Can Blu-Ray players recognise standard DVD's?

Question

Can Blu-Ray players recognise standard DVD's?

Answer 1

Yes they can and while they may not be required to make BD players that also play DVD you can be pretty certain that they will. Who would buy a monstrosity that won't play your existing library. The whole point of making it the same size is so that you don't have to have 2 machines on the shelf.

Answer 2

Yes!

Answer 3

Yes.  According to the Blu-ray Disc Association: "The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) expects every Blu-ray Disc device to be backward compatible with DVDs."

While it is not essential for Blu-ray (BD) players to include backwards compatibility with other video or audio formats - the term "expect" is not the same as "mandatory" - the transports currently being manufactured by Sony/Philips use a BD/DVD/CD-compatible optical pickup.  As with CD and DVD transports, there are a limited number of manufacturers who are currently or will in the future produce BD transports.  Manufacturers commonly use transports manufactured by other companies, such as Sony or Philips, rather than designing their own transport.