QuizBlu-ray and DVD technology
Trivia challenge
From spinning discs to high-definition glory — how much do you really know about Blu-ray and DVD?
HistoryHardwareFormatsCapacityStandards
In what year was the DVD format officially launched for consumer use?
That’s right! DVD was officially launched in Japan in November 1996, before rolling out to North America in 1997. The format was developed by a consortium of major electronics companies including Sony, Panasonic, and Philips.
Not quite — DVD launched in Japan in November 1996. It then made its way to North American markets in 1997, quickly displacing VHS as the dominant home video format over the following years.
What colour laser does a standard Blu-ray player use to read discs?
Correct! Blu-ray players use a blue-violet laser with a wavelength of 405nm. This shorter wavelength compared to the red laser used in DVDs allows data to be packed much more densely on the disc surface.
The answer is blue-violet, with a wavelength of 405nm. This is actually what gives Blu-ray its name. The shorter wavelength compared to the red laser in DVDs is what enables the significantly higher storage capacity.
What is the storage capacity of a standard single-layer Blu-ray disc?
Spot on! A single-layer Blu-ray disc holds 25GB of data. Dual-layer discs double that to 50GB, while newer BDXL triple-layer discs can hold up to 100GB, making them ideal for 4K Ultra HD content.
The correct answer is 25GB for a single-layer Blu-ray disc. Dual-layer discs hold 50GB, which is why most feature films are released on dual-layer media to accommodate high-bitrate video and lossless audio tracks.
Which format did Blu-ray defeat in the high-definition disc format war of the mid-2000s?
Exactly right! Blu-ray defeated HD DVD in a format war that concluded in early 2008. The turning point came when Warner Bros. announced it would exclusively support Blu-ray, prompting Toshiba to discontinue HD DVD shortly after.
The correct answer is HD DVD, backed primarily by Toshiba and Microsoft. The format war ended in February 2008 when Toshiba officially discontinued HD DVD after Warner Bros. threw its exclusive support behind Blu-ray.
What is the maximum video resolution supported by a standard Blu-ray disc (not Ultra HD)?
That’s correct! Standard Blu-ray supports up to 1080p (Full HD) resolution at up to 60 frames per second. It was a massive leap over DVD’s 480p standard definition, and helped drive widespread adoption of HD televisions.
Standard Blu-ray tops out at 1080p Full HD resolution. This was a significant upgrade over DVD’s 480p and helped establish the format as the premium home video choice — until 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray arrived to raise the bar again.
Which company originally developed the DVD format alongside JVC, Sony, and others?
Correct! Philips was one of the founding members of the DVD Consortium alongside Sony, Panasonic, Hitachi, JVC, and others. Philips had already co-developed the CD format with Sony, so its involvement in DVD was a natural progression.
The answer is Philips, which co-developed the DVD standard alongside Sony, Panasonic, JVC, and Hitachi among others. Philips had significant experience in optical disc technology, having previously co-invented the CD with Sony back in the early 1980s.
What laser wavelength does a standard DVD player use to read discs?
Well done! DVD players use a red laser with a wavelength of 650nm. This is shorter than the 780nm infrared laser used in CD players, allowing DVDs to store more data, but longer than Blu-ray’s 405nm laser which enables even denser storage.
DVD players use a 650nm red laser. For comparison, CD players use a 780nm infrared laser, while Blu-ray uses a 405nm blue-violet laser. The progression to shorter wavelengths is what has driven increases in optical disc storage capacity over the decades.
What does the acronym ‘BD-ROM’ stand for in Blu-ray terminology?
Correct! BD-ROM stands for Blu-ray Disc Read-Only Memory. It is the standard format used for commercially pressed Blu-ray movies and games, as opposed to BD-R (recordable) or BD-RE (rewritable) formats used for home recording.
BD-ROM stands for Blu-ray Disc Read-Only Memory. This is the pre-pressed, non-recordable format you find on commercial movie and game releases. The Blu-ray family also includes BD-R for write-once recording and BD-RE for rewritable discs.
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Myth: discs are more expensive than streaming services
Consider costs upfront and over time
Perhaps the biggest concern around home entertainment is cost. Streaming services continue to raise their prices, and that total monthly or yearly bill that looks at every streaming service you own might be pretty high. The argument for a streaming service is that the fee you pay grants you access to a library of titles, and if you look at it on a per-title basis, it’s a pretty good deal.
However, you’re not watching every title, and that monthly or yearly fee will eventually go up until you fully unsubscribe. And most people don’t subscribe to only one or two services; they pay for a handful. There are too many titles available that you can actually watch, and the prices don’t really make the investment worth it.
