In the United Kingdom just under 3% of homes do not have a TV.  For the other ninety seven percent though in addition to the 5 terrestrial channels there is a broader choice of programmes through Freesat.   The teenagers of today will possibly find it difficult to contemplate that only one generation on, were happy with four channels in their adolescence!

 

Now, you can get channels dedicated to shopping, sport, music and children’s programmes and certainly, Lord Reith stated that the mission of the British Broadcasting Corporation was to “educate, inform and entertain”  when it was formed in the ‘20s.  So if criticism that TV is inferior than listening to the radio or reading, just tell them that the OU broadcasts a broad range of programmes to supplement their learning modules, there are channels dedicated to history, travel and the arts.  Movies are represented from foreign language and independent productions, all the way to Hollywood epics.

As well as watching films on your television, you can additional buy or rent them in a dvd or what is now more common, as a blu-ray disc.  Blu ray prototypes were shown in October 2000, and the first prototype player was made pubic in 2003 in Asia. Afterwards, it continued to be developed until officially released in mid-2006.

Blu-rays are named due to the blue laser that reads the disc, which allows data to be accumulated at a larger density than available with the red laser, longer-wavelength for dvds.  Blue-ray Disc Association developed the blu-ray disc, this is an organisation representing makers of computer hardware, consumer electronics, and films.  By mid-2009, in excess of 1,500 Blu-ray Disc titles were available in Australia and Great Britain, and twenty five hundred in Canada and the USA.  As of July 2010, in Japan, more than thirty three hundred titles have been made available.

Compared to a standard dvd, blu-ray is vastly superior, the sharpness, detail reproduction, colour – it is all better! The fivefold boost in resolution results in a large qualitative gain.  Regarding sound quality, it is noticeably better if the blu-ray was manufactured with Hi-Def sound in the form of DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby True HD, DTS-HD High Resolution or multichannel PCM. Offered on these formats, you can listen to the distinction even on mid-range sound systems.

Take into consideration that less recent movies, made over 3 years ago, that are available on blu-ray disc won’t have all the bells and whistles that newer releases have.  There will probably not be director commentary, cast interview and in several examples, the picture quality will not be as sharp as you would expect with a contemporary blu-ray disc release.  The optimum quality comes with special effects, and the clearer detail in the picture.  In addition, however better quality the blu-ray is, if your television is not 1080i or 1080p then you will not be aware of the distinction anyway!