Guide to High Definition DVD and Blu-Ray Players

Summary: So you've noticed a strange new arrival at the video rental store that you're not quite sure how to approach. This stranger requires a new mindset and even new equipment just to sit down and watch it. No, we're not talking about the latest movie from Tim Burton or Terry Gilliam, we're talking about that mysterious new video format called Blu-ray. Will it be another horror story like the Betamax format, an alternate video cassette format which struggled along for a few years in the mid-70s and early 80s, then flopped miserably as the world ignored it in favor of VHS? Betamax was a Sony product, as is Blu-ray. Will history repeat itself? Why should you even consider a new format when your dvds look great already? High definition television, that's why. A Blu-ray disc can hold almost six times as much information as a regular dvd, enabling it to play back much higher quality video. But an HD DVD offers the same capacity. Another format war for the new millenium.

In this free series of home entertainment videos, our electronics expert Tony Ramirez tells you what you need to know about Blu-ray and HD DVD players. He begins his series with a discussion of the differences between these two formats and then explains the latest advances in high definition technology. You will also learn how to hook up and use you new player, whichever format you choose. As an added bonus, Tony talks about HD burners and camcorders. Keep up with the latest technology with Expert Village!