Blu-ray is the replacement to DVD. It stores movies in true, 1920 x 1080p high definition format, and offers picture quality as close to a Hollywood studio master as possible. Blu-ray can store up to 50 Gigabytes of information (compared to about 8 Gigabytes for a standard DVD), meaning there is lots of room for better quality video and audio as well as additional bonus features. It is called Blu-ray because it used a blue laser (DVD used a red laser). A Blu-ray player should be considered essential for any modern system. Blu-ray is the replacement to DVD. It stores movies in true, 1920 x 1080p high definition format, and offers picture quality as close to a Hollywood studio master as possible. Blu-ray can store up to 50 Gigabytes of information (compared to about 8 Gigabytes for a standard DVD), meaning there is lots of room for better quality video and audio as well as additional bonus features. It is called Blu-ray because it used a blue laser (DVD used a red laser). A Blu-ray player should be considered essential for any modern system.