Will Blu-ray replace DVDs?
Yes. The Blu-ray format has received broad support from the major movie studios as a successor to today's DVD format. In fact, seven of the eight major movie studios have released titles in the Blu-ray format. Also, with the withdraw of HD-DVD from the "format war," Blu-ray has been crowned as the successor to the current DVD format. Many studios have also announced that they will begin releasing new feature films on Blu-ray Disc day-and-date with DVD.
Will Blu-ray be backwards compatible with DVD?
Yes. All of the current Blu-ray players and future models will be able to read and upconvert current DVD formats. Most of the Blu-ray players coming out will support upscaling of DVDs to 1080p/1080i, so your existing DVD collection will look even better than before. The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) expects every Blu-ray Disc device to be backward compatible with DVDs.
Why should I upgrade from DVD to Blu-ray?
The simple answer is HDTV. If That's where Blu-ray comes in, it offers up to 50GB of storage capacity and enables playback, recording and rewriting of HD in all of the HD resolutions including 1080p. The format also supports high-definition audio formats and lossless audio.
In addition to the greater video and audio quality, the extra storage capacity also means there will be plenty of room for additional content and special features. This combined with the new BD-J interactivity layer adopted by Blu-ray will bring the menus, graphics and special features to a whole new level. For example, you will be able to bring up the menu system as an overlay without stopping the movie, and you could have the director of the movie on the screen explaining the shooting of a scene while the scene is playing in the background. The advanced interactivity combined with the networking features of Blu-ray will also allow content producers to support new innovative features such as downloading extras, updating content via the web, and watching live broadcasts of special events.
Thanks to the greatly enhanced HD video and audio quality as well as the advanced interactivity and networking features, Blu-ray represents a huge leap forward in the DVD viewing experience and will offer consumers an unprecedented HD experience.
