How does a Blu ray DVD picture look better than a regular DVD movie?

Question

I mean how can it get better?

I understand that a DVD looks much clearer than a VHS Tape, but how much better can u do to make it clearer than a regular DVD?

Answer 1

A standard def DVD is backwards compatible to a 1950's television.  The image was designed for a 9-inch tube displaying black and white.

This is called 480i.

BluRay and HD-DVD support the HDTV images of 720 and 1080 - a lot more information per screen.

Answer 2

There are two different advantages to Blu-ray over DVD:

1) The first is higher resolution (the degree of improvement is limited by the display, with 1080p being greater than 720p), which translates into greater detail in the image.

It isn't night and day as some people would have you believe, but it's definitely better. Because DVDs can be upscaled by a Blu-ray (or upscaling DVD player) to a form of HD the improvement isn't as obvious as the difference between HDTV and SDTV (particularly if the upconversion video processor is a good one ... like in an Oppo DVD player or an HD DVD player).

See the link for a site that approximates -- visually -- the type of difference you can expect (hold the mouse over any of the pictures and the image will alternate between HD and DVD resolution).

2) The second is more subtle -- colour space -- or the range of colour available to display. DVD uses what is called BT.601, while Blu-ray uses BT.709. The latter has a wider range of colours so Blu-ray can look "better". Neither embrace the full range of colour visible to the human eye, so there is still room for improvement.

The second link is to a good article that explains why HD resolution is better.

Answer 3

Blue Ray is HDTV instead of standard format TV.  Much higher resolution as a result.

Answer 4

Blu-ray is high definition, which means you get better resolution when viewed on a high def TV.

When a movie is made it is record on film. To make a DVd that film is sanned and the resolution is at 480i (that is the resolution of a standard TV, you have 480 horizontal lines of resolution)

Blu-Ray goes back and rescans the original film with a better resolution, this time 1080p (1080 lines of resolution, i'll save the whole explanation of what i and p mean for some one elses question)

The Blu-Ray disc with a resolution of 1080p is 4.5 times greater than the resolution of 480i DVD.

I was sceptical myself for a long time about how much better Blu-Ray could be, but when it is viewed on the right HDTV it is amazing. go to Best Buy and check out their display.

Answer 5

Blu Ray, on an HD television, has more lines of resolution than a regular DVD.

Answer 6

Blu ray is to DVD what DVD was to VHS - in simple terms.  Ever seen high definition TV?  HDTV is much sharper than a DVD, and blu ray is a high definition DVD player.  So you have all the benefits of a DVD player - rock solid, stable picture full of detail and color and unbelievable depth, but at high definition levels.  And you also get benefits of richer, fuller sound because the surround tracks are uncompressed.

In technical terms, DVD can offer a picture at 480P (480 lines of resolution, progressive scan).  Blu Ray can do 1080P, so you can see it has the potential to offer a much better experience - through both video and audio.

Now, if you're watching Blu Ray on a small TV (smaller than 30"), you probably won't notice much of a difference.  But if you watch it on a big screen or even better a front projector, it is truly amazing.

Go to your local electronics store and ask for a demonstration.  You'll see (and hear).