History of the Blu-ray Disc
When the CD was introduced in the early ’80s, it meant an enormous leap from traditional media. Not only did it offer a significant improvement in audio quality, its primary application, but its 650 MB storage capacity also meant a giant leap in data storage and retrieval. For the first time, there was a universal standard for pre-recorded, recordable and rewritable media, offering the best quality and features consumers could wish for themselves, at very low costs.
Although the CD was a very useful medium for the recording and distribution of audio and some modest data applications, demand for a new medium offering higher storage capacities rose in the ’90s. These demands lead to the evolution of the DVD specification and a 5-10 x increase in capacity. This enabled high quality, standard definition video distribution and recording. Furthermore, the increased capacity accommodated more demanding data applications. At the same time, the DVD spec used the same form factor as the CD, allowing for seamless migration to the next generation format and offering full backwards compatibility.
Now, in the next millennium, high definition video demands a new solution. History proved that a significant 5-10 x increase in storage capacity and the ability to play previous generation formats are key elements for a new format to succeed. This new format has arrived with the advent of Blu-ray Disc, the only format that offers a considerable increase in storage capacity with its 25 to 50 GB data capacity. This allows for the next big application of optical media: the distribution and recording of high definition video in the highest possible quality. In fact, no other format can offer the data capacity of Blu-ray Disc, and no other format will allow for the same high video quality and interactive features to create the ultimate user experience. As with DVD, the Blu-ray Disc format is based on the same, bare disc physical form factor, allowing for compatibility with CD and DVD.
When was Blu-ray Disc introduced?
The Blu-ray Disc specification was officially announced in February 2002. Blu-ray Disc recorders were first launched in Japan in 2003. Blu-ray Disc players appeared globally in early 2006.
BD Applications
- High Definition Television Recording
- High Definition Video Distribution
- High Definition Camcorder Archiving
- Mass Data Storage
- Digital Asset Management and Professional Storage
The Blu-ray Disc format was designed to offer the best performance and features for a wide variety of applications. High Definition video distribution is one of the key features of Blu-ray Disc, but the format’s versatile design and top-of-the-line specifications mean that it is suitable for a full range of other purposes as well.
High Definition Television Recording
High Definition broadcasting is vastly expanding in the U.S. and Asia. Consumers are increasingly making the switch to HDTV sets to enjoy the best possible television experience. The Blu-ray Disc format offers consumers the ability to record their High Definition television broadcasts in their original quality for the first time, preserving the pure picture and audio level as offered by the broadcaster. As such it will become the next level in home entertainment, offering an unsurpased user experience. And since the Blu-ray Disc format incorporates the strongest copy protection algorithms of any format or proposal to date, the format allows for recording of digital broadcasts while meeting the content protection demands of the broadcast industry.
High Definition Video Distribution
Due to its enormous data capacity of 25 to 50 GB per (single-sided) disc, the Blu-ray Disc format can store High Definition video in the highest possible quality. Because of the huge capacity of the disc, there is no need to compromise on picture quality. Depending on the encoding method, there is room for more than seven hours of the highest HD-quality video. There is even room for additional content such as special features and other bonus material to accompany the High Definition movie. Furthermore, the Blu-ray Disc movie format greatly expands on traditional DVD capabilities, by incorporating many new interactive features allowing content providers to offer an even more incredible experience to consumers. An Internet connection may even be used to unlock additional material that is stored on the disc, as there is enough room on the disc to include premium material as well.
High Definition Camcorder Archiving
As the market penetration of High Definition TV sets continues to grow, so does the demand of consumers to create their own HD recordings. With the advent of the first HD camcorders, consumers can now for the first time record their own home movies in a quality level unlike any before. As these camcorders are tape-based, consumers cannot benefit from the convenience and direct access features they are used to from DVD players and recorders. Now, the Blu-ray Disc format, with its unprecedented storage capacity, allows for the HD video recorded with an HD camcorder to be converted and recorded on a Blu-ray Disc. When the HD content is stored on a Blu-ray Disc, it can be randomly accessed in a way comparable to DVD. Furthermore, the disc can be safely stored for many years, without the risk of tape wear.
Mass Data Storage
In its day, CD-R/RW meant a huge increase in storage capacity compared to traditional storage media with its 650 MB. Then DVD surpassed this amount by offering 4.7 to 8.5 GB of storage, an impressive 5-10 x increase. Now consumers demand an even bigger storage capacity. The growing number of broadband connections allowing consumers to download vast amounts of data, as well as the ever increasing audio, video and photo capabilities of personal computers have led to yet another level in data storage requirements. In addition, commercial storage requirements are growing exponentially due to the proliferation of e-mail and the migration to paperless processes. The Blu-ray Disc format again offers 5-10 x as much capacity as traditional DVD resulting in 25 to 50 GB of data to be stored on a single rewritable or recordable disc. As Blu-ray Disc uses the same form factor as CD and DVD, this allows for Blu-ray Disc drives that can still read and write to CD and DVD media as well.
