Blu-ray Disc
Media type	High-density optical disc
Encoding	MPEG-2, MPEG-4 AVC (H.264), and VC-1
Capacity	25 GB (single layer) 50 GB (dual layer)
Read mechanism	405 nm laser: 1× at 36 Mbit/s 2× at 72 Mbit/s 4× at 144 Mbit/s 6× at 216 Mbit/s[1] 12× at 432 Mbit/s
Developed by	Blu-ray Disc Association
Usage	Data storage, High-definition video and PlayStation 3 games

Blu-ray Disc (also known as Blu-ray or BD) is an optical disc storage media format. Mifu01jpg|200px|thumb|right|Chinese calligraphy written in a language content format by Song Dynasty (A MPEG-2 is a standard for "the generic coding of moving pictures and associated audio information" H264 is a standard for Video compression. It is also known as MPEG-4 Part 10, or MPEG-4 AVC (for Advanced Video Coding) VC-1 is the informal name of the SMPTE 421M Video codec standard initially developed by Microsoft. A gigabyte (derived from the SI prefix Giga-) is a unit of Information or Computer In telecommunications Bit rate or Data transfer rate is the average number of Bits characters or blocks per unit time passing between equipment in a data transmission The Blu-ray Disc Association ( BDA) is the industry Consortium that develops and licenses Blu-ray Disc technology and is responsible for establishing format High-definition (HD video generally refers to any video system of higher resolution than standard-definition (SD video most commonly at display resolutions of 1280×720 A data storage device is a device for recording (storing information (data Its main uses are high-definition video and data storage. High-definition (HD video generally refers to any video system of higher resolution than standard-definition (SD video most commonly at display resolutions of 1280×720 Debt AIDS Trade in Africa (or DATA) is a Multinational non-government organization founded in January 2002 in London by U2 's The disc has the same dimensions as a standard DVD or CD. DVD (also known as " Digital Versatile Disc " or " Digital Video Disc " - see Etymology)is A Compact Disc (also known as a CD) is an Optical disc used to store digital data, originally developed for storing digital audio

The name Blu-ray Disc is derived from the blue laser used to read and write this type of disc. The term blue laser is frequently applied to semiconductor Laser diode based on gallium nitride. 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. In Physics wavelength is the distance between repeating units of a propagating Wave of a given Frequency. A nanometre ( American spelling: nanometer, symbol nm) ( Greek: νάνος nanos dwarf; μετρώ metrό count) is a DVD (also known as " Digital Versatile Disc " or " Digital Video Disc " - see Etymology)is A dual layer Blu-ray Disc can store 50 GB, almost six times the capacity of a dual layer DVD. A gigabyte (derived from the SI prefix Giga-) is a unit of Information or Computer

Blu-ray Disc was developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association, a group of companies representing consumer electronics, computer hardware, and motion picture production. The Blu-ray Disc Association ( BDA) is the industry Consortium that develops and licenses Blu-ray Disc technology and is responsible for establishing format The standard is covered by several patents belonging to different companies. As of April 2008, a joint licensing agreement for all the relevant patents had not yet been finalized. ^[2]

As of April 5, 2008, more than 530^[3] Blu-ray Disc titles have been released in the United States, and more than 250 in Japan. Events 456 - St Patrick returns to Ireland as a missionary bishop 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common The United States of America —commonly referred to as the For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics.

During the high definition optical disc format war, Blu-ray Disc competed with the HD DVD format. not insert the publicly disclosed HD DVD key into this article for the time being On February 19, 2008, Toshiba — the main company supporting HD DVD — announced it would no longer develop, manufacture and market HD DVD players and recorders,^[4] leading almost all other HD DVD supporters to follow suit, effectively naming Blu-ray the winner of the format war. Events 197 - Roman Emperor Septimius Severus defeats usurper Clodius Albinus in the Battle of Lugdunum 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common ( is a multinational conglomerate manufacturing company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. A format war describes competition between mutually incompatible proprietary formats typically for Data storage devices and Recording formats for Electronic

Contents 1 History 1.1 Origins 1.2 Blu-ray Disc format finalized 1.3 Launch and sales developments 1.4 Competition from HD DVD 1.5 End of the format war 2 Disc structure 2.1 Laser and optics 2.2 Hard-coating technology 3 Recording speed 4 Software standards 4.1 Codecs 4.2 Java software support 4.3 Region codes 4.4 Digital rights management (DRM) 5 Player profiles 6 Backward compatibility 7 Ongoing development 8 Variants 8.1 Mini Blu-ray Disc 8.2 BD9/BD5 Blu-ray Disc 8.3 AVCREC 8.4 Blu-ray Disc recordable 8.5 HD DVD/Blu-ray Disc hybrid discs 9 See also 9.1 Alternative disc technologies 10 References 11 External links

History

Optical disc authoring v • d • e
Optical disc Optical disc image Optical disc drive Optical disc authoring Authoring software Recording technologies Recording modes Packet writing
Optical media types
Laserdisc (LD), Video Single Disc (VSD) Compact Disc (CD): Red Book, 5.1 Music Disc, SACD, PhotoCD, CD-R, CD-ROM, CD-RW, CD Video (CDV), Video CD (VCD), SVCD, CD+G, CD-Text, CD-ROM XA, CD-i MiniDisc (MD) (Hi-MD) DVD: DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-R DL, DVD+R DL, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD-RW DL, DVD+RW DL, DVD-RAM, DVD-D Ultra Density Optical (UDO) Universal Media Disc (UMD) HD DVD: HD DVD-R, HD DVD-RW, HD DVD-RAM, HD DVD-ROM Blu-ray Disc (BD): BD-R, BD-RE
Standards
Rainbow Books File systems ISO 9660 Joliet Rock Ridge El Torito Apple ISO 9660 Extensions Universal Disk Format (ISO 9660) (UDF) Mount Rainier
Further reading
History of optical storage media High definition optical disc format war

