I picked up a Blu-ray player back in college for the first time, and I immediately spent all my time watching Dragon Ball Z’s recently released Blu-ray collection. I didn’t understand at the time what the actual difference was between DVD and Blu-ray, so I kept on buying both of them before I started to look into the differences. A Blu-ray disc is far larger, and it’s 1080p. A DVD is a small disc that’s capped at 480p — or 576p depending on your neck of the woods.
That’s a big difference, and as TV screens continue to become not only bigger, but more affordable, the limitations of DVD are beginning to become more evident by the year. I mean, I picked up a 75-inch Mini-LED for under $1,000, and if that’s possible now with today’s tech climate, there’s no telling what the future holds. DVD doesn’t hold its own on a screen that large, but Blu-ray still looks pretty good.
Much like DVD players before them, your Blu-ray player has an expiration date. What that date is entirely comes down to you, but mine expired about a decade ago. With the advent of 4K Blu-ray, I didn’t want to hang onto an aging format again like I did with DVD. I started to shift my focus to 4K UHD, and that meant I had to pick up a player that could handle the new discs.
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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Your Blu-ray player has a serious limitation
It can’t punch above its weight
What you might not know about a regular Blu-ray player is that it’s limited to only playing Blu-ray and DVD discs. This means if you pop in a 4K Blu-ray disc, you’ll be met with a whole lot of nothing. Yes, even Sony’s best Blu-ray player isn’t fit for this job. Moving to a new format means you need a new player, and that’s not cheap to do today.
The workaround to this is grabbing a modern game console like a PlayStation or Xbox. These are both equipped with 4K Blu-ray players, so you can play games and watch movies if you’d like. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with taking this route, and I know many do. There are also quite a few dedicated 4K Blu-ray players out there, but they are pretty expensive and are equipped only to play games. This is something meant for enthusiasts, as it’s the only way you can watch Dolby Vision, for some reason. While your Xbox and PlayStation support Dolby Vision for games, they don’t for 4K Blu-ray.
There’s nothing wrong with holding on to your Blu-ray player if it still works, and I wish I still had mine, actually. I set up a TV in my basement and had to dig out an old Xbox One X and put it through a long update just to get it to read my disc. For whatever reason, I needed to download the Blu-ray app on it, so it didn’t even work without me connecting it to the internet. A Blu-ray player should just be plug and play.
What I’ve seen from Blu-ray and DVD players alike is that they’ll last even if you give them the most basic of care. These are durable little devices that only reach an expiration date once a new format comes out. For that reason, your 4K Blu-ray player’s expiration date will likely be pushed way into the future, barring an unexpected new media format. Aside from being unable to play 4K discs, there’s nothing wrong with having a Blu-ray player. A lot of releases only show up on Blu-ray and DVD, especially TV shows, so it’s really not the end of the world if you’re stuck on one.
Join us in the world of 4K UHD Blu-ray
The water’s just fine
If you have a large collection of DVD and Blu-ray discs, it can be difficult to leave them behind, but you don’t have to do that. A 4K Blu-ray player can play all of those discs, and it can also tackle the modern 4K UHD format, so it’s a jack-of-all-trades. I love my 4K player, and although Sony has practically exited the market, I don’t have any reason to upgrade from what I have.
The 4K UHD format opens the door to a variety of things that I don’t want to live without. This includes HDR, Dolby Atmos, 2160p, and the highest bitrate possible in physical media. I’m all about getting the best home experience that I can when I watch something, and that’s what the 4K format offers. Of course, there are some clear negatives, and the price tag is a big one. 4K discs typically cost more than their Blu-ray and DVD counterparts, and with fewer and fewer retail sellers each year, the prices seem to be getting worse. The same movies go on sale all the time, so it’s not unheard of for you to spend over $30 for a disc, which is a bitter pill to swallow, if I’m being honest.
Thankfully, I have enough movies in my backlog to last me years, and the pros far outweigh the cons.I can definitely see why you’d want to hang onto your Blu-ray player for as long as possible, but mine expired years ago. What I should’ve realized is that just because it expired doesn’t mean I have to ditch it. I would love to still have it around, but alas.
