Blu-ray Disc

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Template:Cleanup-date Template:Future product Image:Blu-ray Disc.svg

Blu-ray Disc (BD) is a next-generation optical disc format meant for storage of high-definition video and high-density data. The Blu-ray standard was jointly developed by a group of consumer electronics and PC companies called the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA). As compared to the HD DVD format, its main competitor, Blu-ray has more information capacity per layer, 25 instead of 15 gigabytes, but may initially be more expensive to produce.

The name Blu-ray is derived from the blue-violet laser it uses to read and write to the disc. A Blu-ray disc will be able to store substantially more data than a DVD, because of the shorter wavelength (405 nm) of the read-laser (DVDs use a 650-nm-wavelength red laser and CD's 780 nm). Blu-ray unveiled their plans for a Spring 2006 launch at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January 2006. It was expected to be released on May 23, 2006 but the release date has been changed to June 2006.

After working with the Blu-ray technology, Sony realized that additional effort would be necessary, and announced that the release date of their PlayStation 3 would be postponed until fall of 2006. The Blu-ray Disc Association followed suit by also postponing the release date of Blu-ray products in U.S. stores until June of 2006.


Image:Bda members.gif

Contents

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Physical format

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Variations and sizes

A single-layer Blu-ray disc (BD) can store enough for approximately four hours of high-definition video with audio. A dual-layer BD can hold enough for approximately eight hours of HD video. Capacities of 100 GB and 200 GB, using four and eight layers respectively, are currently being researched. TDK has already announced a prototype four-layer 100 GB disc. <ref>{{cite web 

| url = http://www.physorg.com/news4409.html
| title = TDK Announces 100GB Blue Laser Disc Technology
| accessdate = 2006-04-03
| year = 2005

}}</ref> <ref>{{cite web 

| url = http://www.blu-ray.com/faq/#bluray_capacity_data
| title = Blu-ray FAQ
| accessdate = 2006-04-03

}}</ref>

The BD-RE (rewritable) standard is available, along with the BD-R (recordable) and BD-ROM formats, which became available in mid-2004, as part of version 2.0 of the Blu-ray specifications. BD-ROM pre-recorded media are to be available by June 2006.


Also, in addition to 12 cm discs, an 8 cm variation for use with camcorders is planned that will have a capacity of 15 GB. <ref>{{cite web 

| last = Smith
| first = Tony
| url = http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/10/07/blu-ray_camcorders/
| title = CE giants 'readying Blu-ray camcorders'
| accessdate = 2006-04-03
| year = 2004

}}</ref> <ref>{{cite web 

| url = ftp://ftp.t10.org/t10/drafts/mmc4/mmc4r05a.pdf
| title = SCSI Multimedia Commands – 4 (MMC-4)
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-04-03
| year = 2004

}}</ref>

The table below details the current and planned media sizes.

Physical size Single layer capacity Dual layer capacity
12 cm 23.3/25/27 GB 46.6/50/54 GB
8 cm 7.8 GB 15.6 GB
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Laser and optics

Blu-ray systems use a blue-violet laser operating at a wavelength of 405 nm, similar to the one used for HD DVD, to read and write data. Conventional DVDs and CDs use red and infrared lasers at 650 nm and 780 nm respectively.

The blue-violet laser's shorter wavelength makes it possible to store more information on a 12 cm CD/DVD sized disc. The minimum "spot size" on which a laser can be focused is limited by diffraction, and depends on the wavelength of the light and the numerical aperture of the lens used to focus it. By decreasing the wavelength, using a higher numerical aperture (0.85, compared with 0.6 for DVD, and 0.65 for HD DVD), higher quality, dual-lens system, and making the cover layer thinner to avoid unwanted optical effects, the laser beam can be focused much more tightly at the disk surface. This produces a smaller spot on the disc and allows more information to be physically contained in the same area.

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Hard-coating technology

Image:Tdk4.jpg Because the Blu-ray standard places data so close to the surface of the disc, early discs were susceptible to dust and scratches and had to be enclosed in plastic caddies for protection. Such an inconvenience, the consortium worried, would hobble Blu-ray's adoption in the face of the rival HD DVD standard; HD DVDs can be handled bare (caddyless) like CDs and DVDs, making them familiar to consumers as well as attractive to manufacturers and distributors who might be deterred by additional costs of caddies.

