BLU-RAY

DISC
By : Ankit Gupta

CD

DV
D

BLU-RAY

INTRODUCTION
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), as well as storing
large amounts of data.
The format offers more than five times the
storage capacity of traditional DVDs and
can hold up to 25GB on a single-layer disc
and 50GB on a dual-layer disc.

Foundation
Blu-ray disc (BD) is appropriately named after

the blue laser used to write the data

The first blue laser was developed in 1996 by
Shuji Nakamura (Nichia Corporation)
In 2002, an alliance was formed, called the Bluray Disc Association, including the likes of Sony,
Samsung, Sharp, Hewlett-Packard, and Royal
Phillips.
It has One layer, Two layer, Three layer, Four
layer
Five layer, Six layer.

Variations and Sizes

A single-layer Blu-ray disc (BD) has enough

storage capacity (25GB) for approximately

two hours of high-definition video with audio.
A dual-layer (50GB) BD can hold enough data
for approximately four hours of HD video.
TDK recently announced that they have
created a working Blu-ray disc capable of
holding 200GB of data (six 33GB data layers).

HISTORY

Laser and optics

Blu-ray systems use a blue-violet laser

operating at a wavelength of 405 nm, similar to

the one used for HD DVD, to read and write
data. Conventional DVDs and CDs use red and
infrared lasers at 650 nm and 780 nm
respectively.
Blu-ray has two types BD-R and BD-RE with
price
$19.99 and $24.99 for 25GB and $47.99 and
$59.99 for 50GB respectively.

Why Blue Lasers?

High-definition TV provides six times more

picture information than standard-definition

TV
More bits per second required
More gigabytes per disc required
1920 x 1080 x 30 = 62 million pixels/second
720 x 480 x 30 = 10 million pixels/second

HDTV
SDTV

Disc Characteristics
Single layer: 25 GB

Dual layer: 50 GB
Diameter: 120 mm
Thickness: 1.2 mm
Center hole
diameter: 15 mm
Uses GaN laser of
wavelength 400 nm
The smaller laser,
compared to the
DVD and CD, keeps
the process more
efficient (~5 mW)

Courtesy Blu-ray Disc Founders Blu-ray Disc Format White Paper

Hard-coating technology
In January 2004 was

introduced a clear
polymer coating that
gives Blu-ray Discs
unprecedented scratch
resistance. The coating
was developed by TDK
Corporation and is
called "Durabis". It
allows BDs to be
cleaned safely with only
a tissue.

Blu-ray vs DVD capacity

CD vs DVD vs Blu-ray
writing

Compatibility
This issue has introduced a competitor, the HD-

DVD, that based its technology around being

compatible with the DVD
Recently the BDA has developed recorders that
are BD/DVD/CD compatible
JVC has advanced the BD by developing a
BD/DVD combo disc that stores both DVD and
BD data. It is composed of two DVD layers and
a third BD layer storing 33.5 GB total

Blu-ray Advantages
Record high-definition television (HDTV)

without any quality loss

Instantly skip to any spot on the disc
Record one program while watching another
on the disc
Edit or reorder programs recorded on the disc
Automatically search for an empty space on
the disc

Future
Expect the BD to become more prevalent

once the HDTV market establishes its

presence
Audio and video will reach higher qualities
with larger storage space
Look for BD with more than two layers as the
technology is further refined

Conclusion
Both DVD and BD would most likely co-exist

for quiet some time until HDTVs become more

widespread.

Thank you