Digital Asset Management and Professional Storage
Due to its high capacity, low cost per GB and extremely versatile ways of transferring data from one device to another (because of Blu-ray Disc’s extremely wide adoption across the industry), the format is optimized for Digital Asset Management and other professional applications that require vast amounts of storage space. Think of medical archives that may contain numerous diagnostic scans in the highest resolution, or catalogs of audiovisual assets that need to be instantly retrieved in a random manner, without the need to “restore” data from a storage carrier. One Blu-ray Disc may replace many backup tapes, CDs, DVDs or other less common or proprietary storage media. And contrary to network solutions, the discs can be physically stored in a different location for backup and safekeeping.
BD Key Characteristics
- Broadest Industry Support
- Lifespan
- Content Protection
- Cost
- Capacity
- Robustness of Disc
Broadest Industry Support
History has shown that unified industry support for a particular format is most likely to lead to success. Therefore, the participation of the world’s most renowned consumer electronics manufacturers and IT companies are leading in the success of the best standard for next-generation storage: Blu-ray Disc. Blu-ray Disc is supported by leading hardware manufacturers across the CE and IT fields from the U.S., Europe, Japan and Korea, including Dell, HP, Hitachi, LG Electronics, Matsushita (Panasonic), Mitsubishi, Pioneer, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony and Thomson/RCA. Finally, major blank media manufacturers including TDK are supporting the Blu-ray Disc format as the successor of DVD. This broad industry support will lead to a broad selection of Blu-ray Disc products, including home video decks, PC drives, PCs line-fitted with Blu-ray Disc drives and blank media, to be available when the format is launched in the various regions in the world.
Lifespan
The Blu-ray Disc format is designed to stay relevant for at least 10 to 15 years. Its high storage capacity of 25 to 50 GB allows for the best-possible High Definition video quality and satisfies even the most demanding data storage needs. As we have seen with DVD in the past, most premium titles require two discs. This is why Blu-ray Disc incorporates the additional storage space that is required for a High Definition feature film including bonus bonus material in the new standard from the beginning. Formats with a lesser capacity are only suitable as interim solutions, requiring them to be replaced much sooner than a format that takes tomorrow’s data storage needs into account from day one. This will of course require multiple investments in production equipment, and will lead to increased consumer confusion.
Content Protection
Blu-ray Disc provides some of the strongest copy protection methods ever developed for any consumer format. It makes Blu-ray Disc the best choice for any content publisher wanting assurance that their valuable assets are protected from piracy. Based on feedback from the content industry and taking a cue from the lessons learned by other formats, the Blu-ray Disc format incorporates a robust copy protection mechanism, which not only relies on implementation at the playback device, but which also includes precautions at replicator level, which will be strictly controlled. Unlike the voluntary implementation of CSS protection in DVD, the copy protection mechanism for Blu-ray Disc is mandatory and will be governed by strict licensing procedures.
Cost
Blu-ray Disc is developed to offer the best long-term profitability model for content providers. Although it might require a nominal investment in advance, it provides greater and longer-term profit potential. This is because the format is designed to last for a period of at least 10 to 15 years. Due to its enormous storage capacity, short-erm replacement of the technology is unnecessary, unlike other format proposals that might require less investment in advance, but higher investments in the long term due to the replacement of the technology when it becomes outdated. At comparable volumes, Blu-ray Disc production costs are within 10% of DVD production costs, although a Blu-ray Disc offers 5-10 x the capacity. It is by far the cheapest format measured in cost per GB. Since Blu-ray Disc requires fewer slots in a replication line compared to other formats, it will bring costs on par with DVD, or even cheaper, much sooner. Production facilities can produce many more Blu-ray Discs in the same time period as DVDs. Also, contrary to some rumors circulating, Blu-ray Discs do not require cartridges for any of the format variations (BD ROM, BD RE, and BD R).
