There are a lot of people who have Blu ray discs, but don’t know much about it. If you want to know what a Blue ray disc is, the following information will clear some things up. For starters, it is not spelled as Blue-Ray but Blu ray, and it is also known as BD.
Overview of Features
The disc format was created by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), a group which includes Sony, Sharp, Samsung, Philips, Panasonic, Apple, Apple and LG. The format makes possible playback, rewriting and recording of HD (high definition). The format also makes it easy to store data in large amounts.
The BD format’s storage capacity is five times larger than the average DVD. A single layer BD disc can hold up to 25 GB while the capacity of a dual layer disc is 50 GB. BD also has advanced audio and video codecs for superior playback and sound.
How the Technology Works
DVD-RAM, DVD±RW, DVD±R, DVD and other disc technologies use red laser to write and read data. BD on the other hand, relies on blue-violet laser, which is where it got the name in the first place. In spite of this fact, BD discs are backwards compatible with DVDs and CDs because it uses BD/DVD/CD compatible optical pickup device.
If you are asking what a Blu ray disc is, you need to understand why it uses a blue-violet laser. The laser (405 nm) comes with a shorter wavelength than a red laser (650 nm), which allows it to spot and focus more accurately. This permits more data to be clustered more tightly together without using as much space as needed if red lasers are used. The blue-violet laser along with the 0.85 numerical aperture allows a BD to have a capacity of anywhere between 25 GB to 50 GB. The newer formats have 20 layers and can hold up to 500 GB.
The lasers on BD are GaN (gallium nitride) laser diodes. The spot size on a BD disc is 580 Nm. This makes it possible to reduce the pit size to 150 nm and 230 nm at the track pitch. Apart from enhancing the optics, the BD enhances data encoding too.
The BD format was created by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), an organization composed of media manufacturers, computer makers, consumer electronics companies and more.
Competition with HD DVD
Early on, HD DVD and BD were in competition, with HDVD having the edge because the early BD discs were expensive and buggy, and few titles were made for it. However, the tide turned when the BD was included in Sony’s PlayStation, not to mention the aggressive marketing campaign launched by Sony.
In 2006, AVCHD camcorders were released which you could play on BD but not on HD DVD. By early 2007, BD discs were outselling HD DVD by a ratio of two to one. That same year 20th Century Fox announced it would support BD discs only and was followed by the other major Hollywood studios. By 2008, BD had emerged as the standard disc format.
If you are studying what a Blue ray disc is format is, you should also know that it is currently supported by hundreds of music companies, video games, recording media, PCs and consumer electronics. The format is also supported by film studios around the world.
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