What you have to know before buying the Blu ray disc player

Some critics are saying that DVD medium standard is facing its final years. They suggest switching to devices using the new Blu-ray standard. Pros of such a move are falling prices of Blu-ray players, robust features and outstanding performance.

You will immediately see benefits of switching to Blu-ray better if you are a proud owner of an HDTV. Numbers look better for Blu-ray. 1080p picture of Blu-ray contains more than 2M pixels. It is almost 6 times more that 350,000 pixels of regular DVD picture. If you pay attention to the image resolution and details, Blu-ray is the way to go.

Now it might be a good time for upgrade. New generation of Blu-ray players offer convenient additional features like web connectivity, streaming video and audio, fast disc handling. Although you can find a very good player in the $200 price range, there are few things to consider when deciding which Blu-ray player to choose as there is a great deal of choices in the market.

You can gain the most from upgrade to Blu-ray tech if you already have 1080p HDTV. Such TV set is already prepared to show you this 2M pixels picture. The prices of HDTVs and Blu-ray players have decreased noticeably during the past 12 months. If a year ago it was a wise idea to wait before upgrading, now 1080p capability goes hand in hand with Blu-ray.

Unfortunately you will never buy a new DVD player if you own 1020p HDTV. There is why. All Blu-ray players can read and convert traditional DVDs, so in fact you are getting 2-in-1 device. And there is no sense to spend money on DVD player now and Blu-ray player next year.

You may have noticed how Blu-ray players are shrinking in size while the amount of material required to manufacture them decreases. While majority of Blu-ray players still are 17 inches wide and 2 inches high, their depth have decreased from initial 13 inches to almost 8 inches.

Blu-ray players are becoming more energy efficient. New models are consuming less than 25 watts in playback mode. Just be aware that your player may consume the same amount of power in standby and QuickStart modes. As a general rule – if you are not planning to use your BD or DVD, or even VHS player in coming days, it is a smart move to disconnect it from the power outlet.

More and more new Blu-ray discs are coming out with new features like Bonus View and BD-Live.

Bonus View is basically picture-in-picture (PIP) feature. It requires that your player is equipped with two video decoders. The good news are that majority of new players have two decoders.

BD-Live feature offers streaming or interactive content. Internet connection and internal storage is a must for your player to use this function. Some players are described as ‘BD-Live Ready’ which means they have a network connection, but you have to buy additional memory – HDD, USB memory or some kind of card.

There is no doubt that the best way to connect the player to your HDTV is thru High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI). It is an interface that can stream all your audio and video data thru one cable. HDMI standard supports 1020p video resolution and majority of audio formats including DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD. Oh, and yes, there are good news for you – all Blu-ray players have HDMI ports.  You just have to keep in mind that usually HDMI cable is not included with the player (or included cable is of poor quality), so you will have to invest in good HDMI cable as well.

Most of Blu-ray players also have component video output, but its HD output is limited to 460p due to some copy-protection rules.

The latest Blu-ray models have network connectivity – an Ethernet port has become more or less standard feature, and Wi-Fi is earning its place, so that you can use all benefits of BD-Live feature, including streaming content and interactive content.

Many players that have network connectivity can also stream content from content sharing websites like Google Video, YouTube, Pandora, and even Netflix.

Several Blu-ray players can display news and weather information on the TV screen, making some kind of cross-over between player and media PC.

Then there is this amazing multifunction device - Blu-ray player and ultimate Gaming Console in one box – meet the Sony PlayStation 3. It is one of the best Blu-ray players in the market today, and the most advanced video gaming console.

The Blu-ray player market has matured, and now it might be the best moment to shop around for this device. Blu-ray player prices are still decreasing while player features and performance is constantly improving. Be careful – prices of many models have dropped 50% since their introduction many months ago, so take your time to find best deals online.