However, when you buy a Blu-ray or DVD, you’re paying a single upfront cost, and then you’re never paying for it again. You pay for it and you forget it.
Myth: discs don’t offer the same value as streaming libraries
Streaming subscriptions do not grant ownership
You may have this idea that when you buy and acquire a single movie or TV series, you’re getting less value for your investment compared to that streaming service that has a giant catalog. As mentioned, even if you have a huge library like Netflix does, it doesn’t mean you’re ever going to get around to watching everything you want; you’re likely to spend a lot of time scrolling and searching for something you want to watch lest you have a highly organized watch list that is meticulously tended to.
It’s not just that a disc only comes with a single one-time investment; that disc lasts a long time and is presumably something you enjoy watching. A library is going to come with a bunch of titles you don’t care for and that you can’t really block, so you’ll always have to sort through shows and moves you don’t care about. There’s no mindless scrolling when it comes to pulling out a title from your physical collection.
Myth: streaming services offer better video quality
Physical discs hold more data
It’s tempting to see that Netflix or Amazon Prime offer some worthy video and audio features, from HDR10+ and Dolby Vision to immersive, surround sound audio and 4K resolution. Disney+ even boasts IMAX-style viewing of select blockbuster movies. While this all sounds great in theory, it’s much harder to actually achieve in reality.
To really enjoy all of these top audio and video features, you need compatibility between your source material, output device, and connection. That means you need to subscribe to the tier that is offering these features, which is typically the most expensive. Then you need to make sure your smart TV is capable of reproducing these features; if your TV only has HDR10+ and the service you’re using only has Dolby Vision, then you’re out of luck.
Most important, however, is the connection. And this is where the big caveat comes in. You’re not going to really be able to enjoy these top features with a Wi-Fi connection. It’s simply not going to be strong enough. And that’s why physical media, even DVDs, can offer better quality.
Streaming services have to compress their titles in order to provide them to you quickly and conveniently. Files are too large in their initial state, so they need to be reduced, and compression results in lower quality. That issue doesn’t exist with discs. They can hold files that offer the utmost quality. And when your player is connected to your TV with the proper HDMI cable, you don’t need to worry about the buffering or lagging that can occur with streaming.
Blu-ray discs will be far better quality than streaming services, and even DVDs can rival some streams.
Privacy concerns, ads, and catalog changes are problematic
There is indeed a lot about streaming that is convenient, from the ‘continue watching’ feature to the ability to jump right back into a show where you left off. If you know what you want to watch, you can probably turn your TV on, go to the app, and press play in under 30 seconds.
However, it’s easy to forget the convenience of actually owning a disc, knowing you will always have it available, and watching assured that it will never change. When you subscribe to a streaming service, you don’t own any of the titles. You are simply granted access to a library that is controlled by a company. That library undergoes regular changes, and you can’t guarantee what you want to watch will always be there or even ever show up.
Be sure to turn off Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) features on your smart TV as soon as possible. This technology tracks what you want on your TV and stores it in a database in order to understand your habits and preferences. That information can infer your identity and be sold to third parties.
Streaming services can also edit titles or remove scenes or episodes of content deemed inappropriate or unnecessary. For example, live broadcasts are altered before being offered in the Netflix catalog. ‘Convenient’ is a subjective word, but I think owning a title and knowing it will always exist as it is, is far more convenient than a library that is constantly changing.
Then there are the ads. Prime Video and other platforms are coming with new and innovative ads trying to get you to buy something. Unless you’re paying top dollar for ad-free tiers of your services, you have to sit through ads before, during, and after your titles. There is no world in which a commercial can possibly be considered convenient. Blu-rays and DVDs, meanwhile, typically just come with a lot of fun features and likely a few skippable trailers.
Myth: curating a library is still too much money
Your viewing data and time are worth more than you think
It’s worth revisiting the idea that streaming is still cheaper than amassing a library of physical media. That’s because there are a lot of other ways streaming costs you money that you might not realize. The main way streamers make money is through ad sales. In fact, they make more money through ad-supported tiers in total than they do with the higher-priced ad-free tiers. It’s lucrative for services to sell ad spaces and help create a shopping profile for all its many users.
Privacy is another way in which streamers will end up costing you more money. You need to toggle off a handful of intrusive features in order to get companies to stop tracking everything you’re doing with your TV. What you watch, how long you watch it, and what you ignore is vital data. That information creates a likely idea of your identity, including your age, religion, political leanings, sexuality, and income. And when companies have that information, they can better target you with ads.
The huge push for ads and understanding your viewing preferences will end up costing you a lot of money in the future. This isn’t a problem with physical media. They are self-contained units, free from ads and commercials and companies trying to sell you stuff. Just be sure you don’t keep your media player connected online all the time.