Capacity
The Blu-ray Disc format offers the highest capacity of any consumer media format to date, also greatly surpassing the capacity of other format proposals. Blu-ray Disc’s huge capacity allows not only for the highest quality High Definition video to be recorded at large bitrates (thereby eliminating the need for tight compression that could affect picture quality), it also opens the doors to new and existing applications. Think of extra sessions on a disc that could be unlocked when a user’s Blu-ray Disc player connects to the Internet to validate authorization. Or what about bonus material and special features that will eventually also be recorded in High Definition quality? With Blu-ray Disc’s large capacity, these extras can be included in high quality on the same disc, so there is no need for separate bonus discs to accompany the movie title. Only Blu-ray Disc will be able to offer these value-added options.
Robustness of Disc
As the result of recent breakthroughs in the development of hard coating for Blu-ray Disc, the discs offer much stronger resistance to scratches and fingerprints than other existing and proposed formats. Hard-coated Blu-ray Discs do not require a cartridge and can be used as a bare disc, similar to DVD and CD. This avoids extra production costs, and allows for small form factor applications, such as the implementation of Blu-ray Disc drives in a notebook computer. The hard-coating technology is used for BD ROM discs, giving them the same bare disc look and feel consumers know from DVD, and it can be applied to rewritable and recordable Blu-ray Discs as well.
BD vs. DVD
Just as DVD meant a five to ten time increase in storage capacity compared to CD, Blu-ray Disc will increase DVD capacity by five to ten times. This is due, among other reasons, to the usage of a blue instead of a red laser and improved lens specifications, allowing for a much smaller focus laser beam which enables the recording of much smaller and higher density pits on the disc.
Due to the fact that the data layer on a Blu-ray Disc is placed much “closer” to the laser lens than in DVD (or even the HD-DVD proposal), there is less distortion resulting in significantly improved tolerances. Hence, more precision and ultra high storage densities are made possible.
As a result of Blu-ray Disc being manufactured as a single substrate disc comparable to CD, but unlike DVD (and the HD-DVD proposal), the manufacturing process does not involve the bonding of two substrates, resulting in less production material, a shorter production time and hence lower production costs per disc.
Blu-ray Disc has the same physical characteristics as DVD and CD, and like its predecessors, it also does not require a cartridge. This makes it possible to create Blu-ray Disc products that are backwards compatible with CD and DVD, allowing for a seamless transition to the new technology. Likewise, the technology is perfectly suitable for integration in small form factor equipment, like notebook computers.
Consumer Electronics Benefits
The consumer electronics industry is rapidly migrating toward High Definition. In the U.S., over seven million digital televisions (DTVs) have already been sold. Demand for HD programming is rapidly growing. Digital TV is currently established in the U.S., with 85% household penetration by 2010.
In this light, consumers will demand playback and recording equipment giving them the most benefits from their High Definition television sets. Blu-ray Disc offers the best of both worlds. It is the ideal content delivery system for pre-recorded media, while, at the same time, featuring the most advanced recording capability for owners of HDTVs. In fact, only Blu-ray Disc, due to its enormous storage capacity, allows consumers to record large amounts of High Definition broadcasts in the absolute best quality, retaining all the details from the original.
Likewise, increased popularity of Blu-ray Disc will likely stimulate awareness and sales of High Definition TV sets. As more and more enriched content or special editions become available exclusively on Blu-ray Disc, this will drive consumers toward the adoption of HDTV, even in areas with little High Definition broadcasts, such as Europe.
Blu-ray Disc is supported by all major consumer electronics companies, including Hitachi, LG Electronics, Matsushita (Panasonic), Mitsubishi, Pioneer, Philips, Samsung, Sharp and Sony. This will help accelerate the widespread adoption of the format in the consumer electronics world.
PC and PC Peripheral Benefits
Due to ever-increasing file sizes and the constantly growing adoption of such applications as digital music, photo and video storage on PCs, consumers constantly demand larger storage capacities. Broadband connections allow for the downloading of vast amounts of data, and increasing developments in digital photo and video equipment not only raises quality requirements, but also the amount of memory that is necessary to store content. In addition, commercial storage requirements are increasing exponentially with the proliferation of e-mail, the migration to paperless processes, and the movement to archive documents. Backing up all of this data is becoming a costly necessity in business.
Although CDs and DVDs can fill a substantial portion of the market for data storage, consumers and businesses are demanding larger capacities without the need to abandon their existing collection of pre-recorded and home-recorded media or backup data storage. Blu-ray Disc is the solution to this growing need. Offering 25 to 50 GB of data on a single-sided disc, and boasting a physical size identical to that of today’s DVD, storage needs will be solved for many years to come. A Blu-ray Disc is also a very economical storage medium, offering the lowest cost per GB. What’s more: a Blu-ray Disc drive in a PC is also likely to allow reading from and recording to CD and DVD media, making Blu-ray Disc the ideal upgrade.
