Im late to the Blu-Ray party

[chiprocks1]

Since I am late to the Blu-Ray/HD party, and with Lost (Season 3) out with its Blu-Ray edition today.

I need to know if Blu-Ray DVDs can play on a regular DVD player (till I can afford a Blu-Ray player).

Blu-Ray DVDs contain all the same bonus materials as the regular versions?

Whats the difference between Blu-Ray and HD? Do I need a player labeled Blu-Ray/HD to play both?

Im sure there are others things I need to know, just cant think of it right now.

Thanks

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by chiprocks1

Since I am late to the Blu-Ray/HD party, and with Lost (Season 3) out with its Blu-Ray edition today.

I need to know if Blu-Ray DVDs can play on a regular DVD player (till I can afford a Blu-Ray player).

No they cannot. The only hidef discs that can play on a regular DVD player are ones that are labeled "HD DVD/DVD Combo". Only the HD DVD format supports this, Blu-Ray does not support backwards compatibility on discs.

Blu-Ray DVDs contain all the same bonus materials as the regular versions?

Sometimes less, more, or the same. Depends on the release.

Whats the difference between Blu-Ray and HD? Do I need a player labeled Blu-Ray/HD to play both?

Yes, you need a player with both a Blu-Ray and an HD DVD logo (not just a DVD logo, it has to have the HD DVD logo that looks like my avatar) on it to play both.

Basically they are the same thing, except Blu-Ray is more expensive, has more restrictive DRM/copy protection (BD+, Regional Coding, ROM-Mark) and less interactive features builtin to players compared to HD DVD.

Studio support is split across the two: Warner does both formats; Paramount/Dreamworks & Universal do HD DVD only; Sony, Fox, and Disney do Blu-Ray only.

Blu-Ray has more bandwidth but it has not been demonstrated that this has benefitted video quality. Blu-Ray used to have more space, but recently the HD DVD group approved the 51GB HD DVD disc - so now HD DVD has the most space in the specs; but in terms of space, too, it seems to have made no difference in video quality anyway. Regardless in terms of A/V quality both formats deliver about the same.

So in the end if you want to watch everything, you need to either buy a dual format player like the Samsung BD-UP5000 or LG BH200 - or buy seperate players for each format. The cheapest for each are the Toshiba HD-A3 ($199) for HD DVD and the Samsung BD-P1400 for Blu-Ray ($299).

[Moonraker]

If you are looking for Lost Season 3 on Blu-Ray, I just got it today and it absolutley blew me away. The picture, sound and packaging is top notch. Plus it can be found for around 60 dollars. Very much worth it.

[chiprocks1]

Do the older/regular DVD's play on the Blu-Ray/HD players or is it just for Blu-Ray/HD Discs?

Yeah, Ill be picking up my copy of Lost (Season 3) in Blu-Ray format. What about Seasons 1 and 2? I have those as regular but not Blu-Ray, which I havent seen as being released in that format.

[chlngr1970]

yes. Your DVDs Will probably look better to boot, depending on the player you chose.

[chiprocks1]

Originally Posted by chlngr1970

yes. Your DVDs Will probably look better to boot, depending on the player you chose.

Sweeeeeet!

Last question (I think)...

What about older titles that we have of shows like X Files, Buffy, Angel, etc...? Will these be offered in Blu-Ray/HD down the road? Or does it have to do with how the shows/film is shot using digital tech/HD Cams? Or can they (the companies) take any show and make it Blu-Ray/HD?

[Derb]

Originally Posted by chiprocks1

Sweeeeeet!

Last question (I think)...

What about older titles that we have of shows like X Files, Buffy, Angel, etc...? Will these be offered in Blu-Ray/HD down the road? Or does it have to do with how the shows/film is shot using digital tech/HD Cams? Or can they (the companies) take any show and make it Blu-Ray/HD?

Any show can be put on these formats. It depends on wether the studio releasing said show thinks they will make any money. Both are still new & the formats being widely accepted is uncertain at the moment. Lost: Season 3 (Moonraker bastard. ) is fresh so studios feel current seasons will appeal more to consumers than say releasing Lost: Season 1 because they think no one will buy it cause they already own it on SD DVD, that & install base is too small compared to DVD. There were/are rumors that HBO will re-visit The Sopranos for HD but I doubt it. Another show, Smallville Season 5 has not been released on Blu-Ray but has been released on HD DVD because the HD set offers exclusive bonus materials which BD can not present... yet.