There was a time when we were happy with floppy disks as a storage device, despite the limited space; then came CDs, which had much better storage capacity and decent resolution. There after, DVDs came into existence. These were much better in resolution and storage space. However, these cannot be said as the best. The latest thing that has come up is the Blu-ray DVD technology which has amazing clarity due to the high resolution. These are the ones that are preferred these days.
Big banners like Warner Brothers and the like are releasing their movies on Blu-ray discs to take full advantage of the resolution that a DVD offers. Clearly, in order to watch these discs, one needs to have a Blu-ray, just like one needs in the case of the normal player. More recently, HD-DVD technology and this technology went hand in hand, but HD-DVD has now been officially discontinued, leaving this technology to lead the market. However, both are almost the same, but they would support different formats.
These DVDs are the most recent, DVDs available to watch on Blu-ray would not be Blu-ray DVDs. This does not mean that you need to have a standard player with the latest Blu-ray player in order to watch DVDs that are not Blu-ray enabled. The options of this electronic device that are available in the market are backward compatible. This means you can get rid of your old player without worry and you can use this DVD player to play all kinds of DVDs, including non-Blu-ray DVDs. This would almost make the old DVD obsolete. But, the standard DVD would not reflect in the high resolution as these are not DVDs. These only play on the Blu-ray player. Although, in some cases, these could be upscaled to 720p/1080i or 1080p mode.
On the other hand, in case you also have a couple of CDs, which you want to play on the player, that is also possible. However, in certain cases, this might not be an option. Therefore, it is better to read the technical specifications of this player in question to be sure before investing in them.
The connectivity aspect is similar in both players. The inputs for the Blu-ray player would be S-video, composite and component. The output of this player would include digital optical, analog stereo, and digital coaxial. The added outputs could be: HDMI: used to transport audio and video to the AV/TV receiver; 5.1 or 7.1 analog channels and Ethernet connector for Internet connectivity.
These advanced players would be available in the price range of $199 to $5000. However, with the passage of time and increased competition from various brands, the chances of the cost going down are high.