In 1998, commercial HDTV sets began to appear in the consumer market; however, there was no commonly accepted, inexpensive way to record or play HD content. Optical disc authoring, including DVD and Blu-ray Disc authoring (often referred to colloquially but improperly as burning) is the process of assembling In Computing, an optical disc drive ( ODD) is a Disk drive that uses Laser light or electromagnetic waves near the Light spectrum Optical disc authoring, including DVD and Blu-ray Disc authoring (often referred to colloquially but improperly as burning) is the process of assembling Optical disc authoring software is Computer software for authoring optical discs including CD-ROMs and DVDs They are also known by synonyms Optical disc authoring requires a number of different technologies working in tandem from the media to the firmware to the control electronics of the drive. In Optical disc authoring, there are multiple modes for recording including Disc-At-Once, Track-At-Once, and Session-At-Once. Packet writing is an Optical disc recording technology used to allow write-once and rewritable CD and DVD media to be used in a similar manner to a The Laserdisc (LD is an obsolete Home video disc format and was the first commercial Optical disc storage medium Video Single Disc (abbreviated as VSD was a disc-based format that carried the same analog video information as a Laserdisc, but on a 12-centimetre (4 A Compact Disc (also known as a CD) is an Optical disc used to store digital data, originally developed for storing digital audio Red Book is the standard for audio CDs ( Compact Disc Digital Audio system or CDDA) The DTS-CD, DTS Audio CD or 51 Music Disc (official name is an audio Compact Disc that contains music in Surround sound format Super Audio CD ( SACD) is a read-only optical audio disc format that can provide higher fidelity digital audio reproduction than the Red Photo CD is a system designed by Kodak for digitizing and storing photos in a CD A CD-R ( C ompact D isc- R ecordable is a variation of the Compact Disc invented by Philips and Sony. CD-ROM (an initialism of "Compact Disc Read-Only Memory " is a pre-pressed Compact Disc that contains data accessible to but not writable Compact Disc ReWritable (CD-RW is a rewritable Optical disc format This article is about 'CD Video' a hybrid analog/digital format Super Video CD ( Super Video Compact Disc or SVCD) is a Digital format for storing Video on standard Compact discs SVCD was intended A CD+G (also known as CD+Graphics) is a special audio Compact disc that contains Graphics Data in addition to the audio data CD-Text is an extension of the Red Book Compact Disc specifications standard for Audio CDs It allows for storage of additional information (e CD-ROM XA is an extension of the Yellow Book Mode 2 standard for CD-ROMs that combines compressed audio visual and computer data allowing all to be accessed CD-i or Compact Disc Interactive is the name of an interactive multimedia CD player developed and marketed by Royal Philips Electronics N A MiniDisc ( MD) is a Magneto-optical disc-based Data storage device initially intended for storage of up to 80 minutes of digitized audio In January 2004 Sony announced the Hi-MD media storage format as a further development of the MiniDisc-Format. DVD (also known as " Digital Versatile Disc " or " Digital Video Disc " - see Etymology)is DVD-R is a DVD recordable format A DVD-R typically has a storage capacity of 4 A DVD+R is a once-writable Optical disc with 47 GB (4377 GiB) of storage capacity (more precisely 2295104 sectors of 2048 Bytes DVD-R DL (DL stands for Dual Layer) also called DVD-R9, is a derivative of the DVD-R format standard DVD+R DL (DL stands for Double Layer) also called DVD+R9, is a derivative of the DVD+R format created by the DVD+RW Alliance. A DVD-RW disc is a rewritable Optical disc with equal storage capacity to a DVD-R, typically 4 DVD+RW is the name of a standard for Optical discs one of several types of DVD, which hold up to about 4 DVD-RW DL is a rewritable Optical disc standard with storage capacity of 8 A DVD+RW DL is a rewritable Optical disc with storage capacity of 8 DVD-RAM ( DVD – Random Access Memory) is a disc specification presented in 1996 by the DVD Forum, which specifies rewritable DVD-RAM media and the appropriate DVD-Ds, also referred to as disposable DVDs are a type of digital video disc that is designed to be used for a maximum 48 hours after the containing package is opened Ultra Density Optical ( UDO) is an Optical disc format designed for high-density storage of high-definition video and The Universal Media Disc ( UMD) is an Optical disc medium developed by Sony for use on the PlayStation Portable. not insert the publicly disclosed HD DVD key into this article for the time being not insert the publicly disclosed HD DVD key into this article for the time being not insert the publicly disclosed HD DVD key into this article for the time being not insert the publicly disclosed HD DVD key into this article for the time being not insert the publicly disclosed HD DVD key into this article for the time being Blu-ray Disc recordable (or BD-R) refers to two Optical disc formats that can be recorded with an Optical disc recorder. For the series of US government publications on Computer security standards see Rainbow Series. ISO 9660 a standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO defines a File system for CD-ROM media Joliet is the name of an extension to the ISO 9660 File system. The Rock Ridge Interchange Protocol (RRIP IEEE P1282 is an extension to the ISO 9660 volume format which adds POSIX File system semantics The El Torito Bootable CD Specification is an extension to the ISO 9660 CD-ROM specification The primary file system for Apple Macintosh computers is HFS (or HFS+ Mount Rainier ( MRW) is a format for writable Optical discs which provides the Packet writing and defect management Although research into Optical data storage has been ongoing for many decades the first popular system was the Compact Disc, introduced in 1982, adapted to data High-definition television (HDTV is a Digital television Broadcasting system with higher resolution than traditional television systems (standard-definition In fact, there was no medium with the storage required to accommodate HD codecs, except JVC's Digital VHS and Sony's HDCAM. D-VHS is a Digital video format developed by JVC, in collaboration with Hitachi, Matsushita, and Philips. HDCAM, introduced in 1997, is an HD version of Digital Betacam, using an 8-bit DCT compressed 311 recording in 1080i -compatible ^[5] Nevertheless, it was well known that using lasers with shorter wavelengths would enable optical storage with higher density. When Shuji Nakamura invented practical blue laser diodes, it was a sensation, although a lengthy patent lawsuit delayed commercial introduction. The term blue laser is frequently applied to semiconductor Laser diode based on gallium nitride. ^[6]

Origins

Sony started two projects applying the new diodes: UDO (Ultra Density Optical) and DVR Blue (together with Pioneer), a format of rewritable discs which would eventually become Blu-ray Disc (more specifically, BD-RE). is a multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato Tokyo, Japan, and one of the world's largest Media conglomerates with Ultra Density Optical ( UDO) is an Optical disc format designed for high-density storage of high-definition video and ( is a Multinational Corporation that specializes in digital entertainment products based in Tokyo, Japan. ^[7] The core technologies of the formats are essentially similar.

The first DVR Blue prototypes were unveiled at the CEATEC exhibition in October 2000. Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies (also known as CEATEC is an annual Trade show in Japan. ^[8] Because the Blu-ray Disc standard places the data recording layer close to the surface of the disc, early discs were susceptible to contamination and scratches and had to be enclosed in plastic cartridges for protection. In February 2002, the project was officially announced as Blu-ray,^[9] and the Blu-ray Disc Association was founded by the nine initial members. The Blu-ray Disc Association ( BDA) is the industry Consortium that develops and licenses Blu-ray Disc technology and is responsible for establishing format

The first consumer devices were in stores on April 10, 2003. Events 879 - Louis III becomes King of the Western Franks. 1407 - the lama Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. This device was the Sony BDZ-S77; a BD-RE recorder that was made available only in Japan. The recommended price was US$3800;^[10] however, there was no standard for pre-recorded video and no movies were released for this player. The Blu-ray Disc standard was still years away, since a new and secure DRM system was needed before Hollywood studios would accept it, not wanting to repeat the failure of the Content Scramble System for DVDs. Digital rights management ( DRM) is a generic term that refers to Access control technologies used by hardware manufacturers publishers and Copyright holders Content Scramble System ( CSS) is a Digital Rights Management (DRM scheme used on almost all commercially produced DVD -Video discs

