# Diff between a DVD and a Blu-Ray **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 18, 2008, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diff-between-a-dvd-and-a-blu-ray/464184 "2008-09-18T18:35:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sweeteviljesus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@sweeteviljesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweeteviljesus)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2008, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diff-between-a-dvd-and-a-blu-ray/464184/1 "2008-09-18T18:35:41Z")
Other than the laser, what differences are there between a DVD drive and a Blu-Ray drive? Why do they cost so much more? Is it simply because they don’t make as many? Thanks, Rob ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2008, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diff-between-a-dvd-and-a-blu-ray/464184/2 "2008-09-18T18:45:06Z")
> [@sweeteviljesus](#): > > OWhy do they cost so much more? R&D. DVD players were pretty expensive when they first hit the market, simply because the manufacturers need to earn they money spent on developing the technology. Blu-Ray drives and writers will become significantly cheaper over the next few years. ---
**Author:** ![sweeteviljesus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@sweeteviljesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweeteviljesus)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2008, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diff-between-a-dvd-and-a-blu-ray/464184/3 "2008-09-18T19:19:08Z")
> [@Schnitte](#): > > R&D. DVD players were pretty expensive when they first hit the market, simply because the manufacturers need to earn they money spent on developing the technology. Blu-Ray drives and writers will become significantly cheaper over the next few years. So the price difference is just amortization of the cost of the laser R&D? I didn’t think that was invented at Sony. Thanks, Rob ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2008, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diff-between-a-dvd-and-a-blu-ray/464184/4 "2008-09-18T19:21:16Z")
> [@](#): > > The name Blu-ray Disc is derived from the blue laser (violet colored) used to read and write this type of disc. Because of its shorter wavelength (405 nm), substantially more data can be stored on a Blu-ray Disc than on the DVD format, which uses a red (650 nm) laser. A dual layer Blu-ray Disc can store 50 GB, almost six times the capacity of a double-dual layer DVD (or more than 10 times if single-layer). Source: [Blu-ray - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc) > [@](#): > > The format was developed to enable recording, rewriting and playback of high-definition video (HD), as well as storing large amounts of data. The format offers more than five times the storage capacity of traditional DVDs and can hold up to 25GB on a single-layer disc and 50GB on a dual-layer disc. This extra capacity combined with the use of advanced video and audio codecs will offer consumers an unprecedented HD experience. Recent development by Pioneer has pushed the storage capacity to 500GB on a single disc by using 20 layers. Source: [What is Blu-ray? (Blu-ray, Blu-ray Disc, not Blue-ray or Blu-ray DVD)](http://www.blu-ray.com/info/) ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2008, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diff-between-a-dvd-and-a-blu-ray/464184/5 "2008-09-18T19:39:09Z")
> [@sweeteviljesus](#): > > I didn’t think that was invented at Sony. It wasn’t invented by Sony alone; Blu-Ray was developed by a group of companies known as the [Blu-Ray Disk Association](http://www.blu-raydisc.com/en/association/GeneralInfo.html), of which Sony was a founding member. The association holds patents and grants [licenses](http://www.blu-raydisc.info/) to companies which wish to use the Blu-Ray technology and logo.