A high-capacity optical disc for HD movies that fits on the same size disc platter as a DVD. In 2008, Blu-ray became the bona fide successor to the DVD for high-definition content, although DVDs will be made for many years into the future.
Announced in 2002 by Sony, Hitachi, Philips and other vendors, the Blu-ray technology uses a blue-violet laser that reads pits a third the size of a DVD on tracks that are packed much tighter together. Blu-ray supports the more advanced H.264 and VC-1 video encoding algorithms (codecs) as well as MPEG-2, which is used for DVD. It also supports 1080p, the highest HDTV resolution. See H.264 and VC-1.
The first Blu-ray recorders, which also play CDs and DVDs, were introduced in Japan in 2003. A Blu-ray drive was one of the primary new features of Sony's PlayStation 3 video game console, introduced in 2006 (see PS3).
Blu-ray Is Built for Interactive Content
Blu-ray supports the Java programming language for adding menus and user interaction to movies and games. Every Blu-ray player includes a Java interpreter that executes Java programs (see Java Virtual Machine).
Blu-ray 1.1 and Blu-ray 2.0 (BD-Live)
Blu-ray features are cataloged in "profiles," with Blu-ray Profile 1.0 being the first feature set for discs and players. Profile 1.1 added picture-in-picture capability, and players include a second audio and video codec and 256MB of non-volatile memory. Profile 2.0 (BD-Live) accesses the Internet for bonus content, and players have 1GB of non-volatile memory. Players with older profiles play all Blu-ray discs, but do not support the extra features.
BD-ROM, BD-R and BD-RE
Like CD and DVD media, there are read-only, write-once and rewritable options. Used for HD movies, BD-ROMs (Blu-ray Disc-ROMs) are pre-recorded discs that cannot be changed. BD-R (Blu-ray Disc-Recordable) media can be "burned" once by the user, and BD-RE (Blu-ray Disc-RErecordable) disks can be rewritten over and over.
Blu-ray Hybrids
Hybrid Blu-ray disks are BD-ROMs that store a movie in Blu-ray on one side and standard DVD on the other. In late 2006, Warner Home Video announced a hybrid disc that held Blu-ray and HD DVD on one side and DVD on the other. In 2007, LG introduced the Super Blu, the first dual-format player, supporting both Blu-ray and HD DVD media. However, in early 2008, HD DVD was discontinued, leaving Blu-ray as the winner in the HD format battle. See HD DVD, DVD and DTV.
Announced in 2002 by Sony, Hitachi, Philips and other vendors, the Blu-ray technology uses a blue-violet laser that reads pits a third the size of a DVD on tracks that are packed much tighter together. Blu-ray supports the more advanced H.264 and VC-1 video encoding algorithms (codecs) as well as MPEG-2, which is used for DVD. It also supports 1080p, the highest HDTV resolution. See H.264 and VC-1.
The first Blu-ray recorders, which also play CDs and DVDs, were introduced in Japan in 2003. A Blu-ray drive was one of the primary new features of Sony's PlayStation 3 video game console, introduced in 2006 (see PS3).
Blu-ray Is Built for Interactive Content
Blu-ray supports the Java programming language for adding menus and user interaction to movies and games. Every Blu-ray player includes a Java interpreter that executes Java programs (see Java Virtual Machine).
Blu-ray 1.1 and Blu-ray 2.0 (BD-Live)
Blu-ray features are cataloged in "profiles," with Blu-ray Profile 1.0 being the first feature set for discs and players. Profile 1.1 added picture-in-picture capability, and players include a second audio and video codec and 256MB of non-volatile memory. Profile 2.0 (BD-Live) accesses the Internet for bonus content, and players have 1GB of non-volatile memory. Players with older profiles play all Blu-ray discs, but do not support the extra features.
BD-ROM, BD-R and BD-RE
Like CD and DVD media, there are read-only, write-once and rewritable options. Used for HD movies, BD-ROMs (Blu-ray Disc-ROMs) are pre-recorded discs that cannot be changed. BD-R (Blu-ray Disc-Recordable) media can be "burned" once by the user, and BD-RE (Blu-ray Disc-RErecordable) disks can be rewritten over and over.
Blu-ray Hybrids
Hybrid Blu-ray disks are BD-ROMs that store a movie in Blu-ray on one side and standard DVD on the other. In late 2006, Warner Home Video announced a hybrid disc that held Blu-ray and HD DVD on one side and DVD on the other. In 2007, LG introduced the Super Blu, the first dual-format player, supporting both Blu-ray and HD DVD media. However, in early 2008, HD DVD was discontinued, leaving Blu-ray as the winner in the HD format battle. See HD DVD, DVD and DTV.
FULL-SIZE BLU-RAY DISK (120 mm) CAPACITIES
SINGLE SIDED DOUBLE SIDED
HD HD
Layers Storage Hours Storage Hours
Single 25GB 4.5 50GB 9
Dual 50GB 9
 | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2008 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
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