| Select from these product categories:
More resources:
Personal Computer Parts
Software
Return to Gamma Electronics home page
back to top
|
back to top
|
Some FAQ:
What is Blue-Ray?
Blu-ray, also known as Blu-ray Disc (BD) is the name of a
next-generation optical disc format jointly developed by the Blu-ray
Disc Association (BDA), a
group of leading consumer electronics and PC companies (including Apple,
Dell, Hitachi, HP, JVC, LG, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Samsung,
Sharp, Sony, TDK and Thomson). The format was developed to enable recording,
rewriting and playback of high-definition video (HD), as well as storing
large amounts of data. A single-layer Blu-ray Disc can hold 25GB, which
can be used to record over 2 hours of HDTV or more than 13 hours of standard-definition
TV. There are also dual-layer versions of the discs that can hold 50GB.
While
current optical disc technologies such as DVD, DVD±R, DVD±RW, and DVD-RAM
use a red laser to read and write data, the new format uses a
blue-violet laser instead, hence the name Blu-ray. Despite the different
type of lasers
used, Blu-ray products can easily be made backwards compatible through
the use of a BD/DVD/CD compatible optical pickup and allow playback
of CDs and DVDs. The benefit of using a blue-violet laser (405nm) is
that
it has a shorter wavelength than a red laser (650nm), which 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.
This
together with the change of numerical aperture to 0.85 is what enables
Blu-ray Discs to hold 25GB/50GB.
With the rapid growth of HDTV, the
consumer demand for recording HD programming is quickly rising. Blu-ray
was designed with this application
in mind and
supports direct recording of the MPEG-2 TS (Transport Stream) used
by digital broadcasts, which makes it highly compatible with global
standards for
digital TV. This means that HDTV broadcasts can be recorded directly
to the disc without any quality loss or extra processing. To handle
the increased
amount of data required for HD, Blu-ray employs a 36Mbps data transfer
rate, which is more than enough to record and playback HDTV while
maintaining the original picture quality. In addition, by fully utilizing
an optical
disc's random accessing features, it's possible to playback video
on a disc while simultaneously recording HD video.
Blu-ray is expected to replace VCRs and DVD recorders
over the coming years, with the transition to HDTV. The format is also
likely to
become a standard
for PC data storage and HD movies in the future.
|
Back
to Top |
| Q: |
What
is Blu-ray? |
| A: |
Blu-ray,
also known as Blu-ray Disc (BD) is the name of a next-generation optical
disc format. The format was developed to enable recording, rewriting and
playback of high-definition video (HD). The format is also likely to become
a standard for PC data storage and high-definition movies in the future. |
|
|
| Q: |
Why
the name Blu-ray? |
| A: |
The
name Blu-ray is derived from the underlying technology, which utilizes
a blue-violet laser to read and write data. The name is a combination
of "Blue" and optical ray "Ray". According to the Blu-ray Disc Association, the spelling of "Blu-ray" is not a mistake. The character "e" is intentionally left out because a daily-used term can't be registered as a
trademark. |
|
Back
to Top |
| Q: |
Who
developed Blu-ray? |
| A: |
The
Blu-ray Disc format was developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA),
a group of leading consumer electronics and PC companies with more than
100 members from all over the world. The Board of Directors currently consists
of:
Apple Computer, Inc.
Dell Inc.
Hewlett Packard Company
Hitachi, Ltd.
LG Electronics Inc.
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
Pioneer Corporation
Royal Philips Electronics
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Sharp Corporation
Sony Corporation
TDK Corporation
Thomson Multimedia
Twentieth Century Fox
Walt Disney Pictures |
|
|
| Q: |
What
Blu-ray formats are planned? |
| A: |
As
with conventional CDs and DVDs, Blu-ray plans to provide a wide range of
formats including ROM/R/RW. The following formats are part of the Blu-ray
Disc specification:
BD-ROM - read-only format for software, games and movie distribution.
BD-R - recordable format for HDTV recording and PC data storage.
BD-RE - rewritable format for HDTV recording and PC data storage.
|
|
|
| Q: |
How
much data can you fit on a Blu-ray Disc? |
| A: |
A
single-layer disc can fit 23.3GB, 25GB or 27GB.
A dual-layer disc can fit 46.6GB, 50GB or 54GB.
To ensure that the Blu-ray Disc format is easily extendable (future-proof)
it also includes support for multi-layer discs, which should allow the storage
capacity to be increased to 100GB-200GB (25GB per layer) in the future simply
by adding more layers to the discs. |
|
Back
to Top |
| Q: |
How
much video can you record on a Blu-ray Disc? |
| A: |
Over
2 hours of high-definition television (HDTV) on a 25GB disc.
