Let Blu-Ray Reinvent Your PC
Those old enough to remember the rivalry of VHS and Beta video tape systems, must have felt a pang of déjà vu when Blu-ray stepped into the market beside HD-DVDs. Those too young simply ask, “Video tape?” But the war is over and the superior quality of Blu-ray has over powered the HD-DVD format and the demand for a PC compatible drive has intensified.
As with most technology, after the initial surge the price of these units has fallen at a rate that is almost in a direct relationship to the introduction of more sophisticated models. This has meant that it easier to upgrade a PC, especially if the intention is simply to have the capacity to view movies. But even units that offer the facility to burn discs to the Blu-ray format have become affordable to the common PC user.
However, there are still invisible costs that must be taken into account when planning an upgrade. In many cases the Blu-ray drive will demand a SATA interface. This Serial form of Advanced Technology Attachment is a huge leap for the inclusion of external hard drives and even allows the swapping of drives without having to reboot the PC.
But the cost associated with enabling the PC to use this technology, and other hardware and software demands, can sneak up on the unsuspecting enthusiast and make the cost of playing movies on a PC more expensive at first.
Furthermore, it is worth remembering that the actual media is still noticeably more costly than the HD-DVD products. This isn’t a prohibitive issue and if the plan is simply to watch Blu-ray movies it may be shrugged away with an acceptance that quality costs.
Yet, as the temptation to burn Blu-ray discs becomes more tantalizing and the frowns of friends at your system’s limitations begin to aggravate, the potential to make full use of the format could breed unfortunate regrets. In other words, look before you leap and spend your money in the way that will provide the greatest long term satisfaction.
This could well lead to investigations of Blu-ray Combo units. These devices can, as well as play movies, write on to CD’s and DVD’s, but, most importantly, they will write on to Blu-ray discs. One of these discs allows about six times the capacity of a DVD in single-layer form and twice that in dual-layer form. While this may whet the appetite of movie buffs, the thought of recording all six Star Wars episodes on one disc must take its place behind the advantages to PC operators in being able to store up to fifty GB of data on one disc. Furthermore, there is also the option of using rewritable discs that can be recorded over and over.
Whether it’s providing high resolution presentation of movies or increasing the efficiency of a business, the Blu-ray player and burner is becoming a standard feature of the PC package. The technology is still blossoming and will continue to bear fruit for some time to come.