Blu-ray Disc format finalized

The Blu-ray Disc physical specifications were finished in 2004. ^[11] In January 2005, TDK announced that they had developed a hard coating polymer for Blu-ray Discs. ^[12] The cartridges, no longer necessary, were scrapped. The BD-ROM specifications were finalized in early 2006. ^[13] AACS LA, a consortium founded in 2004,^[14] had been developing the DRM platform that could be used to securely distribute movies to consumers. However, the final AACS standard was delayed,^[15] and then delayed again when an important member of the Blu-ray Disc group voiced concerns. ^[16] At the request of the initial hardware manufacturers, including Toshiba, Pioneer and Samsung, an interim standard was published which did not include some features, like managed copy. ^[17]

Launch and sales developments

The first BD-ROM players were shipped in the middle of June 2006, though HD DVD players beat them in the race to the market by a few months. ^[18][19]

The first Blu-ray Disc titles were released on June 20, 2006. Events 451 - Battle of Chalons: Flavius Aetius ' defeats Attila the Hun. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The earliest releases used MPEG-2 video compression, the same method used on DVDs. MPEG-2 is a standard for "the generic coding of moving pictures and associated audio information" DVD (also known as " Digital Versatile Disc " or " Digital Video Disc " - see Etymology)is The first releases using the newer VC-1 and AVC codecs were introduced in September 2006. VC-1 is the informal name of the SMPTE 421M Video codec standard initially developed by Microsoft. H264 is a standard for Video compression. It is also known as MPEG-4 Part 10, or MPEG-4 AVC (for Advanced Video Coding) A codec is a device or program capable of encoding and/or decoding a Digital Data stream or signal. ^[20] The first movies using dual layer discs (50 GB) were introduced in October 2006. ^[21]

The first mass-market Blu-ray Disc rewritable drive for the PC was the BWU-100A, released by Sony on July 18, 2006. is a multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato Tokyo, Japan, and one of the world's largest Media conglomerates with Events 390 BC - Roman - Gaulish Wars Battle of the Allia - a Roman army is defeated by raiding Gauls, Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. It recorded both single and dual layer BD-R as well as BD-RE discs and had a suggested retail price of US$699.

Competition from HD DVD

Main article: High definition optical disc format war

The DVD Forum (which was chaired by Toshiba) was deeply split over whether to develop the more expensive blue laser technology or not. The DVD Forum is an international organization composed of hardware software media and content companies that use and develop the DVD and HD DVD formats ( is a multinational conglomerate manufacturing company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. In March 2002, the forum voted to approve a proposal endorsed by Warner Bros. and other motion picture studios that involved compressing HD content onto dual-layer DVD-9 discs. Warner Bros Entertainment Inc (or Warner Bros, Warner Bros Pictures) is one of the world's largest producers of Film and A movie studio (aka film studio) is in the established sense of the term a company that distributes films. DVD (also known as " Digital Versatile Disc " or " Digital Video Disc " - see Etymology)is ^[22][23] In spite of this decision, however, the DVD Forum's Steering Committee announced in April that it was pursuing its own blue-laser high-definition solution. In August, Toshiba and NEC announced their competing standard Advanced Optical Disc. ^[24] It was finally adopted by the DVD Forum and renamed HD DVD the next year,^[25] after being voted down twice by Blu-ray Disc Association members, prompting the U. not insert the publicly disclosed HD DVD key into this article for the time being S. Department of Justice to make preliminary investigations into the situation. ^[26][27]

HD DVD had a head start in the high definition video market and Blu-ray Disc sales were slow at first. The first Blu-ray Disc player was perceived as expensive and buggy, and there were few titles available. ^[28] This changed when PlayStation 3 launched, since every PS3 unit also functioned as a Blu-ray Disc player. By January 2007, Blu-ray discs had outsold HD DVDs,^[29] and during the first three quarters of 2007, BD outsold HD DVDs by about two to one. Finally, by February 2008, Toshiba announced it was pulling its support for the HD DVD format, leaving Blu Ray as the victor in the video wars. ^[30]

Some analysts believe that Sony's PlayStation 3 video game console played an important role in the format war, believing it acted as a catalyst for Blu-ray Disc, as the PlayStation 3 used a Blu-ray Disc drive as its primary information storage medium. Catalysis is the process in which the rate of a Chemical reaction is increased by means of a Chemical substance known as a catalyst ^[31] They also credited Sony's more thorough and influential marketing campaign. ^[32] More recently several studios have cited Blu-ray Disc's adoption of the BD+ anti-copying system as the reason they supported Blu-ray Disc over HD DVD. ^[33]

End of the format war

In January 2008, a day before CES 2008, Warner Brothers, the only major studio still releasing movies in both HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc format, announced it would release only in Blu-ray Disc after May 2008. The International Consumer Electronics Show (CES is a Trade show held each January in Las Vegas, Nevada, and is sponsored Warner Bros Entertainment Inc (or Warner Bros, Warner Bros Pictures) is one of the world's largest producers of Film and This effectively included other studios which came under the Warner umbrella, such as New Line Cinema and HBO, though in Europe HBO distribution partner the BBC announced it would, while keeping an eye on market forces, continue to release product on both formats. New Line Cinema, founded in 1967 is one of the major American Film studios Though it initially began as an independent film studio it became a This led to a chain reaction in the industry, including major U. S. retailers such as Wal-Mart dropping HD DVD in their stores. Wal-Mart Stores Inc (or Walmart as written in its new logo is an American public corporation that runs a chain of large discount department stores A major European retailer, Woolworths, dropped HD DVD from its inventory. Netflix, the major online DVD rental site, said it would no longer stock new HD DVDs. Netflix ( is the largest Online DVD rental service offering Flat rate rental-by-mail and online streaming to customers in the United States Online DVD rentals allow a person to rent DVDs by Mail. Generally all interaction between the renter and the rental company takes place through the company's Following these new developments, on 19 February 2008, Toshiba announced it would be ending production of HD DVD devices,^[34] allowing Blu-ray Disc to become the industry standard for high-density optical disks. Events 197 - Roman Emperor Septimius Severus defeats usurper Clodius Albinus in the Battle of Lugdunum 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Universal Studios, the sole major movie studio to back HD DVD since inception, shortly after Toshiba's announcement, said "while Universal values the close partnership we have shared with Toshiba, it is time to turn our focus to releasing new and catalog titles on Blu-ray Disc. "^[35] Paramount Studios, which started releasing movies only in HD DVD format during late 2007, also said it would start releasing in Blu-ray Disc. not insert the publicly disclosed HD DVD key into this article for the time being Both studios announced initial Blu-ray lineups in May 2008. With this, all major Hollywood studios now support Blu-ray. ^[36]

Former HD DVD supporter Microsoft has stated that they are not currently pursuing a Blu-ray Disc drive for the Xbox 360, and will instead focus on their digital downloads from the Xbox Live Marketplace. Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational Computer technology Corporation, which rose to dominate the Home computer The Xbox Live Marketplace ( XBLM) is a virtual market designed for Microsoft 's Xbox 360 console that allows Xbox Live members to download ^[37]

Blu-ray Disc began making serious strides as soon as the format war ended. Nielsen VideoScan sales numbers showed that with some titles, such as 20th Century Fox's "Hitman," up to 14% of total disc sales were from Blu-ray, although the average for the first half of the year was around 5%. Shortly after the format war ended, a study by The NPD Group found that awareness of Blu-ray Disc had reached 60% of U. S. households, with most experts predicting the business will take off in a significant fashion in the fourth quarter of 2008, when BD Live software and players--which offer a variety of Web-enabled features, from downloadable trailers to chat and instant-messaging functions--start hitting the market.

