Blu-ray replaces DVD technology

Jan 03, 2008

BACK in 1997 when new technology<br>of DVDs emerged, it was little thought that another kind of technology would be invented to rival it. But since 2006, the Blu-ray disc has become the new name of the next generation optical disc format jointly developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), a gr

Item: Blu-ray
Category: Technology accessory
Movies available at: Punchline Video Libraies
Popularity age group: Home video users

BACK in 1997 when new technology
of DVDs emerged, it was little thought that another kind of technology would be invented to rival it. But since 2006, the Blu-ray disc has become the new name of the next generation optical disc format jointly developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), a group of consumer electronics, personal computer and media manufacturers (Apple, Dell, Hitachi, HP, JVC, LG, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Pioneer, Phillips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, TDK, and Thompson).

According to BDA, the disc was developed to enable recording, rewriting and playback of High Definition video, as
well as storing large amounts of data. The disc offers more than five times the storage capacity of traditional DVDs. It holds up to 25GB on a single-layer disc and 50GB on a duallayer disc.

A single-layer disc, which is roughly the same size as a DVD, can hold up to 27GB of data, about 13 hours of standard DVD video. A double-layer disc can store up to 50GB, enough to hold about 4.5 hours of high-definition video or more than 20 hours of standard video.

And there are even plans in the works
to develop a disc with twice that amount of storage. This extra capacity combined with the use of advanced video and audio codecs offers users an unprecedented HD experience.

The Blu-ray disc can be used to store lots of data like music, movies and computer software. Besides that, SONY is also using the Blu-ray disc to release the new Playstation 3.

The Blu-ray name comes from the combination the words ‘Blue’ and ‘ray’ since the disc utilises a blue-violet laser beam or ray of a shorter wavelength of 405nm generated by the compatible player lens to read the dataon the disc unlike the ordinary discs that use the red laser beam of 650nm to read and write data.

The Blu-ray’s shorter wavelength makes it possible to focus the laser spot with even greater precision. This allows data to be packed more tightly and stored in less space, so it’s possible to fit more data on the disc even though it’s the same size as a CD/DVD.

The Blu-ray format has also won support from major movie studios as a successor to the commonly used DVD formats. More movies are being released exclusively on this kind of disc. They come in several formats like the ordinary discs. These include the BDROM which is a read-only
format for distribution of High Definition movies.

BD-R which is a recordable format for High Definition video recording

BD-RE which is a rewritable format for High definition video recording

BD/DVD hybrid format which combines Blu-ray and DVD formats played in both Blu-ray player and DVD players.

There are more upcoming electronics devices to be released that are compatible with the Blu-ray disc. For example, SONY VAIO AR, FZ series Laptop computers, the XPS M1710, XPS M1730, XPS M2010 DELL laptop computers, DZBD7A and Blu-ray disc and Hitachi camcoder.

In Uganda, the Blu-ray technology is currently supported by a few consumer products like latest laptop computers, video games and home theatre systems. It is expected to rival the current CD/DVD disc technology because of its efficiency hence phasing out the latter.

Complied by Ronald Kabuusu

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});