The Disadvantages of Blu-ray

Blu-ray technology, named for the blue-violet optical laser used in reading and writing the discs, introduces movie and TV buffs to a new, high-definition viewing experience with crisp, clear picture quality. Rapidly replacing DVDs, Blu-ray presents an enticing product. However, there are four main drawbacks to this technology.

Cost

To commit to the Blu-ray experience, expect to shell out more cash. Blu-ray players cost more than standard and HD-DVD counterparts, even though prices have dropped steadily since the technology first appeared on the market in 2003. One nice feature of these players is their backward-compatibility, so your DVD collection will not become obsolete. Blu-ray movies also generally cost $5 to $10 more than regular DVDs. Additionally, if you have Blockbuster or Netflix subscriptions that include receiving DVDs through the mail, expect to pay a few more dollars per month if you want those DVDs in Blu-ray format.

Capacity

While Blu-ray discs offer more storage space on a disc than standard DVDS (about 25 GB on a single-layer disc and 50 GB on a dual-layer disc), this only amounts to about four to nine hours of high-definition content. Multiple layers are added to increase space up to 500 GB, but at the date of publication, this innovative feature is not on the public market. This extra space packs in better picture quality and clarity, but offers nothing spectacular in the amount of content on a disc.

Movie Availability

Available Blu-ray titles are growing slowly as the technology shows signs of a promising and lucrative future. While the DVD format quickly replaced VHS, the transition to Blu-ray is slow-going and titles are more difficult to find than standard DVDs, especially if you wish to rent movies. Also, once titles do become available, there are likely a legion of fans waiting to pounce when they make their Blu-ray debut.

DRM

Although Blu-ray offers a nice picture and high-definition experience crisp beyond comparison, the Digital Rights Management limits the availability of certain features. The goal of DRM is to protect against pirating of copyrighted films, an act stemming from the use of home computers to copy media illegally. This is important for Blu-ray because HD content does not lose quality with each copy made like standard content does. DRM also leads Blu-ray players to regularly schedule firmware updates to protect against the latest copyright infringement threats.