Difference between Blu-ray, DVD and VCD
Movies have become an important part of our lives. When looking for a way to enjoy time with friends and family, many of us choose to watch a movie together. To thoroughly benefit from the new visual effects most of them are promoting, you’ll need to choose the proper media storage support. Science has produced some very smart devices which can offer quality sound and video capabilities, and a simple online search can prove useful in this case. If you’re wondering which is the best suited movie medium for your cinema experience you should consider learning more about Blu-ray, DVD and VCD technology.
Storage Capacity
Blu-ray is an optical storage disc which can encapsulate up to 25 GB on a single layer. The name comes from the blue laser which can read the disc. It is advisable to use it to store high definition data. A DVD (Digital Video Disc) is an optical storage medium able to store an amount of data up to 4.70 GB. It was first released in 1995 in an attempt to provide to the market a storage disc with a superior capacity. The abbreviation for VCD comes from Video Compact Disc. Its maximum storage capacity is of 800 MB. It is recommended to use this support for smaller scale projects or older movies.
Reading Mechanism
The quantity of data stored is directly tied to the laser reading mechanism. The shorter is the wavelength more data can be included. Blu-ray uses a 405 nm laser, DVD uses 650 nm and CD uses 780 nm.
Cost
A movie on VCD is very cheap and can be purchased from local movie stores, department stores or online. If you want to buy a series, given the disc’s capacity you might need to buy more than 3 VCDs, and as it’s an older media storage disc it will be a little more difficult to find your movies. Some movies are directly released on DVDs and buying a DVD is affordable mainly because movie producers have chosen this media support for promotion on the market. A 2 & 1/2 hour movie including up to date visual effects can be easily supported by a DVD disc. A Blu-ray disc is a bit more expensive as it offers a greater degree of media storage. It is also compatible with latest video display developments and quality sound rendering. The image has a greater degree of smoothness and clarity as though you are enveloped in the story and everything happens all around you.
Summary
- A Blu-ray disc can store the largest amount of high definition data, DVD is second in line, while a CD is mostly suited for very small projects which do not require advanced display and sound features.
- The laser read mechanism can determine the storage capacity.
- A VCD is the cheapest solution, a DVD is affordable and Blu-ray discs are a bit more expensive, but they offer increased capabilities.