PC drive vendors will be able to sell Blu-ray Disc drives in the after-market, enabling consumers to upgrade their existing PCs to take advantage of the larger storage capacity offered by the format. Likewise, PC vendors can equip their PCs with a Blu-ray Disc drive as a line-fitted solution, to make their products stand out of the crowd.
The world’s largest computer companies, including Apple, HP and Dell, have adopted the Blu-ray Disc format, offering it as a line-fitted option in their top-of-the-line models. As line-fitted drives in PCs currently make up for about 75% of DVD drives sold, such a widespread adoption in the IT industry will boost acceptance of the Blu-ray Disc format.
Disc Manufacturers Benefits
Media manufacturers, both active in blank media (recordable and rewritable) and pre-recorded media (used to distribute software, movies and other content on ROM discs) will enjoy great benefits by taking up production of Blu-ray Disc media. As the Blu-ray Disc format is supported by almost all consumer electronics manufacturers in the world, as well as the world’s two largest IT companies, there will be an enormous boost of Blu-ray Disc players, recorders and drives, greatly accelerating demand for Blu-ray Disc media.
At the same output levels, production costs for Blu-ray Discs are about 10% higher than DVD per disc. A production line can produce more Blu-ray Discs per hour, due to the curing times required for the dyes. This results in increased productivity and lower costs per disc. Investment costs to convert a DVD production line to Blu-ray Disc are expected to be comparable to the change from CD to DVD.
One of the major design goals of Blu-ray Disc is that the format should be viable for at least 10 to 15 years. For this, a major leap in storage capacity was needed, and this has been achieved in the form of 25 to 50 GB disc capacity. Other formats might have required less initial investment fees due to their similarities with DVD (although similarity with DVD also would have involved extra costs due the bonding process), but they were not likely to last as long as Blu-ray Disc. This would have required an additional change in the production lines as soon as the format becomes outdated and newer formats appear, overall resulting in much higher investment costs.
Content Providers Benefits
With the emerging trend of HDTVs becoming more common, and consumers getting used to High Definition quality and expecting the same from their pre-recorded media, the logical next step is the distribution of packaged media in HD format. Blu-ray Disc is the ideal format to suit this need.
Due to its huge capacity, the Blu-ray Disc format not only allows for a movie to be stored in the absolute best High Definition quality on a disc, but it also offers room for additional extras such as making of and special features. Blu-ray Disc even offers the room to store these extras in HD quality as well. There’s no need to pack an additional disc to store these bonus materials, thereby eliminating costs for content providers and simplifying the end-user experience.
The large capacity of Blu-ray Disc may also be utilized to create discs with large amounts of material in standard definition quality, such as TV shows. Where a typical season of a TV show required multiple disc sets, entire series can now be stored on one Blu-ray Disc (for example: Seinfeld - Seasons 1-3, 40 episodes requires eight DVD’s. This could fit on one or two BDs depending upon bonus content).
What’s more, the capacity and the enhanced interactive and network features of the Blu-ray Disc for Movie Distribution format also offers new and unprecedented features. For example, additional video material may be stored on the disc in a “locked” way, only accessible to users who have been authorized to do so after an online payment procedure. Additionally, users might be able to make direct purchases of merchandise related to the disc’s content, such as sequel discs or theater tickets. The interactive features of Blu-ray Disc go way beyond those offered by DVD-Video, adding additional value to a title release on Blu-ray Disc.
Lastly, although the Blu-ray Disc format does incorporate advanced codecs, it provides enough room to use the MPEG-2 format for encoding of High Definition images at a high bitrate. As MPEG-2 is the de facto industry standard used for DVD, digital broadcasting, HDTV and most other industry areas involving digital video, there is very broad industry support for MPEG-2 authoring equipment.
Refer to the Blu-ray Disc Key Characteristics section for more information about the production costs of a Blu-ray Disc and the unmatched copy protection features of the Blu-ray Disc format.
What does the name Blu-ray Disc mean?
The name Blu-ray Disc refers to the blue laser that is used to read from and record to a Blu-ray Disc. In comparison to a red laser, as used in DVD and CD, a blue laser allows for a much higher density and hence larger storage capacity. “Blu” is intentionally spelled without an “e” to allow for a distinctive registration of the trademark name.
What is the correct abbreviation of Blu-ray Disc?
Blu-ray Disc can be shortened down to “BD”.
What companies support Blu-ray Disc?
Virtually all major consumer electronics companies plus the world’s leading PC and blank media manufacturers support the Blu-ray Disc format. Currently, there are over 150 member companies.
What Blu-ray Disc variants are available?
