Blu Ray Players Features and Shopping Guide

Blu Ray is the latest high definition video technology that over took HD-DVD as the standard for high definition movies, video and players. With the invention of Blu Ray disks comes not only comes superb picture quality, but also a new durability and longer life span of the disks themselves not before seen with DVD disks and movies.

Another benefit is that these disks can store a much larger amount of data and video than the traditional DVD-R and DVD-RW disks. Up to 25GB of data on a single layer disk and up to 50GB of data on a dual layer disk and over 9 hours of high-definition video on a 50GB disc.

Choosing Blue Ray DVD players will mostly depend on your personal budget as their prices range from budget models to very expensive high performance types.

For those shopping for the best Blu-ray disc players and know that price is not a limitation, then there are several quality brands to choose from on the market. The problem is that most consumers do not know how to compare one Blu-ray with another. As far as image goes, most of today’s brands offer the same high-definition picture quality and really just differ in the features of each player.

When shopping for a Blu-ray player, there are two new features to look for when choosing a brand. The first is called Bonus View and lets you play back picture-in-picture content, which allows for a second video and audio stream.

The second feature to look for is called BD-live which supports Internet-connected activities such as social networking and interactive gaming as long as there is an Ethernet connection to the player.

If a more traditional unit is your preference, then the Pioneer Elite BDP-05FD is more your speed. This top shelf Blu-ray player runs around 800 dollars and comes with the same features as other brands. Where the Pioneer Elite tops other systems is in its audio features. If you pair the Elite with its manufacturer’s recommended AV receivers, you will have a premium home entertainment experience like no other Blu-ray disc player on the market.

If you are looking for something cheaper without sacrificing quality, then the LG BD300 is the player for you. With most systems starting at below 300 dollars, these lightweight Blu-ray players offer the same picture quality as most units on the market while also offering the ability to stream Netflix videos right into your home.