Blu-ray Origins

Basic knowledge of Blu-ray

Blu-ray Disc, also called Blu-ray or BD, is an optical disc storage medium which is designed to supersede the DVD format. The main uses of Blu-ray are high-definition video and data storage with 50GB per disc. The disc has the same physical dimensions as standard DVDs and CDs.

Blu-ray Disc is developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association. It is made up of a group of representatives of consumer electronics, computer hardware, and motion pictures. Until December 21, 2008, more than 1,220 Blu-ray disc titles are available in the United States, more than 1,140 Blu-ray disc titles are available in the United Kingdom, more than 890 Blu-ray disc titles are available in Australia, and more than 720 Blu-ray disc titles are available in Japan.

The name Blu-ray Disc comes from the blue laser (violet-colored) which is used to read and write to this type of disc. Partly because of the shorter wavelength (405 nanometers), substantially more data can be stored on a Blu-ray disc than on a DVD, which uses a red (650 nm) laser. A dual-layer Blu-ray disc can store 50 gigabytes, almost six times the capacity of a dual-layer DVD, or ten and a half times that of a single-layer DVD.

During the format war over high-definition optical discs, Blu-ray Disc competed with the HD DVD format. The high storage capacity presented by Blu-ray, enables consumers to be able to record, view, store HD images using a Blu-ray player in their PC or laptop, and watches a Blu-ray film on their standalone Blu-ray player at home.

Blu-ray is the new generation of HD technology. From best quality of HD video to cutting edge computer and gaming applications, Blu-ray disc means you can watch HD movies, have the best ever gaming experience, and get better storage capacity. The most significant step ever in the development of media is Blu-ray.