By Hieu Nhan (Kevin)

Birth/creation/start etc How it’s made Specs Uses Fight against HD DVDs Price Future Difference in Quality Citations Outline

Start of Blu-ray  Blu-ray is an optical disc format developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association.  The BDA is a group world-leading electronics producers composed of Apple, Dell, Hitachi, HP, JVC, LG, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, TDK and Thomson  First blu-ray prototype, DVR Blue was unveiled in October of 2000.

How blu-ray discs are made is hinted in the name Blu-rays are made/burnt in blue shift, using a blue laser, thus its name Compared to DVDs that are made with a red laser, blu-rays are extremely superior The wavelength of the laser used to burnt the discs determines how much data can be stored on the disc (Less is more): The wavelength of the blue laser is only 405 nanometers The wavelength of the red laser is 650 nanometers Less area needed to store data allows the blu-ray discs to store more data How Blu-ray Discs are Made

Blu-ray specs  A single layer Blu-ray disc can store 25 GB of data ( 13+ hours of standard video and 2+ hours of hi-def video)  So that means a dual layer one can store 50 GB of data (20+ hours of standard video and 4+ hours of hi-def video)  Supports 1920 X 1080 resolution and write speeds of up to 12x

One of the main uses for Blu-ray discs, at least to me is for PS3 games With the capacity allotted to developers, the quality of the game should be epic, but so far, it has yet to happen outside of Metal Gear Solid 4, which used up all 50 GB of the disc Of course, other uses for 50 GB of storage space is simply for storing data, or backing up your HD, etc The most popular use of blu-rays so far is with movies *Examples in later slide* With the use of blu-ray discs, the movie experience changes from an enjoyable one, to a memorable one Blu-ray Uses

Brawl with HD DVD format  Since the first days of Blu-ray’s existence, it has had a rivalry with HD DVDs  Both are considered to be next generation formats, but in the end Blu- ray had the edge  HD DVD only had storage capabilities of 15 GB single layer and 30 GB dual layer  On February 19, 2008, Toshiba, the main supporter of HD DVDs, stopped its production of HD DVD players and recorders, with Toshiba’s lead, the other HD DVD supporters soon backed out as well. VS

One of the first Blu-ray players and one of the cheapest was the PS3 at its launch at $500 or $600 Even till today, Blu-ray players will still cost an arm and a leg ranging from $200 to god knows how much The price of the Blu-ray discs themselves range from $8 for some off brand single layer one to $50+ for a known brand dual layer one (One unit per package) Price

Future of Blu-rays  Blu-rays are designed to be the future of storage media by offering up a buttload of space  As of now, it is not as widely accepted as DVDs are and its price is quiet an eyesore  However, much like how CDs were the standards before DVDs took over, Blu-ray discs will do the same…eventually

Below are a few pictures that compare a DVD and a Blu-ray version of the same movie: Terminator 2 Difference in Quality

Citations  The following are the sites that I used    