Shopping for Blu-ray, DVD, CD and Other Disc Players

Blu-ray Disc

Blu-ray Disc is the latest high-definition (HD) optical disc media format. Video content is stored on Blu-ray discs at up to 1920-1080 pixel resolution, and audio content is stored in one of several lossless digital audio formats. More information can be found on the Blu-ray Disc Association Web site at http://www.blu-raydisc.com/.

DVD "Upconversion"

"Upscaling" or "upconverting" DVD players have the capability to convert Standard-definition (SD) video content from a DVD player for playback on a High-definition (HD) television. The conversion process does not add additional information to the video stream, so your DVD content will never truly be in high-definition, but it will allow DVD content to play back in full-screen on your HDTV and appear sharper and clearer than it would with a standard DVD player.

Multiple Format Capability

Many Blu-ray and DVD players also can playback discs encoded in other formats. For example, a Blu-ray disc player may also be able to function as a DVD player and a CD player. Likewise, your DVD player will often be able to play CDs. Most disc players can also play back recordable (R) or rewritable (RW) disc formats, such as DVD+R, DVD-R, CD-R, CD-RW, etc. Be sure to understand the format capability of your disc player.