1. Blu-Ray Discs Kunho Baik Maya Irvine Adam Lussier Chris Mohr Gary Roloff

2. What are Blu-ray Discs?

3. Background Information ● 1998 – Release of High-Definition Televisions ● Shuji Nakamura Invents blue LED technology but kept off market due to patent problems ● The first DVR Blue prototypes unveiled at the CEATEC exhibition in October 2000 (Williams, “Sony”) ● The DVD Forum deeply split over whether to develop blue laser technology because of its higher expense. (Ramstad) ● Sony includes blu-ray players in PlayStation3 – although HD DVD head starts in the high-definition video market, this changed the game ● By February 2008, Toshiba withdrew its support for the HD DVD format, leaving Blu-ray the victor.

4. Red Laser vs. Blue Laser

5. Benefits of Blu-ray Discs ● Significantly increased storage space (50GB vs. today's 4.7GB) ● Has the potential to store 500GB on multiple layers ● Has the potential of up to 54MB/s read and write speeds ● Allows for high definition 1080p movies to be marketed

6. Criticisms ● Critics say Sony is more concerned with royalties than creating the best technology for the consumer ● Manufacturing Blu-Ray discs requires new machinery, while alternatives like HD-DVD can be produced on existing DVD equipment ● In the interest of copy-protection, companies have included over-protective DRM that has caused some consumers to experience problems playing purchased discs in their players. ● Bill Gates: “the protection scheme under Blu-ray is very anti-consumer”

7. Opinions and the Future of Blu-ray ● Blu-ray discs will definitely change the future of the video industry ● The Blu-ray discs have won the battle against HD DVDs and will continue to grow ● Eventually Replace the DVDs as the standard disc format ● Enjoying the high-definition quality of Blu-rays will become a new form of entertainment in the future

8. Works Cited ● “Blu-ray Disc” What is Blu-ray?. 2008. Blu-ray.com. 8 Sept, 2008.. ● “Blu-ray FAQ” Blu-ray FAQ. 2008. Blu-ray.com 8 Sept, 2008.. ● Ramstad,Evan. "In HDTV Age, Successor to VCR Still Seems to Be a Long Way Off"online.wsj.com.4 August1998. ● Williams,Martyn. "Opening the Door for New Storage Options". pcworld.com. 12 April2002. ● Williams, Martyn "Sony Shows 'DVR-Blue' Prototype". cdrinfo.com. 10 November 2000. http://www.pcworld.com/article/105534/disc_makers_bet_on_blue_lasers.html ● Maury Wright. "HD-DVD and Blu-Ray lack wow at debut. " EDN 3 Aug. 2006: 12. ABI/INFORM Global. ProQuest. Hunt Library, Carnegie Mellon University. 23 Sep. 2008 ● Reimer, Jeremy. "New Blu-ray discs with BD+ DRM failing to play on some devices." Ars Technica (Oct. 2007). 23 Sept. 2008. ● Gates, Bill. "A conversation with Bill Gates." Interview with Chanakya Sethi. Daily Princetonian 14 Oct. 2005. 23 Sept. 2008.