A preliminary conclusion has been made by the Singulus Technologies AG, German manufacturer of optical disc equipment and world's only provider of such services as mastering, molding and replication. According to Stefan Baustert Blu-ray is being adopted faster than the DVD format 11 years ago at the same period of its delevopment. This conclusion was made due to the fact that Singulus Technologies has received orders for 21 Blu-ray dual-layer machines only during this year's first quarter, while only 17 DVD machines of this type were made in the same period 11 years ago. ^[38]

Disc structure

Laser and optics

Blu-ray Disc uses a "blue" (technically violet) laser operating at a wavelength of 405 nm to read and write data. The term blue laser is frequently applied to semiconductor Laser diode based on gallium nitride. A laser diode is a Laser where the active medium is a Semiconductor similar to that found in a Light-emitting diode. In Physics wavelength is the distance between repeating units of a propagating Wave of a given Frequency. A nanometre ( American spelling: nanometer, symbol nm) ( Greek: νάνος nanos dwarf; μετρώ metrό count) is a Conventional DVDs and CDs use red and near infrared lasers at 650 nm and 780 nm respectively. DVD (also known as " Digital Versatile Disc " or " Digital Video Disc " - see Etymology)is A Compact Disc (also known as a CD) is an Optical disc used to store digital data, originally developed for storing digital audio

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. Angular resolution describes the resolving power of any image forming device such as an optical or Radio telescope, a Microscope, a Camera Diffraction is normally taken to refer to various phenomena which occur when a wave encounters an obstacle In Optics, the numerical aperture ( NA) of an optical system is a Dimensionless number that characterizes the range of angles over which the system can accept A lens is an optical device with perfect or approximate Axial symmetry which transmits and refracts Light, converging or diverging By decreasing the wavelength, increasing the numerical aperture from 0. 60 to 0. 85 and making the cover layer thinner to avoid unwanted optical effects, the laser beam can be focused to a smaller spot. This allows more information to be stored in the same area. For Blu-ray Disc, the spot size is 580 nm. A nanometre ( American spelling: nanometer, symbol nm) ( Greek: νάνος nanos dwarf; μετρώ metrό count) is a ^[39] In addition to the optical improvements, Blu-ray Discs feature improvements in data encoding that further increase the capacity. (See Compact disc for information on optical discs' physical structure. A Compact Disc (also known as a CD) is an Optical disc used to store digital data, originally developed for storing digital audio )

Hard-coating technology

Because the Blu-ray Disc data layer is closer to the surface of the disc, compared to the DVD standard, it was at first more vulnerable to scratches. DVD (also known as " Digital Versatile Disc " or " Digital Video Disc " - see Etymology)is The first discs were housed in cartridges for protection. Advances in polymer technology eventually made the cartridges unnecessary. A polymer is a large Molecule ( Macromolecule) composed of repeating Structural units typically connected by Covalent Chemical bonds ^[40]

TDK was the first company to develop a working scratch protection coating for Blu-ray Discs. formerly, is a Japanese company that manufactures electronic materials Electronic components and recording and data-storage media, and markets them globally It was named Durabis. Durabis ( Latin for "you will last" is a brand name for a clear Polymer coating developed by the TDK Corporation. In addition, both Sony and Panasonic's replication methods include proprietary hard-coat technologies. Sony's rewritable media are sprayed with a scratch-resistant and antistatic coating. Verbatim's recordable and rewritable Blu-ray Disc discs use their own proprietary hard-coat technology called ScratchGuard. Verbatim Corporation is a US company that markets storage media and Flash memory products

Recording speed

Drive speed	Data rate		Write time for Blu-ray Disc (minutes)
	Mbit/s	MB/s	Single Layer	Dual Layer
1×	36	4. In telecommunications Bit rate or Data transfer rate is the average number of Bits characters or blocks per unit time passing between equipment in a data transmission In telecommunications Bit rate or Data transfer rate is the average number of Bits characters or blocks per unit time passing between equipment in a data transmission 5	90	180
2×	72	9	45	90
4×	144	18	23	45
6×	216	27	15	30
8×*	288	36	12	23
12×*	432	54	8	15

*Theoretical

Software standards

Codecs

Codecs are compression schemes that store audio and video more efficiently, either giving longer play time or higher quality per megabyte. A codec is a device or program capable of encoding and/or decoding a Digital Data stream or signal. There are both lossy and lossless compression techniques. A lossy compression method is one where compressing data and then decompressing it retrieves data that may well be different from the original but is close enough to be useful Lossless data compression is a class of Data compression Algorithms that allows the exact original data to be reconstructed from the compressed data

The BD-ROM specification mandates certain codec compatibilities for both hardware decoders (players) and the movie-software (content). For video, all players are required to support MPEG-2, H.264/AVC, and SMPTE VC-1. MPEG-2 is a standard for "the generic coding of moving pictures and associated audio information" H264 is a standard for Video compression. It is also known as MPEG-4 Part 10, or MPEG-4 AVC (for Advanced Video Coding) VC-1 is the informal name of the SMPTE 421M Video codec standard initially developed by Microsoft. MPEG-2 is the codec used on regular DVDs, which allows backwards compatibility. DVD (also known as " Digital Versatile Disc " or " Digital Video Disc " - see Etymology)is In Technology, especially Computing (irrespective of platform a product is said to be backward compatible when it is able to take the place of an older product H. 264/AVC was developed by MPEG and VCEG as a modern successor of MPEG-4. The Moving Picture Experts Group, commonly referred to as simply MPEG, is a Working group of ISO / IEC charged with the development of video and The Video Coding Experts Group or VCEG is the informal name of Question 6 (Video coding of Working Party 3 (Media coding of Study Group 16 (Multimedia terminals systems VC-1 is another MPEG-4 derivative codec mostly developed by Microsoft. BD-ROM titles with video must store video using one of the three mandatory codecs. Multiple codecs on a single title are allowed.

The choice of codecs affects the producer's licensing/royalty costs, as well as the title's maximum runtime, due to differences in compression efficiency. Discs encoded in MPEG-2 video typically limit content producers to around two hours of high-definition content on a single-layer (25 GB) BD-ROM. The more advanced video codecs (VC-1 and H. 264) typically achieve a video runtime twice that of MPEG-2, with comparable quality.

