In addition, the extra disc space means there’s room for significantly more content and special features. When you buy a DVD movie, usually you are not just getting the movie, you are also getting the extra features that come along with it, like director’s commentary and making-of documentaries. With Blu-ray, there’s the possibility for previously unheard-of special features. Imagine, for example, interactive content, like a director on the screen explaining the shooting of a scene while the scene is playing in the background.

With greatly enhanced audio/video quality and additional content capability, Blu-ray is a huge step forward in the DVD viewing experience.

Most Blu-ray players coming out will be backward compatible and should play your current DVD discs. This means, you can upgrade to a Blu-ray player and still enjoy your current DVDs. But you should double-check the particular model you are considering, just to be certain that it will playstandard DVDs.

DVD is, by some measurements, the greatest success in consumer electronics history. Following its 1997 debut, it took the format just a few years to completely conquer the home-video market previously ruled by VHS tapes. Before DVD even reached its 10th birthday, however, the electronics industry and the Hollywood studios began putting it out to pasture.