and Blockbuster, as well as major shops, said they'd no longer carry HD DVD movies. Now all major studios release their pictures on Blu-Ray. A couple have continued to produce HD DVD and Blu-Ray releases concurrently.

Prices have fallen seriously during the last few years too. Many big brand Blu-Ray players from companies like Panasonic and LG can easily be found between $150 and $250. Blu-Ray disc recorders are in the $200 - $400 range and falling. For anyone that likes watching movies from home and has invested in a high definition TV, now is a great time take a look into adding a Blu-Ray player to your setup. Even those who might be doubtful about Blu-Ray's enhancements over DVD owe it themselves to head down to their local home entertainment store and ask for a Blu-Ray demonstration. The picture sharpness and audio fidelity from Blu-Ray is truly outstanding.