MPEG-2 was used by many studios, including Paramount Pictures (which surprisingly used the efficient VC-1 codec for HD DVD releases) for the first series of Blu-ray discs that were launched throughout 2006. Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American motion picture production and Distribution company, based in Hollywood California. VC-1 is the informal name of the SMPTE 421M Video codec standard initially developed by Microsoft. not insert the publicly disclosed HD DVD key into this article for the time being Modern releases are now often encoded in either H.264/AVC or VC-1, allowing film studios to place all content on one disc, reducing costs and improving ease of use. H264 is a standard for Video compression. It is also known as MPEG-4 Part 10, or MPEG-4 AVC (for Advanced Video Coding) Using these codecs will also free many GB of space for storage of bonus content in HD (1080i/p) as opposed to the SD (480i/p) typically used for most titles. 480i is the shorthand name for a video mode The i, which is sometimes uppercase stands for Interlaced, the 480 for a vertical frame resolution 480p is the shorthand name for a video display resolution The p stands for Progressive scan, i Some studios (such as Warner Bros.) have released bonus content on discs encoded in a different codec than the main feature title; for example the Blu-ray release of Superman Returns uses VC-1 for the feature film and MPEG-2 for bonus content (presumably because it is simply ported from the DVD release). Warner Bros Entertainment Inc (or Warner Bros, Warner Bros Pictures) is one of the world's largest producers of Film and Superman Returns is a 2006 Academy Award -nominated Superhero film based on the fictional DC Comics character See also Software portability In Computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created DVD (also known as " Digital Versatile Disc " or " Digital Video Disc " - see Etymology)is

For audio, BD-ROM players are required to support Dolby Digital AC-3, DTS, and linear PCM. Dolby Digital is the marketing name for a series of lossy audio compression technologies developed by Dolby DTS (also known as Digital Theater Systems) owned by DTS Inc ( is a multi-channel digital Surround sound format used for both commercial/theatrical Linear pulse code modulation ( LPCM) is a method of encoding audio information digitally Players may optionally support Dolby Digital Plus, and lossless formats Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. Dolby Digital Plus ( DD+ or E-AC-3) is a digital audio compression scheme developed specifically for the introduction of HD DVD and Blu-ray Lossless data compression is a class of Data compression Algorithms that allows the exact original data to be reconstructed from the compressed data Dolby TrueHD is an advanced lossless multi-channel audio codec developed by Dolby Laboratories which is intended primarily for high-definition home-entertainment DTS-HD Master Audio is a lossless audio Codec created by Digital Theater System. BD-ROM titles must use one of the mandatory schemes for the primary soundtrack. A secondary audiotrack, if present, may use any of the mandatory or optional codecs. ^[41]

For users recording digital television programming, the recordable Blu-ray Disc standard's data rate of 54 Mbit/s is more than adequate to record high-definition broadcasts from any source (IPTV, cable/satellite, or terrestrial). Digital television (DTV is the sending and receiving of moving images and sound by discrete ( digital) signals in contrast to the analog signals used by IPTV ( Internet Protocol Television) is a system where a Digital television service is delivered using Internet Protocol over a network infrastructure which For Blu-ray Disc movies the maximum transfer rate is 48 Mbit/s (1. 5×) (both audio and video payloads together), of which a maximum of 40 Mbit/s can be dedicated to video data. This compares favorably to the maximum of 30. 24 Mbit/s in HD DVD movies for audio and video data. ^[42]-caw

Java software support

Main article: BD-J

At the 2005 JavaOne trade show, it was announced that Sun Microsystems' Java cross-platform software environment would be included in all Blu-ray Disc players as a mandatory part of the standard. JavaOne is an annual conference (since 1996) put on by Sun Microsystems to discuss Java technologies primarily among Java developers Sun Microsystems Inc ( is a multinational vendor of Computers computer components Computer software, and Information technology services Java refers to a number of Computer software products and specifications from Sun Microsystems that together provide a system for developing Application software Java is 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, which is considerably more primitive and less seamless. DVD (also known as " Digital Versatile Disc " or " Digital Video Disc " - see Etymology)is Java creator James Gosling, at the conference, suggested that the inclusion of a Java Virtual Machine as well as network connectivity in some 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. James A Gosling OC, PhD (born May 19, 1955 near Calgary, Alberta, Canada) is a famous Software developer A Java Virtual Machine ( JVM) is a set of computer software programs and data structures which use a Virtual machine This Java Version is called BD-J and is a subset of the Globally Executable MHP (GEM) standard. Globally Executable MHP ( GEM) is a "subset" specification of Multimedia Home Platform (MHP for DVB, also known as ITU "Recommendation ITU-T GEM is the world-wide version of the Multimedia Home Platform standard. Multimedia Home Platform (DVB-MHP is an open Middleware system standard designed by the DVB project for interactive digital television.

Region codes

Blu-ray Discs may be encoded with a region code, intended to restrict the area of the world in which they can be played, similar in principle to the DVD region codes, although the used geographical regions differ. DVD video discs may be encoded with a region code restricting the area of the world in which they can be played Blu-ray Disc players sold in a certain region may only play discs encoded for that region. The purpose of this system is to allow motion picture studios to control the various aspects of a release (including content, date, and in particular price) according to the region. A movie studio (aka film studio) is in the established sense of the term a company that distributes films. Discs may also be produced without region coding, so they can be played on all devices.

Region code	Area
A	Americas; East and Southeast Asia; U.S. territories; Bermuda
B	Africa, Europe, Oceania; Middle East; Kingdom of the Netherlands; British overseas territories, French territories; Greenland. The Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World, consisting of the Continents of North America and South America Territories of the United States are one type of political division of the United States, administered by the U Ba (officially The Bermuda Islands or The Somers Isles) is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. The Middle East is a Subcontinent with no clear boundaries often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East. The Netherlands and The Kingdom of the Netherlands are two distinct geographical and administrative entities The British Overseas Territories are fourteen territories that are under the Sovereignty of the United Kingdom, but which do not form part of the United Kingdom The French Overseas Departments and Territories ( French: départements d'outre-mer and territoires d'outre-mer or DOM-TOM) consist broadly of Greenland (Kalaallit Nunaat meaning "Land of the Greenlanders" Grønland is a self-governing Danish Province located between the
C	Central and South Asia; Mongolia, Russia, and People's Republic of China. Central Asia is a region of Asia from the Caspian Sea in the west to central China in the east and from southern Russia in the north to northern Pakistan in the south Mongolia (mɒŋˈɡoʊliə, literally Mongol country/nation,) is a Landlocked Country in East Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES

This places the countries of the major Blu-ray manufacturers (Japan, Korea, Malaysia) in the same region as North America. As of early 2008, about two-thirds of all released discs were region-free. ^[44]

In the Blu-ray region coding system, the United States is placed in region A while regions B and C are used for countries which can experience localization delays before U. S. titles are officially released. The opposite, though, is sometimes true and a few new titles such as Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Running Scared were released in certain European countries before the U. S. release. ^[45] In response to the DVD region system, multi-region and region-free DVD players became dominant in certain markets; certain Blu-ray player models have been modified to allow for playback of Blu-ray discs from Regions A and B and DVD discs from Regions 1 and 2. ^[46]

