- Movies on Blu-ray can be encoded at 1080p resolution, which is the highest quality available for HDTVs at time of publication. Movies encoded at 1080p have 1080 lines of vertical video resolution in the progressive scan format. Standard definition TVs are only able to display 480 lines of resolution as interlaced video, which is much lower quality. Blu-ray discs also have expanded color-depth controls for a brighter and more vivid color reproduction. Movies on Blu-ray can run at 24 frames per second, which is how most motion pictures are filmed. This means a Blu-ray will appear more "film-like" than the same movie on DVD.
- Blu-ray movies offer more audio encoding options that provide much higher quality than standard DVDs. All Blu-ray players support the 7.1 surround sound Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD audio formats, which are "lossless" codecs. This means that the audio quality of a Blu-ray disc will not be compressed like that of a standard DVD. In fact, the audio of a Blu-ray disc encoded with Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD sound will have identical sound quality to the master copy of the film used to create the disc.
- The Blu-ray format also allows movie studios to add bonus features on to movies that were not possible with standard DVDs. For example, Blu-ray players connected to the Internet can access interactive content through "BD-Live." While watching a movie on Blu-ray with BD-Live content, you can chat with other people who are watching the movie right from your HDTV, download exclusive content, play games related to the movie or even join in with a live chat from the cast and crew of the film.
- DVD players cannot play Blu-ray discs, but Blu-ray players are backward compatible with DVDs. This means you will not have to keep your standard DVD player when you buy a Blu-ray player or purchase the movies from your DVD collection a second time. Blu-ray players will also "upconvert" DVDs from standard definition to high definition, though the quality will not be as good as a full resolution Blu-ray disc. Also, many new releases are not being released on DVD and Blu-ray separately. Instead, movies are being sold in a "combo" that includes a Blu-ray disc and a standard DVD. Movie studios follow this practice to avoid releasing the movie on both formats, but it is also convenient for movie fans who plan to upgrade to a Blu-ray player in the near future.
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