BLU-RAY DISC

CONTENTS
1. ABSTRACT 2. INTRODUCTION 3. BLU-RAY Vs DVD CAPABILITY 4. WORKING OF BLU-RAY 5. READING OF DATA 6. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION . BLU-RAY Vs OTHER DISC FOR!ATS ". VARIANTS #. ADVANTAGES 1$. APPLICATIONS 11. ON GOING DEVELOP!ENTS 12. CONCLUSION 13. REFERENCES

1. ABSTRACT
Blu-ray Disc (also known as Blu-ray or BD) is an optical disc storage medium. Its main uses are high-definition video and data storage. The disc has the same physical dimensions as standard DVDs and Ds. The name Blu-ray Disc is derived from the !lue laser (violet-colored) used to read and write this type of disc. Because of the wave length ("#$ nanometers)% su!stantially more data can !e stored on a Blu-ray Disc than on the DVD format% which uses a red (&$# nm) laser. ' twolayer Blu-ray Disc can store $# giga!ytes% almost si( times the capacity of a two-layer DVD% or ten and a half times that of a singlelayer DVD. 's compared to the )DVD format% its main competitor% Blu-ray has more information capacity per layer% *$ instead of +$ giga!ytes. Bluray discs not only have more storage capacity than traditional DVDs% !ut they also offer a new level of interactivity. ,sers will !e a!le to connect to the internet and instantly download su!titles and other interactive movie features. There are plans for BD--./ (read only)% BD (recorda!le) and BD--0 (rewrita!le) drives for 1 2 and with the support of the manufacturers% it3s very likely that the technology will !e adopted as the ne(t-generation optical disc format for 1 data storage and replace technologies such as DVD4--% DVD4--5% and DVD4--'/.

Blu-ray Disc (BD) is the ne(t generation optical disc format% currently !eing standardi6ed !y a large consortium of leading 0% 1 % authoring companies and ma7or movie studios. The BD application format addresses the limitations of DVD-Video !y providing a complete user e(perience. The high storage capacity guarantees the !est 8uality )D video availa!le to the consumer. BD standardi6es how content pu!lishers can include e(ecuta!le applications on the disc to reali6e fully enhanced interactivity. By using a programming platform like 9ava% the standard need not define the allowa!le set of features% instead it defines the play!ack platform and disc pu!lishers are free to implement any features they desire. :urthermore% BD supports seamless integration of Internet content with disc content% allowing synchroni6ed presentation of updated content from the Internet with disc content. 5ith this com!ination of features% highest 8uality )D video% enhanced interactivity and Internet connectivity% BD offers consumers a compelling e(perience.

2. INTRODUCTION
Blu-ray is a name for an optical disc standard which uses !lue-violet laser instead of red laser used in surface. In fact% Blu-ray got its name from the technology% !asically the ;Blu; is from !lue-violet diode and the ;ray; is from optical ray. The ;e; was Ds and in DVDs. This allows manufacturers to store more data using the same amount of disc

intentionally dropped so that the full term ;Blu-ray; could !e registered as a new trademark. ' current% single-sided% standard DVD can hold ".< =B (giga!ytes) of Information. That>s a!out the si6e of an average two-hour% standarddefinition movie with a few e(tra features. But a high-definition movie% which has a much clearer image (see how Digital Television works)% takes up a!out five times more !andwidth and therefore re8uires a disc with a!out five times more storage. 's TV sets and movie studios make the move to high definition consumers are going to need play!ack systems with a lot more storage capacity. Blu-ray is the ne(t-generation digital video disc. It can record% store and play !ack high definition video and digital audio% as well as computer data. Videos will !e stored on either /10=-* (enhanced for new )D)% /10="?'V ()igh 1rofile standard) or on the !est of all three% V -+ ()D !ased on /icrosoft>s 5indows /edia Video (5/V) standard

technology.). .ne Blu--ay disc will hold appro(imately. *$ =B of data (it is compared to ".@& =B on regular DVD) on one side?layer of the disc and $# =B on a dual-layer disc. BD support many types of audio codecs as well with up to A channels of uncompressed audio. The codecs supported areB Cinear 1 / (C1 /)% Dol!y Digital (DD)% Dol!y Digital 1lus (DD4)% Dol!y True )D% DT2 Digital 2urround% DT2-)D )igh -esolution 'udio and DT2-)D /aster 'udio.

