I can still remember back when it was Betamax, then it was VHS, then VCDs, DVDs and now HD DVD and Blu-ray. I guess they got sick of the acronyms. Am glad in a really shallow kind of way because Blu-ray does sound better. Anyway what really does make Blu-ray better than DVDs is not the name but the fact that it uses a a blue-violet laser to read and write data instead of red laser. What this means is that the wavelength of the laser is much shorter making the writing of the data more precise. The other result is that it allows for more data to be stored in the same disc size, hence the extra features in Blu-ray discs or the higher definition of the movies.
Oh and in case you’re wondering which of the Oscar winners are already available in Blu-ray here’s a short list from Blu-ray.com.
Slumdog Millionaire
Milk
The Reader
The Dark Knight
Man on Wire
The Duchess
Wall-E
Vicky Christina Barcelona
As for the rest, most have already announced upcoming releases.