The solution to this problem arrived in January 2004 with the introduction of a clear polymer coating that gives Blu-ray discs unprecedented scratch resistance. The coating, developed by TDK Corporation under the name "Durabis", allows BDs to be cleaned safely with only a tissue — a procedure that can damage current CDs and DVDs. Presumably HD DVDs are similarly frail, as they are manufactured by the same process as the older optical media. Bare BDs with the coating are reportedly able to withstand attack by a screwdriver. <ref>{{cite web 

| last = Shim
| first = Richard
| url = http://news.com.com/Try+scratching+this+DVD/2100-1041_3-5455621.html
| title = Try scratching this DVD
| accessdate = 2006-04-03
| year = 2004

}}</ref> TDK have used the same coating on their current range of "Scratchproof" DVD media.

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Prerecorded video application

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Codecs

The codecs used to encode video and audio largely determine the amount of space needed to store the content on the disc. Some or all of the initial movies released in Blu-ray format will use MPEG-2.

The BD-ROM format specifies at least three video codecs: MPEG-2, the standard used for DVDs; MPEG-4's H.264/AVC codec; and VC-1, a codec based on Microsoft's Windows Media 9. The first of these only allows for about two hours of high-definition content on a single-layer BD-ROM, but the addition of the two more advanced codecs allows up to four hours per layer.

For audio, BD-ROM supports linear (uncompressed) PCM, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, DTS, DTS-HD, and Dolby TrueHD.

In order to remain backward-compatible, BD-RE (and by extension, BD-R) will by and large support the MPEG-2 codec. For users recording digital television broadcasts, the Blu-ray's baseline datarate of 36 Mbit/s will be more than adequate to record high definition signals. Support for new codecs will evolve as new codecs are encapsulated by broadcasters into their MPEG2 transport streams and consumer set top boxes capable of decoding them are rolled out.

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Java software support

At the 2005 JavaOne trade show, it was announced that Sun Microsystems' Java cross-platform software environment would be included in all Blu-ray players as a mandatory part of the standard. Java will be used to implement interactive menus on Blu-ray discs, as opposed to the method used on DVD video discs, which uses pre-rendered MPEG segments and selectable subtitle pictures and is considerably more primitive. Java creator James Gosling, at the conference, suggested that the inclusion of a Java virtual machine as well as network connectivity in BD devices will allow updates to Blu-ray discs via the Internet, adding content such as additional subtitle languages and promotional features that are not included on the disc at pressing time. This Java Version will be called BD-J and will be a subset of the Globally Executable MHP (GEM) standard. GEM is the world-wide version of the Multimedia Home Platform standard.

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Region codes

The Blu-Ray movie region codes will be different from the DVD region codes.<ref>{{cite web 

| url = http://plusd.itmedia.co.jp/lifestyle/articles/0512/19/news023.html
| title = 日本ではHDアナログ出力制限が無効に――AACSのコンテンツ運用規定が決定
| accessdate = 2006-04-03
| year = 2005

}}</ref>

Region code Area
1 North America, South America, Japan and East Asia (excluding China)
2 Europe and Africa
3 India, China, Russia, and all other countries.
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Digital rights management

Blu-ray has an experimental digital rights management (DRM) feature titled BD+ that allows for dynamically changing encryption schemes. Should the encryption be compromised, manufacturers can update the encryption scheme and put it on all new discs, preventing a single crack from opening up the entire specification for the duration of its lifetime. It also uses the Mandatory Managed Copy system allowing users to securely rip a file into a restricted format, a feature originally requested by HP. The lack of a dynamic encryption model is what made DeCSS so disastrous in the industry's eyes: once CSS was cracked, all DVDs from then on were crackable. However this technology together with Self-Protecting Digital Content (SPDC), could potentially allow players considered 'bad' in the industry's eyes to be effectively disabled [1]. See Advanced Access Content System (AACS).