Digital rights management (DRM)

The Blu-ray Disc format employs several layers of digital rights management. Digital rights management ( DRM) is a generic term that refers to Access control technologies used by hardware manufacturers publishers and Copyright holders ^[47][48]

Advanced Access Content System (AACS) is a standard for content distribution and digital rights management. The Advanced Access Content System ( AACS) is a standard for Content distribution and Digital rights management, intended to restrict access Content delivery describes the delivery of Digital media "content" such as Digital audio or Digital video or Computer software Digital rights management ( DRM) is a generic term that refers to Access control technologies used by hardware manufacturers publishers and Copyright holders It is developed by AS Licensing Administrator, LLC (AACS LA), a consortium that includes Disney, Intel, Microsoft, Matsushita (Panasonic), Warner Bros., IBM, Toshiba and Sony. A consortium is an association of two or more individuals companies organizations or governments (or any combination of these entities with the objective of participating Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational Computer technology Corporation, which rose to dominate the Home computer Warner Bros Entertainment Inc (or Warner Bros, Warner Bros Pictures) is one of the world's largest producers of Film and International Business Machines Corporation abbreviated IBM and nicknamed "Big Blue", is a multinational Computer Technology ( is a multinational conglomerate manufacturing company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. is a multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato Tokyo, Japan, and one of the world's largest Media conglomerates with

Since appearing in devices in 2006, several successful attacks have been made on the format. The first known attack relied on the trusted client problem. In Computing, a trusted client is a device or program controlled by the user of a service but with restrictions designed to prevent its use in ways not authorised by the provider In addition, decryption keys have been extracted from a weakly protected player (WinDVD). WinDVD (from Corel Corporation which had bought InterVideo) is a commercial video player and music player software for Microsoft However, even though some AACS cryptographic keys have been compromised, new releases will use new, uncompromised keys. The security of Advanced Access Content System has a subject of discussion amongst security researchers high definition video enthusiasts and consumers at large since its inception ^[49]

BD+ was developed by Cryptography Research Inc. and is based on their concept of Self-Protecting Digital Content. Self Protecting Digital Content ( SPDC) is a Copy protection ( Digital Rights Management) architecture which allows restriction of access to and copying ^[50] BD+ is effectively a small virtual machine embedded in authorized players. In Computer science, a virtual machine (VM is a Software implementation of a machine (computer that executes programs like a real machine It allows content providers to include executable programs on Blu-ray Discs. Such programs can:^[47]

• examine the host environment, to see if the player has been tampered with. Every licensed playback device manufacturer must provide the BD+ licensing authority with memory footprints that identify their devices.
• verify that the player's keys have not been changed.
• execute native code, possibly to patch an otherwise insecure system.
• transform the audio and video output. Parts of the content will not be viewable without letting the BD+-program unscramble it.

If a playback device manufacturer finds that its devices have been hacked, it can potentially release BD+-code that detects and circumvents the vulnerability. These programs can then be included in all new content releases.

The specifications of the BD+ virtual machine are available only to licensed device manufacturers. A list of licensed adopters is available from the BD+ website.

BD+ was made available for content publishers in June 2007. ^[51] The first titles using BD+ were released in October the same year. Players from Samsung and LG had problems playing back those titles until the manufacturers updated their firmware, but this problem was later identified as being related to BD-Java use, not BD+. ^[52] BD+ protection was fully circumvented with the release 6.4.0.0 of AnyDVD HD program. AnyDVD is a Microsoft Windows driver allowing decryption of DVDs On-the-fly, as well as targeted removal of copy preventions and UOPs

BD-ROM Mark is a small amount of cryptographical data that is stored physically differently from normal Blu-ray Disc data. The ROM-Mark is a physical layer technology intended to prevent unwanted reproduction of data on Blu-ray discs Bit-by-bit copies that do not replicate the BD-ROM Mark are impossible to decode. A specially licensed piece of hardware is required to insert the ROM-mark into the media during replication. Through licensing of the special hardware element, the BDA believes that it can eliminate the possibility of mass producing BD-ROMs without authorization.

Player profiles

The BD-ROM specification defines four profiles of Blu-ray Disc players; in addition to the three listed in the table below, there is a fourth audio-only profile that does not require video decoding or BD-J. ^[53] All the video-based profiles are required to have a full implementation of BD-J, but with varying levels of hardware support.

Feature	BD-Video	Bonus View	BD-Live	BD-Audio
	Grace Period – Profile 1. 0	Final Standard – Profile 1. 1	Profile 2. 0	Profile 3. 0 [c]
Built-in persistent memory	64 KB	64 KB	64 KB	-
Local storage capability[a]	–	256 MB	1 GB	-
Secondary video decoder (PiP)	Optional	Mandatory	Mandatory	-
Secondary audio decoder[b]	Optional	Mandatory	Mandatory	-
Virtual file system	Optional	Mandatory	Mandatory	-
Internet connection capability	No	No	Mandatory	-

^ a This is used for storing audio/video and title updates. Picture in Picture (PiP is a feature of some Television receivers and similar devices A virtual file system (VFS or virtual filesystem switch is an abstraction layer on top of a more concrete File system. It can either be built in memory or removable media, such as a memory card or USB flash memory.
^ b A secondary audio decoder is typically used for interactive audio and commentary.
^ c Profile 3. 0 is a separate profile for audio discs, similar to the difference between DVD-Video and DVD-Audio. No BD-Audio releases have so far been announced.

On November 1, 2007, the Grace Period Profile was superseded by Bonus View as the minimum profile for new players released to the market. Events 996 - Emperor Otto III issues a deed to Gottschalk Bishop of Freising which is the oldest known document using the name Ostarrîchi Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ^[54] When Blu-ray software authored with interactive features dependent on Bonus View or BD-Live hardware capabilities are played on Profile 1. 0 players they will be able to play the main feature of the disc but some extra features may not be available or may offer limited capability. ^[55]

Excepting the LG-BH100, the LG=BH200, the PlayStation 3, and the Samsung BD-UP5000, Profile 1. 0 players can not be upgraded to be Bonus View or BD-Live compliant. ^[56][57][58] On December 17, 2007, the PlayStation 3 became Bonus View 1. Events 546 - Gothic War (535–554: The Ostrogoths of King Totila Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. 1 compliant through PlayStation 3 System Software version 2. 10. ^[59] On March 24, 2008 Sony released the 2. Events 1401 - Mongol emperor Timur sacks Damascus. 1603 - James VI of Scotland 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common 20 firmware update for the PlayStation 3 which is compliant with Blu-ray Disc Profile 2. 0, making it the first in the market to have it. ^[60] The first BD Live titles (War and Saw IV) were released by Lionsgate in January 2008. War is a 2007 action / thriller Film, directed by first-timer Phillip G Saw IV is the fourth installment in the ''Saw'' series. The film was initially released on October 25 2007 and in the United States on October 26 2007 PortalCurrent events International holidays January 1 - New Year's Day January 1 - Independence ^[61]

