Blu-Ray

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Those of you who have not been following this "tech saga" may think the road to a "next-generation optical disc format" was smooth and straight. Not so. In fact, when the first movie titles were released on Blu-ray, in June of 2006, the press reported it as an attempt to catch up to HD-DVD, its rival and the market leader at the time. Home Media Retailing reported it this way:

As rival HD-DVD continues to make headway in the market, Blu-ray Disc, the next-generation optical-disc format supported by the lion's share of studios and consumer electronics manufacturers, makes its long-awaited - and oft-delayed - debut this week.

The first batch of seven Blu-ray titles, all from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, [is] scheduled to arrive in stores June 20. The first set-top Blu-ray player, from Samsung, is slated to go on sale June 25.

Of course, HD-DVD is nowhere to be found anymore, and Blu-ray stands alone as the new "next-generation" technology that empowers consumers to record, rewrite and play HD (high-definition) video. Even more, it offers huge amounts of storage space, more than five times as much as a standard DVD at 25GB on a single-layer disc, 50GB on a dual. This phenomenal capacity is matched by the high-quality, advanced video and audio "codecs" (compression/decompression processes) that deliver an unprecedented viewing and listening experience.

The color counts

At the time of Blu-ray's introduction, optical disc recorders writing such formats as DVD, DVD±R, DVD±RW and DVD-RAM all used red lasers for reading and writing data. The new Blu-ray technology uses a blue-violet laser, however, which is how it got its name. Because a blue-violet laser has a shorter wavelength (405nm, nanometers, or billionths of a meter) than a red one (650nm), the device can focus the laser much more precisely.

Manufacturing methods and material preparation continue to improve, as well, but it is the blue-violet laser's precision that enables it to "pack" more data in less space. The original optical disc, the CD, maxed out at 800MB, whereas the later DVD was able to get 4.6GB on one layer and 9GB on two. With the different colored laser and the other new processes, a BD can now hold 25GB/50GB. Engineers at Pioneer and other BDA member firms have reportedly push the storage capacity of a BD to 500GB and beyond, on one disc, by using as many as 20 layers.

The future is bright

Over 200 leading computer, consumer electronics, music, recording media and video game companies support the Blu-ray format. It also has solid support from the major Hollywood studios and the vast majority of the smaller ones. Blu-ray is the heir apparent to today's reigning DVD format, and many studios have taken to releasing feature films on BD "day-and-date" with DVD (Hollywood code for "at the same time"). Every month sees new titles released in this stunning new format, and the catalog of classic films is also growing steadily. The Internet is awash with sites and information about Blu-ray movies, from dedicated Blu-ray "movie review" pages that preview new and upcoming Blu-ray releases, to simple but comprehensive lists of what movies are presently available in the BD format.

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