The Number One Piece To A Great Audio And Video Setup Is Time Warner Cable

When HD sets first started arising in stores in late 90s people were amazed at the clearness HD offered over standard TV screens. Since that point millions of people have bought new TVs to take advantage of wide screen flicks with DVDs and high definition cable and satellite channels. While many people still haven't made the leap, a recent technology breakthrough has made even HDTV aficionados take notice. Developed by Sony, Blu-Ray has pushed TV resolutions to the next level. Just a couple years ago, nobody knew what format would become the successor to DVD, but now Blu-Ray has won the battle and I'll tell you why you should consider adding Blu-Ray to your home entertainment system.

Though research commenced in 2000, Sony and its partners did not present a final commercial product till mid 2006. The name Blu-Ray comes from the blue laser that is used to read data from a Blu-Ray formatted disc. This conflicts with the red laser used to read standard DVD discs. But why is Blu-Ray an improvement over existing DVD formats? Even though Blu-Ray discs and players don't look any different than normal DVDs, they can save much more info meaning clearer picture, improved audio, and more special features. DVDs can hold up to eight gigs of info while Blu-Ray discs can hold fifty gigabytes. Huge difference. The maximum resolution of a DVD is 720x480 lines whereas Blu-Ray has a max of 1920x1080 (also called full hi-def). If you've spent $1000 or more on a 1080p TV, you're really not making use of everything the television can deliver when watching standard DVDs.

Originally costs for Blu-Ray players were far above what an average home user needed to pay. Prices between $700 and $1000 were not unusual for first generation Blu-Ray players. Plus, there was another competing standard on the store shelves that made plenty of perplexity. Toshiba and NEC produced their own DVD successor with the delivery of the HD DVD standard. HD DVD, with a capacity of 15 gigabytes, was an improvement over standard DVDs but didn't match the specs of Blu-Ray. But HD DVD did have some market benefits. First, they made it to the market 3 months 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 movie studios on signed up at launch than Sony did which meant more pictures were initially available while Blu-Ray remained scarce.

Sony had one huge ploy up their sleeve that quite possibly saved Blu-Ray from a Betamax destiny. Sony incorporated a Blu-Ray player into their long awaited PlayStation three and sold the whole device for a bit less than most stand alone players were going for at the time. Quickly, Blu-Ray started making strides till shortly it outsold HD DVD 2-to-1 by late 2007. More picture studios began to sign on to the Blu-Ray format exclusively, beginning with Warner Brothers in early 2008. Straight after Toshiba stopped making HD DVD players and recorders. By the end of 2008 rental companies Netflix and Blockbuster, as well as major stores, announced they'd no longer carry HD DVD movies. Currently all major studios release their films on Blu-Ray. A couple still produce HD DVD and Blu-Ray releases concurrently.

Costs have fallen seriously over the last few years too. Many big brand Blu-Ray players from firms 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 enjoys viewing movies from home and has invested in an HDTV, now is a fabulous time to have a look at adding a Blu-Ray player to your home entertainment system. Even those who might be skeptical about Blu-Ray's enhancements over DVD owe it themselves to go down to their local home entertainment store and ask for a Blu-Ray demonstration. The picture clearness and audio fidelity from Blu-Ray is truly outstanding.