3. BLU-RAY VS DVD CAPABILITY

4. WORKING OF BLU-RAY
Discs store digitally encoded video and audio information in pits spiral grooves that run from the center of the disc to its edges. ' laser reads the other side of these pits the !umps to play the movie or program that is stored on the DVD. The more data that is contained on a disc% the smaller and more closely packed the pits must !e. The smaller the pita (and therefore the !umps)% the more precise the reading laser must !e. ,nlike current DVD3s% which use a red laser to read and write data% Blu-ray uses a !lue laser (which is where the format gets its name). ' !lue laser has a shorter wavelength ("#$ nanometers) than a red laser (&$# nanometers). The smaller !eam focuses more precisely% ena!ling it to read information recorded in pits that are not only #.+$ microns long this is more than twice as small as the pits on a DVD. 1lus% Blu-ray has reduced the track pitch from #.<" microns to #.@* microns. The smaller pits% smaller !eam and shorter track pitch together ena!le a single-layer Blu-ray disc to hold more than *$ =B of information a!out five times the amount of information that can !e stores on a DVD.

0ach Blu-ray disc is a!out the same thickness (+.* millimeters) as a DVD. But the two types of discs store data differently. In a DVD% the data is sandwiched !etween two polycar!onate layers% each #.& mm thick. )aving a polycar!onate layer on top of the data can cause a pro!lem called !irefringence% in which the su!strate layer refracts the laser light into two separate !eams. If the !eam is split too widely% the disc cannot !e read% if the DVD surface is not e(actly flat% and is therefore not e(actly perpendicular to the !eam% it can lead to a pro!lem known as disc tilt% in which the laser !eam is distorted. 'll of these issues lead to a very involved manufacturing process.

5. READING OF DATA
The Blu-ray disc overcomes DVD-reading issues !y placing the data on top of a +.+ mm thick polycar!onate layer. )aving the data on top prevents !irefringence and therefore prevents reada!ility pro!lems. 'nd% with the recording layer sitting closer to the o!7ective lens of the reading mechanism% the pro!lem of disc tilt is virtually eliminated. Because the data is closer to the surface% a hard coating is placed on the outside of the disc to protect it from scratches and fingerprints. The design of the Blu-ray discs saves on manufacturing costs. Traditional DVDs are !uilt !y in7ection molding the two #.& mm discs !etween which the recording layer is sandwiched. The process must !e done very carefully to prevent !irefringence. +. The two discs are molded. *. The recording layer is added to one of the discs. @. The two discs are glued together. Blu-ray discs only do the in7ection-molding process on a single +.+ mm disc% which reduces cost. That savings !alances out the cost of adding the protective layer% so the end price is no more than the price of a regular DVD.

Blu-ray disc also has a higher data transfer rate @& /!ps (mega!its per second) than today>s DVDs% which transfer at +# /!ps. ' Blu-ray disc can record *$ =B of material in 7ust over an hour and a half.

6. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION
T%&' P(%s)*+, s)-' S)./,' D2+, ,+%'0 ,+%'0 *+&+*)1% *+&+*)1% *$ =B (*@.*A =iB) <.A =B (<.*& =iB) $# =B ("&.$& =iB) +$.& =B (+".$@ =iB)

2tandar d disc si6e

+* cm% single sided A cm% single sided

/ini disc si6e

)igh-definition video may !e stored on Blu-ray -./ discs with up to +D*# ( +#A# pi(el resolution at up to &# frames per second interlaced or *" frames per second progressive

R's3,21)3 .

F0+4' 0+1' $D.D"-i% $#-i *"-p% *@.D<&-p

As&'*1 0+1)3

C35'*

+D*#(+#A#

+&BD

+D*#(+#A#

+&BD

+""#(+#A#

$D.D"-i% $#-i

+&BD

/10=-" 'V ? 2/1T0 V -+ only /10=-" 'V ? 2/1T0 V -+ only

+""#(+#A#

*"-p% *@.D<&-p

+&BD

+*A#(<*#

$D.D"-p% $#-p *"-p% *@.D<&-p

+&BD

+*A#(<*#

+&BD

<*#("A#

$D.D"-i "B@?+&BD

L+s'0 +.5 3&1)*s

Blu-ray Disc uses a ;!lue; (technically violet) laser operating at a wavelength of "#$ nm to read and write data. onventional DVDs and Ds use red and near infrared lasers at &$# nm and <A# nm respectively.

The !lue-violet laser>s shorter wavelength makes it possi!le to store more information on a +* cm D?DVD si6ed disc. The minimum ;spot si6e; on which a laser can !e focused is limited !y diffraction% and depends on the wavelength of the light and the numerical aperture of the lens used to focus it. By decreasing the wavelength% increasing the numerical aperture from #.&# to #.A$ and making the cover layer thinner to avoid unwanted optical effects% the laser !eam can !e focused to a smaller spot. This allows more information to !e stored in the same area. :or Blu-ray Disc% the spot si6e is $A# nm. In addition to the optical improvements% Blu-ray Discs feature improvements in data encoding that further increase the capacity.