The Blu-ray Disc Association also agreed to add digital watermarking technology to the discs. Under the name "ROM-Mark", this technology will be built into all ROM-producing devices, and prevent content from being reproduced in the event that a watermark is detected. Through licensing, the BDA believes that it can eliminate the possibility of mass producing BD-ROMs without authorization.

In addition, Blu-ray players must follow AACS guidelines pertaining to outputs over non-encrypted interfaces. This is set by a flag called the Image Constraint Token (ICT), which restricts the resolution for outputs without HDCP to 960×540. The decision to set the flag to restrict output ("down-convert") is left up to the content provider. According to CED Magazine, Sony/MGM and Disney currently have no plans to down-convert, and Fox is opposed to it as well. Warner Pictures is a proponent of the ICT, and it is expected that Paramount will also implement it <ref>{{cite web 

| last = Sweeting
| first = Paul
| url = http://videobusiness.com/article/CA6300812.html
| title = High-def ‘down-converting’ forced
| accessdate = 2006-04-03
| year = 2006

}}</ref>. Other studios releasing Blu-ray content have not yet commented on whether or not they will use down-conversion. AACS guidelines require that any title that implements the ICT must clearly state so on the packaging.

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Compatibility

While it is not compulsory for manufacturers, the Blu-ray Disc Association recommends that Blu-ray drives should be capable of reading DVDs for backward compatibility.

JVC has developed a three layer technology that allows putting both standard-definition DVD data and HD data on a BD/DVD combo disc. If successfully commercialized, this would enable the consumer to purchase a disc which could be played on current DVD players, and reveal its HD version when played on a new BD player.

Another aspect of compatibility is more problematic. Due to AACS copy protection, the Blu-ray players will only output HD content via HDMI and DVI-D connections, meaning that older HDTV models with Component, RGB D-Sub, and DVI-A inputs (currently, majority of HDTVs in US) will only display video at standard definition or not at all.

The situation with computer compatibility is even worse. In order to display HD content on a computer monitor, both monitor and video card must be HDCP compliant. Although there are a few HDCP compliant monitors on the market, there are no HDCP compliant video cards. Even the latest cards from ATI and nVidia, labeled HDCP ready, are not HDCP compliant (as of April 2006).

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Stand-alone recorders and games consoles

The first Blu-ray recorder was unveiled by Sony on March 3, 2003, and was introduced to the Japanese market in April that year. On September 1, 2003, JVC and Samsung Electronics announced Blu-ray based products at IFA in Berlin, Germany. Both indicated that their products would be on the market in 2005.

Sony has announced that the PlayStation 3 will be shipped with a Blu-ray drive, but possibly just a read-only one. It is expected to read all DVD and CD formats in addition to BD-ROM, BD-R, and BD-RE. The target release date for PS3 is in early November 2006.

Microsoft, who did not include Blu-ray technology in its Xbox 360 console, had previously stated that it is possible that they could add a Blu-ray drive to the unit. However, further comments from Microsoft state that they have no plans to do so, and were merely just trying to illustrate the flexibility of the Xbox 360. In February 2006 (3 months after the console's release), Microsoft announced the development of an external HD DVD drive for use with the Xbox 360, opposing Sony's new Blu-ray format. <ref>{{cite web 

| last = Smith
| first = Tony
| url = http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/01/18/ms_says_no_xbox_360_blu-ray/
| title = MS says no to Xbox 360 Blu-ray support
| accessdate = 2006-04-03
| year = 2006

}}</ref> Although they have since said that if Blu-ray becomes the more dominant format, Microsoft may then release a Blu-ray drive add-on. <ref>{{cite web 

| url = http://www.gamespot.com/news/6142137.html?page=7
| title = Moore: Blu-ray Xbox 360 add-on possible
| accessdate = 2006-04-03
| year = 2006