Backward compatibility

Though not compulsory the Blu-ray Disc Association recommends that Blu-ray Disc drives should be capable of reading standard DVDs and CDs for backward compatibility. In Technology, especially Computing (irrespective of platform a product is said to be backward compatible when it is able to take the place of an older product ^[62] A few early Blu-ray Disc players released in 2006 could play DVDs but not CDs (the LG BH100, Pioneer BDP-HD1, and Sony BDP-S1)^[63][64][65] but all current Blu-ray Disc players are capable of both DVD and CD playback. LG BH100 Super Multi Blue Player is a Dual format HD player produced by LG Electronics. The Sony BDP-S1 is a first generation Blu-ray Disc (BD Player ^[66]

Ongoing development

Although the Blu-ray Disc specification has been finalized, engineers continue working to advance the technology. Quad-layer (100 GB) discs have been demonstrated on a drive with modified optics (TDK version) and standard unaltered optics ("Hitachi used a standard drive. "). ^[67][68] Hitachi stated that such a disc could be used to store 7 hours of 32 Mbit/s video (HDTV) or 3. 5 hours of 64 Mbit/s video (Cinema 4K). Digital cinema refers to the use of Digital technology to distribute and project Motion pictures The final movie can be distributed via Furthermore TDK announced in August 2006 that they have created a working experimental Blu-ray Disc capable of holding 200 GB of data on a single side, using six 33 GB data layers. formerly, is a Japanese company that manufactures electronic materials Electronic components and recording and data-storage media, and markets them globally ^[69]

Also behind closed doors at CES 2007, Ritek revealed that they had successfully developed a High Definition optical disc process that extends the disc capacity to 10 layers. The International Consumer Electronics Show (CES is a Trade show held each January in Las Vegas, Nevada, and is sponsored Ritek Corporation is a Taiwanese consumer electronics group specializing in optical media products flash memory MP3 players OLED displays and plastics That increases the capacity of the discs to 250 GB. However, they noted that the major obstacle is that current reader and writer technology does not support the additional layers. ^[70]

JVC has developed a three-layer technology that allows putting both standard-definition DVD data and HD data on a BD/DVD combo. ( usually referred to as JVC, is an International consumer and professional electronics Corporation based in Yokohama, Japan which was founded 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. ^[71] This hybrid disc does not appear to be ready for production and no titles have been announced that would utilize this disc structure.

In January 2007, Hitachi showcased a 100 GB Blu-ray Disc, which consists of four layers containing 25 GB each. ^[72] Unlike TDK and Panasonic's 100 GB discs, they claim this disc is readable on standard Blu-ray Disc drives that are currently in circulation, and it is believed that a firmware update is the only requirement to make it readable to current players and drives. formerly, is a Japanese company that manufactures electronic materials Electronic components and recording and data-storage media, and markets them globally ^[73]

Variants

Mini Blu-ray Disc

See also: MiniDVD

The Mini Blu-ray Disc (also, Mini-BD and Mini Blu-ray) is a compact 8cm (~3in) diameter variant of the Blu-ray Disc that can store approximately 7. There are two types of MiniDVDs. 80 mm DVD, which are smaller versions of the 120 mm DVD cDVD, which are standard 5 GB of data. It is similar in concept to the MiniDVD. There are two types of MiniDVDs. 80 mm DVD, which are smaller versions of the 120 mm DVD cDVD, which are standard

Recordable (BD-R) and rewritable (BD-RE) versions of Mini Blu-ray Disc have been developed specifically for compact camcorders and other compact recording devices. ^[74]

BD9/BD5 Blu-ray Disc

See also: 3× DVD

BD9 and BD5 are lower capacity variants of the Blu-ray Disc that contain Blu-ray compatible video and audio streams contained on a conventional DVD (650 nm wavelength / red laser) optical disc. not insert the publicly disclosed HD DVD key into this article for the time being DVD (also known as " Digital Versatile Disc " or " Digital Video Disc " - see Etymology)is Such discs offer the use of the same advanced compression technologies available to Blu-ray discs (including MPEG-4-AVC/H. 264, SMPTE-421M/VC-1 and MPEG-2) while utilizing lower cost legacy media. BD9 utilizes a standard 8152MB DVD9 dual-layer disc while BD5 utilizes a standard 4489MB DVD5 single-layer disc. ^[75]

Given that Blu-ray Discs are assumed to have a minimum transfer rate of 30. 25 Mbit/s, BD9/BD5 discs must be spun at high speed, equivalent to a 3× DVD drive speed or greater. DVD (also known as " Digital Versatile Disc " or " Digital Video Disc " - see Etymology)is

BD9 and BD5 discs can be authored using home computers for private showing using standard DVD±R recorders. AACS digital rights management is optional.

The BD9 format was originally proposed by Warner Home Video, as a cost-effective alternative to regular Blu-ray Discs. ^[76] It was adopted as part of the BD-ROM basic format, file system and AV specifications. BD5 and BD9 are similar to 3× DVD. not insert the publicly disclosed HD DVD key into this article for the time being

AVCREC

See also: HD REC

AVCREC is an official^[77] lower capacity variant of the Blu-ray Disc used for storing Blu-ray Disc compatible content on conventional DVD discs. not insert the publicly disclosed HD DVD key into this article for the time being It is being promoted for use in camcorders, distribution of short HD broadcast content and other cost-sensitive distribution needs. It is similar to HD REC for HD DVD. not insert the publicly disclosed HD DVD key into this article for the time being

Note that AVCREC is not the same as AVCHD content stored on DVD. AVCHD ( Advanced Video Codec High Definition) is a high-definition and Standard-definition recording format for use in digital Tapeless camcorders The latter is a media independent format and is used presently in tapeless camcorders that record onto DVD and Blu-ray disks, as well as onto SecureDigital and MemoryStick memory cards. Playing back AVCHD content on a Blu-ray player may require modification of AVCHD directory structure, but does not require re-encoding of video files themselves. ^[78]

Blu-ray Disc recordable

Main article: Blu-ray Disc recordable

Blu-ray Disc recordable refers to two optical disc formats that can be recorded with an optical disc recorder. Blu-ray Disc recordable (or BD-R) refers to two Optical disc formats that can be recorded with an Optical disc recorder. In Computing, an optical disc drive ( ODD) is a Disk drive that uses Laser light or electromagnetic waves near the Light spectrum BD-R discs can be written to once, whereas BD-RE can be erased and re-recorded multiple times. The theoretical maximum speed for Blu-ray Discs is about 12× as the speed of rotation (10,000 rpm) causes too much wobble for the discs to be read properly, similar to the 20× and 52× respective maximum speeds of DVDs and CDs. DVD (also known as " Digital Versatile Disc " or " Digital Video Disc " - see Etymology)is A Compact Disc (also known as a CD) is an Optical disc used to store digital data, originally developed for storing digital audio

Since September 2007, BD-RE was also available in the smaller 8 cm Mini Blu-ray Disc diameter size. ^[74][79]

