DVDs have been around for decades, and while newer formats have been released, it doesn’t look like people are ready to move on. If you look at physical media sales, DVD still sits at the top of the list ahead of superior formats such as Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray. There are many factors that come into play here, and price is a big one. I know it’s a much easier pill to swallow spending $10 on a movie versus $35, even if I don’t do it myself.
It’s no secret that 4K Blu-ray discs aren’t cheap, but there’s a reason they cost more. Picture quality is much higher; I mean, we’re talking about the jump from 480p to 2160p here. While that’s huge, there’s arguably a bigger leap in quality from DVD to 4K Blu-ray, and it’s the audio quality. It’s no secret that Dolby Atmos is my favorite audio format around, and that’s something that no DVD is going to have. In fact, not a lot of Blu-ray discs have an Atmos soundtrack either. If you really value Atmos, 4K discs are what you need to be looking at.
Blu-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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Audio quality is lacking on DVD
It’s alright, but it can be way better
Let me preface this by saying that DVD audio quality is often better than what you find on streaming — provided it’s actual lossless audio. Many DVDs have a basic Dolby Digital soundtrack with lossy audio, so that’ll leave a ton to be desired if you have a sound system you’re listening through. Even if it’s lossless, it’s not like you’ll be able to reap the benefits of modern audio formats. You can certainly kiss formats such as DTS:X and Dolby Atmos goodbye. Of course, that’s not the end of the world, but for somebody who went through the trouble of putting together a Dolby Atmos sound system with a bunch of speakers, it can be disappointing to not get use out of all of them.
The main problem you’re going to run into with DVDs, at least those older ones in your collection, is just an overall lack of audio formats. Dolby Atmos and DTS:X didn’t exist when DVDs came out, and even Blu-ray didn’t exist for a large chunk of these modern formats. That’s part of why early Blu-ray discs don’t have the greatest sound quality compared to what we get on Blu-ray these days.
I don’t want to put too much of a burden on DVD for this because it just comes with the format. It’s also important to note that DVD size is quite small compared to Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray. We’re talking about something under 10 GB here, and the largest 4K disc can hold up to 100 GB. With that massive gap in size, it makes a lot of sense that corners had to be cut somewhere. As it turns out, those cuts were made to both audio and picture quality. This was something I could put up with when DVDs were a modern format, but it’s something I’m far less willing to consider these days. While 4K TVs have decent upscaling these days, that doesn’t exactly help my audio. Also, even with the upscaling, nobody’s going to confuse a DVD with a 4K disc.
As long as you know what you’re getting into, there’s nothing wrong here. I won’t sit here and say there isn’t value in DVDs, because I’d be lying if I said that. I still have a fair share of DVDs, but I find that I don’t watch them nearly as often as I do my Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray discs. In fact, when I see that the only version of a movie I have is on DVD, I often do a quick glance online and see how much it’d cost to get a more modern format.
DVD has a lane, and it’s affordability
Can’t beat it
Low prices are great to see in this day and age, especially when tech prices are constantly on the rise. I don’t know about you, but I recently looked at the price of a standalone 4K Blu-ray player, and I didn’t like what I saw. Fortunately, I already have one, but I couldn’t imagine being in the market for one today and having to spend over $500 for it. In comparison, DVD players are far cheaper, but they also lock you into playing just DVDs.
I like to have my options open for everything, and that’s how something like an Xbox or PlayStation has become the best Blu-ray player since they can handle all formats, and there’s a possibility that you might already own one. A game console won’t give you access to Dolby Vision, but that’s the only noticeable downside I can think of. Many people complain about how loud their consoles get while playing a movie, but I have mine placed far enough away from where I’m sitting where that’s not a real issue for me.