About 13 hours of standard-definition television (SDTV) on a 25GB disc. |
|
|
| Q: |
How
fast can you record a Blu-ray Disc? |
| A: |
According
to the Blu-ray Disc v1.0 specification, 1x speed will require a 36.5Mbps
data transfer rate, which means it will take about 1 hour and 33 minutes
to record 25GB. The Blu-ray Disc Association are currently working on the
v2.0 specification, which will support 2x speed to cut the time it takes
to copy content from one disc to another in half. In the future, the data
transfer rate is expected to be raised to 8x or more. |
|
|
| Q: |
What
video codecs will Blu-ray support? |
| A: |
The
Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) is still in the process of finalizing the
BD-ROM specification, but they have stated that MPEG-4 AVC High Profile
(previously called FRExt) and Microsoft's VC-1 video codec (the proposed
SMPTE standard based on WMV9) will be mandatory. They will also include
MPEG-2 support for playback of HDTV recordings and DVDs. Please note that
this simply means that all Blu-ray players and recorders will have to support
playback of these video codecs, it will still be up to the movie studios
to decide which video codec(s) they use for their releases. The BDA expects
the BD-ROM specification to be finished some time in the beginning of 2005. |
|
|
| Q: |
What
audio codecs will Blu-ray support? |
| A: |
The
Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) still hasn't made a final decision about
what audio codecs will be included in the BD-ROM specification, but according
to the BDF technical spokesman Richard Doherty, the included audio codecs
should offer a significant improvement over the audio formats supported
by the current DVD spec. They are currently looking into advanced audio
codecs, including lossless codecs. |
|
Back
to Top |
| Q: |
Will
Blu-ray Discs require a cartridge? |
| A: |
No,
the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) and TDK have successfully developed
a new hard-coating technology dubbed "Durabis" that makes the discs even more resistant to scratches and fingerprints than
existing DVDs, without requiring a cartridge to protect the discs.
This development will enable manufacturers to downsize PC drives
and lower their overall media production costs. |
|
|
| Q: |
When
will I be able to buy a Blu-ray Disc recorder? |
| A: |
You'll
probably have to wait until 2006-2007 for Blu-ray recorders to
become commonly available. The driving force behind the development
of Blu-ray Disc recorders is the need to record HDTV programming
and currently the only country where HDTV is well established
is Japan. There's still only a few different Blu-ray Disc recorders
available to consumers in Japan, but as you can see in our Blu-ray
Recorders section, most well-known consumer electronics companies
have their own prototype Blu-ray Disc recorder in development,
so we expect to see more Blu-ray recorders on the Japanese market
during 2005.
According to Sony of America's senior vice president Mike Fidler, products
based on the Blu-ray Disc format are not likely to be available in the
United States until late 2005 or early 2006.
|
|
|
| Q: |
What
will a Blu-ray Disc recorder cost? |
| A: |
As
with any new technology, the first generation of Blu-ray Disc recorders
will be very expensive, but the prices have already begun falling. The
Sony BDZ-S77 is currently priced at 222,000 yen ($2,150), while the Panasonic
DMR-E700BD is priced at 189,000 yen ($1,830). The discs required to record
high-definition video are priced at about 2,700 yen ($26) per disc. The
explanation for the high retail prices is that the recorders are targetted
for businesses and enthusiasts rather than regular consumers.
According to the Blu-ray Disc Association, the overall cost of manufacturing
a Blu-ray Disc will in the end be no more expensive than producing a DVD.
The reduced injection molding costs offset the additional cost of applying
the cover layer and hard coat, while the techniques used for applying the
recording layer remain the same. As soon as manufacturers start mass production
of blue-laser components, which is expected to begin in 2005, the production
costs should fall and eventually be within 10% of DVD. |
|
|
| Q: |
Will
Blu-ray replace VHS? |
| A: |
Yes, that's the expectation. The Blu-ray Disc recorder represents a major leap
forward in video recording technology as it enables recording of
high-definition television (HDTV). It also offers a lot of new
innovative features not possible with a traditional VCR:
Random
access, instantly jump to any spot on the disc
Searching,
quickly browse and preview recorded programs in real-time
Create
playlists, change the order of recorded programs and edit recorded
video
Automatically
find an empty space to avoid recording over programs
Simultaneous
recording and playback of video (enables Time slip/Chasing playback)
Enhanced
interactivity, enables more advanced programs and games
Broadband
enabled, access web content, download subtitles and extras
Improved
picture, ability to record high-definition television (HDTV)
Improved
sound, ability to record surround sound (Dolby Digital, DTS,
etc)
|
|
Back
to Top |
| Q: |
Will
Blu-ray replace DVD? |
| A: |
It's
still too early to say. In the end it's up to the movie studios to decide
in what format they release their movies, so they will play a big part
in the decision of which format becomes the standard for high-definition
movies and the successor to DVD. The two formats will most likely co-exist
for quite some time until high-definition takes over and becomes the norm. |
|
|
| Q: |
What's
the difference between Blu-ray and DVD? |
| A: |
| Parameters |
BD |
BD |
DVD |
DVD |
| Storage
capacity |
25GB |
50GB |
4.7GB |
9.4GB |
| Number
of layers |
single-layer |
dual-layer |
single-layer |
dual-layer |
| Laser
wavelength |
405nm |
405nm |
650nm |
650nm |
| Numerical
aperture (NA) |
0.85 |
0.85 |
0.60 |
0.60 |
| Protection
layer |
0.1mm |
0.1mm |
0.6mm |
0.6mm |
| Data
transfer rate |
54.0Mbps |
54.0Mbps |
11.1Mbps |
11.1Mbps |
| Video
compression |
MPEG-2
|
MPEG-2 |
MPEG-2 |
MPEG-2 |
| |
MPEG-4
AVC |
MPEG-4
AVC |
|
|
| |
VC-1 |
VC-1
|
|
|
| (content from: Blu-Ray.com) |