H+05-*3+1)./ 1'*(.3,3/%
Because the Blu-ray Disc data layer is closer to the surface of the disc% compared to the DVD standard% it was at first more vulnera!le to scratches. The first discs were housed in cartridges for protection. TDE was the first company to develop a working scratch protection coating for Blu-ray Discs. It was named Dura!is. In addition% !oth 2ony and 1anasonic>s replication methods include proprietary hard-coat technologies. 2ony>s rewrita!le media are spin-coated with a scratchresistant and antistatic coating. Ver!atim>s recorda!le and rewrita!le Blu-ray discs use their own proprietary hard-coat technology called 2cratch =uard.

R'*305)./ S&''5

D+1+ 0+1' D0)6' s&''5 /!it?s +F *F "F &F AFG +*FGG @& <* +"" *+& *AA "@* /B?s ".$ D +A *< @& $"

W0)1' 1)4' 730 B,2-0+% D)s* 84).21's9 2ingle Cayer D# "$ *@ +$ +* A Dual Cayer +A# D# "$ @# *@ +$

. BLU-RAY 6s OTHER DISC FOR!ATS

5ill Blu-ray replace previous DVDsH Its manufactures hope so. In the meantime 9V has developed a Blu-ray ?DVD com!o disc with an appro(imate @@.$ =B capacity% allowing for the release of video in !oth formats on a single disc. But Blu-ray is not alone in the marketplace. ' few other formats are competing for a share of DVD market.

HD-DVD

The other !ig player is )D-DVD% also called '.D ('dvanced .ptical Disc)% which DVD and can therefore !e manufactured with the same e8uipment% saving on costs. The disadvantage is that it can3t match the storage capacity of Blu-ray. ' rewrita!le% single layer )D-DVD can hold *# =B of dataI a dou!le layer disc can hold @# =B (that3s compared to *< =B and $# =B for Blu-ray). The read-only versions hold slightly less data. 'lso% )D-DVD doesn3t offer the interactive capa!ilities of Blu-ray% although it will pro!a!ly !e less e(pensive than its competitor.

OTHER CO!PETITORS
Blu-ray and )D-DVD are the two ma7or competitors in the market% there are other contenders% as well. 5arner Bros. 1ictures has developed its own system% called )D-DVD-D. This system uses a higher compression rate to put more information (a!out two hours of high definition video) on a standard DVD. Taiwan has created the :orwarded Versatile Disc (:VD)% an upgraded version of today3s DVDs that allows for more data storage capacity ($." =B on a single Jsided disc and D.A =B on a dou!le-sided disc). 'nd hina has introduced the 0nhanced Video Disc (0VD)% another high-definition video disc There are also professional versions of the Blue laser technology. 2ony has developed KD '/ and 1roData (1rofessional Disc for Data). The former is designed for use !y !roadcasters and 'V studios. %!acking up servers). The latter is primarily for commercial data storage (for e(ample

Blu-ray recorders are already availa!le in 9apan% where more consumers have access to )DTV than in the ,nited 2tates. .utside of 9apan% once more TV sets come e8uipped with a high-definition tuner and more films and television shows are produced in high-definition (which is e(pected to happen !y late *##$ or *##&)% Blu-ray movies and TV shows on disc should !ecome widely availa!le. But the format is already availa!le for home recording% professional recording and data storage.

REPLACE!ENT OF PREVIOUS DVD

9V has developed a Blueray?DVD com!o disc with an appro(imate

@@.$ =B capacity% allowing for the release of video in !oth formats on a single disc. But Blu-ray is not alone in the marketplace. ' few other formats are competing for a share of the DVD market. The other !ig player is )D-DVD% also called '.D ('dvanced .ptical Disc)% which was developed !y electronics giants Toshi!a and L0 . )DDVD was actually in the works !efore regular DVD% !ut it didn>t !egin real development until *##@. The advantage to )D-DVD is that it uses the same !asic format as the traditional DVD and can therefore !e manufactured with the same e8uipment% saving on costs. )D-DVD matches the storage capacity of Blu-ray. ' rewrita!le% single-layer )D-DVD can hold +$ =B of data% a dou!le-layer disc can hold @# =B% and a triple-layer disc can hold "$ =B (that>s compared to *< =B and $# =B for Blu-ray). The read-only versions hold slightly less data. 'lso% )D-DVD offers the interactive capa!ilities of Blu-ray% with )Di