}}</ref>

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PC data storage

Blu-ray drives currently in production can transfer approximately 36 Mbit/s (54 Mbit/s for BD-ROM), but 2x speed prototypes with a 108 Mbit/s transfer rate are in development. Rates of 8x or more are planned for the future. Image:BDR-101 01.jpg Hewlett Packard has announced plans to sell Blu-ray-equipped desktop PCs and laptops. In December 2005, HP announced that they would also be supporting the rival HD DVD technology. <ref>{{cite web 

| url = http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press/2005/051216a.html?jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN
| title = HP to Support HD-DVD High-definition DVD Format and Join HD-DVD Promotions Group
| accessdate = 2006-04-03
| year = 2005

}}</ref> Philips was scheduled to debut a Blu-ray computer drive in the second half of 2005, but it was also delayed. <ref>{{cite web 

| url = http://www.opticalstorage.philips.com/about/news/article-14836.html
| title = Philips Demonstrates its Blu-ray Disc PC drive capable of reading and writing on CD, DVD and Blu-ray Discs
| accessdate = 2006-04-03
| year = 2005

}}</ref> <ref>{{cite web 

| url = http://www.audioholics.com/ces/CEStechnology/PhilipsAllinOneOPU81BlurayDisc.php
| title = Philips All-in-One OPU81 Blu-ray Disc Drive
| accessdate = 2006-04-03
| year = 2005

}}</ref> On March 10, 2005 Apple Computer joined the Blu-ray Disc Association.

In July 2005, information was leaked about an upcoming Pioneer Blu-ray drive; the OEM BDR 101A. <ref>{{cite web 

| url = http://www.akihabaranews.com/en/news_10120.html
| title = BluRay DVD burner for PC?
| accessdate = 2006-04-03
| year = 2005

}}</ref> On December 27, 2005, Pioneer formally announced the drive with an expected release in the first quarter of 2006. However, as of late March 2006, the drive remains unreleased. The drive will write at 2x on BD-R and BD-RE, 8x on DVD+R and DVD-R, and 4x on DVD-RW and DVD+RW. It will not, however, support reading CD or reading/writing CD-R or CD-RW media. <ref>{{cite web 

| url = http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pna/press/release/detail/0,,2076_4313_291704979,00.html
| title = Pioneer Launches One of Industry's First PC-Based Blu-ray Disc Drives
| accessdate = 2006-04-03
| year = 2005

}}</ref> <ref>{{cite web 

| url = http://www.pioneer.co.jp/press/release159.html
| title = Pioneer Launches Its First Internal Blu-Ray Disc Writer
| accessdate = 2006-04-03
| year = 2005

}}</ref>

Optical heads allowing the reading of CD/DVD/Blu-ray discs have already been developed and are expected to be included after first release of DVD/Blu-ray only drives. <ref>{{cite web 

| url = http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press_Archive/200405/04-026E/
| title = Development of Blu-ray Disc, DVD and CD compatible, 3 wavelength recording/playback Optical Head
| accessdate = 2006-04-03
| year = 2004

}}</ref>

The Panasonic Blu-ray SW-5582 is the first drive to support all 3 formats. <ref>{{cite web 

| url = http://www.slidirect.com/web/do/pub/sku/view?categoryId=43&id=105
| title = Panasonic Blu-ray SW-5582
| accessdate = 2006-04-03
| year = 2006

}}</ref>

Other drives expected in the market can be found here (Blu-ray.com showcase) with PC information updates here: Blu-ray.com forums "PC Data Storage"

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Corporate support

HD DVD initially received more support than Blu-ray from film studios and distributors. This early lead, however, has now faded. The two formats are now neck to neck with the amount of support they hold in the industry. 

| last = Arnold
| first = Thomas K.
| url = http://www.homemediaretailing.com/news/html/breaking_article.cfm?article_id=8150
| title = Another Victory for Blu-ray Camp
| accessdate = 2006-04-03
| year = 2005

}}</ref> <ref>{{cite web 

| url = http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=27111
| title = Warner joins Blu-ray cabal, Toshiba reacts
| accessdate = 2006-04-03
| year = 2005

}}</ref> Of the six largest Hollywood studios, this leaves only Universal Studios supporting just HD DVD exclusively; the others either support both formats or Blu-Ray Disc. 

| url = http://sev.prnewswire.com/entertainment/20051109/LAW09909112005-1.html
| title = MGM to Support Blu-ray Disc Format
| accessdate = 2006-04-03
| year = 2005