On September 18, 2007, Pioneer and Mitsubishi co-developed BD-R LTH ("Low to High" in groove recording), which features an organic dye recording layer that can be manufactured by modifying existing CD-R and DVD-R production equipment, significantly reducing manufacturing costs. Events 96 - Nerva is proclaimed Roman Emperor after Domitian is assassinated Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. The, Mitsubishi Group of Companies, or Mitsubishi Companies is a Japanese conglomerate consisting of a range of autonomous businesses which share the Mitsubishi ^[80]

In February 2008, Taiyo Yuden, Mitsubishi and Maxell released the first BD-R LTH Discs,^[81] and in March 2008, Sony's PlayStation 3 gained official support for BD-R LTH Discs with the 2. Taiyo Yuden Co Ltd (太陽誘電 (translated as Sun Dielectric) is a Japanese materials and electronics company situated in Ueno, Taito Tokyo ( or Maxell, is a Japanese company which manufactures consumer Electronics. 20 firmware update. ^[82]

Unlike the previous releases of 120 mm optical discs (e. g. CDs and DVDs); blu-ray recorders hit the market almost simultaneously with blu-ray's debut. A Compact Disc (also known as a CD) is an Optical disc used to store digital data, originally developed for storing digital audio DVD (also known as " Digital Versatile Disc " or " Digital Video Disc " - see Etymology)is

HD DVD/Blu-ray Disc hybrid discs

Warner Brothers officially announced Total Hi Def at CES 2007. Total Hi Def Disc, also called Total HD or THD, was a planned Optical disc format that included both of the rival High-definition optical disc formats The International Consumer Electronics Show (CES is a Trade show held each January in Las Vegas, Nevada, and is sponsored Total Hi Def hybrid discs support both HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc, HD DVD on one side (up to two layers) and Blu-ray Disc on the other side (up to two layers). However, in November 2007, Warner Brothers put development of the Total HD discs on hold for an indefinite amount of time. ^[83] The project was finally canceled in January 2008 when Warner declared that they were dropping HD DVD in favor of publishing exclusively on Blu-ray Disc — thus eliminating the need for a hybrid disc. Warner also cited a lack of interest from fellow studios to publish on hybrid discs, as all but one studio, Paramount Pictures, were exclusive to either Blu-ray Disc or HD DVD and when Paramount became HD DVD exclusive in August 2007 they left Warner as the only major studio publishing on both discs. Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American motion picture production and Distribution company, based in Hollywood California.

See also

• Blu-ray Disc authoring
• Blu-ray Disc Association
• Blu-ray Disc recordable
• Closed captioning
• Comparison of high definition optical disc formats
• Playstation 3
• D-VHS — a tape-based format that allows recording of 720 or 1080 high-def DTV, while remaining compatible with older VHS libraries
• Format war
• High definition optical disc format war
• MUSE LD — an earlier optical disc which contained analog HDTV signals
• List of Blu-ray Disc devices
• Optical disc
• Professional Disc for DATA (PDD or ProDATA)
• W-VHS — an early tape-based format that allowed recording of analog HDTV, while remaining compatible with older VHS libraries

Alternative disc technologies

• HD DVD (primary competitor, now discontinued)
• HD VMD/Versatile Multilayer Disc (new low-profile competitor)
• AVCHD
• Digital Multilayer Disk — the successor technology to Fluorescent Multilayer Disc
• Enhanced Versatile Disc (EVD)
• Forward Versatile Disc (FVD) — Taiwanese backed red laser format
• Fluorescent Multilayer Disc
• Holographic Versatile Disc — standards with 200 and 300 GB storage are under development
• 3D optical data storage — a next-generation technology expected to provide TB-capacity discs
• Protein-coated disc
• Tapestry Media
• Ultra Density Optical
• LS-R — a "layer selection" technology allowing the stacking of very large numbers of DVD-like data layers in a single disc. Optical disc authoring, including DVD and Blu-ray Disc authoring (often referred to colloquially but improperly as burning) is the process of assembling The Blu-ray Disc Association ( BDA) is the industry Consortium that develops and licenses Blu-ray Disc technology and is responsible for establishing format Blu-ray Disc recordable (or BD-R) refers to two Optical disc formats that can be recorded with an Optical disc recorder. Closed captioning is a term describing several systems developed to display text on a Television or Video screen to provide additional or interpretive This article compares the technical specifications of HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc, two mutually incompatible high definition optical disc formats that beginning in 2006 attempted D-VHS is a Digital video format developed by JVC, in collaboration with Hitachi, Matsushita, and Philips. A format war describes competition between mutually incompatible proprietary formats typically for Data storage devices and Recording formats for Electronic The Laserdisc (LD is an obsolete Home video disc format and was the first commercial Optical disc storage medium This is a list of released W-VHS is a high definition analog Video tape format created by JVC. not insert the publicly disclosed HD DVD key into this article for the time being Versatile Multilayer Disc ( VMD or HD VMD) is a high-capacity red laser Optical disc technology designed by New Medium Enterprises Inc AVCHD ( Advanced Video Codec High Definition) is a high-definition and Standard-definition recording format for use in digital Tapeless camcorders Digital Multilayer Disk ( DMD) is an Optical disc format developed by D Data Inc Fluorescent Multilayer Disc ( FMD) was an Optical disc format developed by Constellation 3D that uses fluorescent, rather than reflective The Enhanced Versatile Disc (EVD is an optical medium-based digital audio/video format developed to provide a means for playing FVD, or Forward Versatile Disc, is an offshoot of DVD developed in Taiwan jointly by the Advanced Optical Storage Research Alliance (AOSRA and Fluorescent Multilayer Disc ( FMD) was an Optical disc format developed by Constellation 3D that uses fluorescent, rather than reflective The Holographic Versatile Disc ( HVD) is an optical disc technology that would hold up to 3 3D optical data storage is the term given to any form of Optical Data storage in which information can be recorded and/or read with three dimensional Protein-Coated Disc ( PCD) is a theoretical optical disc technology currently being developed by Professor Venkatesan Renugopalakrishnan formerly of Harvard Medical School Ultra Density Optical ( UDO) is an Optical disc format designed for high-density storage of high-definition video and LS-R, or the Layer-Selection-Type Recordable Optical Disk, is the term coined by Hitachi in 2003 for a next-generation Optical disc technology which
• Professional Disc for DATA (PDD or ProDATA)

References

External links

• Blu-ray Disc Association
• Blu-ray Disc License Web Site
• AACS LA
• Panasonic Blu-ray Portal Site
• PlayStation.com: Blu-ray Disc Technology
• Blu-ray.com — News, Reviews and Discussion Forums
• HighDefDiscNews - Blu-ray Disc News & Reviews
• The High Definition DVD FAQ FAQ for Blu-ray, HD DVD, EVD, FVD. . .
• Studios Currently Supporting Blu-ray
• The History Of the Format War(From Forum of blu-ray.com)
• Blu-ray Disc Reviews

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