As with CD and DVD, Blu-ray Disc media comes in pre-recorded, recordable and rewritable variants. The pre-recorded disc is called BD ROM, and usually contains movies or re-issued TV shows in High Definition format. The recordable disc is called BD R, and can be used for archival of huge amounts of data or video. The rewritable disc is called BD RE, and offers the same large capacity in a disc format that allows for repetitive usage.
What is the capacity of a Blu-ray Disc?
All three Blu-ray Disc types come in two versions: single layer and double layer. A double layer disc may hold up to twice the amount of data or video compared to a single layer disc, and uses two independent layers placed on one side of the disc to store its information (refer to “Technical Info” on this web site for more information). A single-layer disc holds up to 25 gigabytes, while a double-layer disc holds up to 50 gigabytes of data, without the need to flip the disc.
Can Blu-ray Disc products play DVD and CD?
Although this is not a requirement of the Blu-ray Disc format, all Blu-ray Disc products will play their DVD and CD counterpart formats. Compare this to the ability of today’s DVD players to play CDs. Most companies have developed laser components and pickup units being able to read CD, DVD and BD.
Can Blu-ray Disc products record DVD and CD?
Implementation of DVD or CD recording capability is a manufacturer’s option. Currently, some Blu-ray Disc video products allow you to record DVDs as well. It is expected that most Blu-ray Disc PC drives will support the recording of CD, DVD and BD.
Can I play a Blu-ray Disc on my DVD player?
No. As DVD players use a red laser to read the information from a disc, they are not capable of reading the very fine pits of a Blu-ray Disc, which requires a blue laser. Furthermore, DVD-Video players lack the advanced technology to decode the High Definition picture from a Blu-ray Disc.
What is the quality of Blu-ray Disc video?
Blu-ray Disc offers HDTV video quality that far surpasses any other medium or broadcast format available today. With High Definition video with a resolution of up to 1920×1080 and up to a 54 Mbit/sec bandwidth (roughly double that of a normal HDTV broadcast), no other format can match Blu-ray Disc’s video quality. Furthermore, due to the overwhelming capacity of a Blu-ray Disc, no tight compression algorithms that may alter the picture quality are required, as with other formats that offer less recording space. Depending on the application, Blu-ray Disc also supports other video formats, including standard definition TV.
How much video will fit on a Blu-ray Disc?
As with DVD, this depends on the decisions on the usage of video bandwidth, the number of audio tracks and other criteria made by the author of the disc. Furthermore, the choice of the used codec also influences playback time. On average, a single-layer disc can hold a High Definition feature of 135 minutes using MPEG-2, with additional room for 2 hours of bonus material in standard definition quality. A double-layer disc even extends these numbers up to 3 hours in HD quality and 9 hours of SD bonus material. Using any of the advanced codecs, these numbers can even be significantly increased.
Do I need an HDTV to use Blu-ray Disc?
In order to view a Blu-ray Disc, you need a TV that is HD-Ready, that is: equiped with an HDMI input port.
How does Blu-ray Disc region coding work?
Contrary to DVD, the Blu-ray Disc region coding system divides the world into only 3 regions, called regions A, B and C. The usage of region coding on a Blu-ray Disc movie title is a publisher’s option. A Blu-ray Disc player will play any movie title that does not have region coding applied, plus all titles of its corresponding region.
Region A:
- North America
- Central America
- South America
- Korea
- Japan
- South East Asia
Region B:
- Europe
- Middle East
- Africa
- Australia
- New Zealand
Region C:
- Russia
- India
- China
- Rest of World
How does the capacity of a Blu-ray Disc compare to other media?
A Blu-ray Disc can hold up to 50 gigabytes of data. This compares to about 10 recordable DVDs (or 5 double-layer DVDs), or around 70 recordable CDs. As a result, Blu-ray Disc is the ideal, cost-effective, removable storage medium for the storage of large amounts of data and video.
What kind of data can be stored on a Blu-ray Disc?
Any form of data available on a PC can be stored to a Blu-ray Disc, including text documents, images, video and audio files. Using the appropriate software or operating support, a Blu-ray Disc can offer the functionality of a large removable hard disk drive.
Can I record video to a Blu-ray Disc using a PC?
Yes. Using the appropriate software, you can edit standard or High Definition video (for example from a camcorder) and then record it to a Blu-ray Disc. When recorded in the Blu-ray Disc video format, the end result can be played in a Blu-ray Disc player connected to a TV.
Obtained with permission from the Blu-ray Disc Association. For more technical information, please visit http://www.blu-raydisc.com/en/about.html