}}</ref>

  • On November 19, 2005, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment announced that they finished authoring the first Blu-ray Disc, a full-length movie, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. The disc uses MPEG-2 compression at a resolution of 1920 × 1080 (1080i or 1080p; it was not announced which was used) and claims to use a menu interface that would succeed current DVD-Video interfaces. <ref>{{cite web 
| url = http://sev.prnewswire.com/entertainment/20051118/LAF08318112005-1.html
| title = Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Completes First Full-Length Blu-ray Disc
| accessdate = 2006-04-03
| year = 2005

}}</ref> 

| last = Shimpi
| first = Anand Lal
| coauthors = Wasson, Manveer
| url = http://www.anandtech.com/tradeshows/showdoc.aspx?i=2665&p=14
| title = CES 2006 - Day 2: Blu-ray/HD-DVD, PureVideo H.264, Viiv, Centrino Duo and a lot more
| accessdate = 2006-04-03
| year = 2006

}}</ref>

  • On January 12, 2006 Digital Playground, a prominent pornographic movie studio, announced it would release its content using the Blu-ray disc format. <ref>{{cite web 
| last = Kahn
| first = Kat
| url = http://www.xbiz.com/news_piece.php?id=12735
| title = Digital Playground Chooses Blu-ray Format
| accessdate = 2006-04-03
| year = 2006

}}</ref>

  • On April 3, 2006 Blueray, an italian videoproduction company, announced it would release its content using the Blu-ray disc format. <ref>{{cite web 
| url = http://www.blueray.it
| title = Blueray
| accessdate = 2006-04-03
| year = 2006

}}</ref>

  • On April 10, 2006 TDK announced in a press release that it began shipping 25 GB BD-R and BD-RE media (at prices of $19.99 USD and $24.99 USD respectively). TDK also announced that it would be releasing 50 GB BD-R and BD-RE media later this year (at prices of $47.99 USD and $59.99 respectively). <ref>{{cite web 
| url = http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20060410005113&newsLang=en
| title =  TDK Begins Shipping Its Highly Anticipated Blu-ray Disc 25GB Recordable And Rewritable Media; Exclusive Material Formulations and Manufacturing Processes Deliver Bit-Perfect Recording and Playback
| accessdate = 2006-04-10
| year = 2006

}}</ref>

The BDA has over 170 members. Its Board of Directors consists of Apple Computer Corp.; Dell, Inc.; Hewlett Packard Company; Hitachi, Ltd.; LG Electronics Inc.; Mitsubishi Electric Corporation; Panasonic (Matsushita Electric); Pioneer Corporation; Royal Philips Electronics; Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.; Sharp Corporation; Sony Corporation; TDK Corporation; Thomson; Twentieth Century Fox; Walt Disney Pictures and Television; Warner Bros. Entertainment.

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Alternatives

The primary rival to Blu-ray is HD DVD, championed by Toshiba, NEC Corporation, Microsoft, and Intel. It has a lower data density and thus less disc capacity, but could in principle benefit from lower manufacturing costs for both the drive units and the pre-recorded/recordable media.

On November 29, 2004 four Hollywood studios (New Line Cinema, Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios and Warner Bros.) announced non-exclusive agreements to support HD DVD. Since that time, Paramount and Warner have chosen to release titles in both Blu-ray and HD DVD.

Blu-ray is a very similar format to PDD, another optical disc format developed by Sony (and has been available since 2004) but offering higher data transfer speeds. PDD is not intended for home video use and is aimed towards data archival and backup use in business. The UDO format is also aimed for similar purposes.

Other competitors:

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Complete list of announced BD launch releases

Template:Col-begin Template:Col-break

20th Century Fox


Artisan Entertainment


Lions Gate Films



* Pictured at CES but not yet announced

** Not a launch title, to be released in late 2006

Template:Col-break

Paramount Pictures

Template:Col-break

Sony Pictures

Template:Col-break

Warner Bros.

Template:Col-break

Walt Disney Pictures

Template:Col-end

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See also

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References

<references />
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External links


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