Blu-ray recorders are already availa!le in 9apan% where more consumers have access to )DTV than in the ,nited 2tates. .utside of 9apan% once more TV sets come e8uipped with a high-definition tuner and more films and television shows are produced in highdefinition (which is e(pected to happen !y late *##$ or *##&)% Blu-ray movies and TV shows on disc should !ecome widely availa!le. But the format is already availa!le for home recording% professional recording and data storage. 'nother important factor is cost. 9ust as with most new

technologies% Blu-ray e8uipment will !e pricey at first. In *##@% 2ony released its first Blu-ray recorder in 9apan with a price tag of around M@%###. The price is e(pected to drop as the format gains popularity. Blu-ray discs may also !e initially more e(pensive than today>s DVDs% !ut once demand grows and they can !e massproduced% manufacturers say the price percent of the price of current DVDs. 0ven when the new video standard !egins to replace current technologies% consumers won>t have to throw away their DVDs% !ut they will need to invest in a new player. The industry is planning to market !ackward-compati!le drives with !oth !lue and red lasers% will drop to within +#

which will !e a!le to play traditional DVDs and Ds as well as Blu-ray discs.

". VARIANTS
!INI BLU-RAY DISC
The >>>/ini Blu-ray Disc>>> (also% /ini-BD and /ini Blu-ray) is a compact A cm (N@ in) diameter variant of the Blu-ray Disc that can store appro(imately <.$ =B of data. It is similar in concept to the /ini DVD. -ecorda!le (BD--) and -ewrita!le (BD--0) versions of /ini Blu-ray Disc have !een developed specifically for compact camcorders and other compact recording devices.

BD#:BD5 BLU-RAY DISC

BDD and BD$ are lower capacity variants of the Blu-ray Disc that contain Blu-ray compati!le video and audio streams contained on a conventional DVD (&$# nm wavelength ? red laser) optical disc. 2uch discs offer the use of the same advanced compression technologies availa!le to Blu-ray discs (including ).*&"?/10=-" 'V % V -+ and /10=-*) while using lower cost legacy media. BDD uses a standard A+$* /B DVDD dual-layer disc while BD$ uses a standard ""A* /B DVD$ single-layer disc. BDD?BD$ discs can !e authored using home computers for private showing using standard DVDO- recorders. '' 2 digital rights

management is optional. The BDD?BD$ format was originally proposed !y 5arner )ome Video% as a cost-effective alternative to regular Bluray Discs. It was adopted as part of the BD--./ !asic format% file system% and 'V specifications. BDD?BD$ is similar to @( DVD for )D DVD.

AVCREC
'V -0 is an official lower capacity variant of the Blu-ray Disc used for storing Blu-ray Disc compati!le content on conventional DVD discs. It is !eing promoted for use in camcorders% distri!ution of short )D !roadcast content and other cost-sensitive distri!ution needs. It is similar to )D -0 for )D DVD. Lote that 'V -0 is not the same as 'V )D content stored on DVD.

The latter is a media independent format and is used presently in tapeless camcorders that record onto DVD and Blu-ray Discs% as well as onto 2ecure Digital and /emory 2tick memory cards. 1laying !ack 'V )D content on a Blu-ray player may re8uire modification of 'V )D directory structure% !ut does not re8uire re-encoding of video files themselves.

BLU-RAY DISC RECORDABLE

Blu-0+% D)s* recorda!le refers to two optical disc formats that can !e recorded with an optical disc recorder. BD-- discs can !e written to once% whereas BD--0 can !e erased and re-recorded multiple times. The theoretical ma(imum speed for Blu-ray Discs is a!out +*(. )igher

speeds of rotation (+#%###4 rpm) cause too much wo!!le for the discs to !e read properly% as with the *#( and $*( respective ma(imum speeds of DVDs and Ds. 2ince 2eptem!er *##<% BD--0 was also availa!le in the smaller A cm /ini Blu-ray Disc diameter si6e. .n 2eptem!er +A% *##<% 1ioneer and /itsu!ishi co-developed BD-CT) (;Cow to )igh; in groove recording)% which features an organic dye recording layer that can !e manufactured !y modifying e(isting D-- and DVD-- production manufacturing costs. In :e!ruary *##A% Taiyo Puden% /itsu!ishi and /a(ell released the first BD-- CT) Discs% and in /arch *##A% 2ony>s 1lay2tation @ gained official support for BD-- CT) Discs with the *.*# firmware update. ,nlike the previous releases of +*# mm optical discs (i.e. Blu-ray>s de!ut (at least in 9apan). Ds and e8uipment% significantly reducing

DVDs)% Blu-ray recorders hit the market almost simultaneously with

#. ADVANTAGES
-ecord high-Definition Television without any 8uality loss. Instantly skip to any spot on the disc. -ecord one program while watching another program on the disc. reate play list. 0dit programs records on the disc. 'utomatically search for a empty space on the disc to avoid recording over the program. 'ccess the we! to download su!titles and other programs. A single-layer B,2-0+% 5)s*% which is roughly the same si6e as a DVD% can hold up to 2 =B of data that>s more than two hours of high-definition video or a!out +@ hours of standard video. ' dou!le-layer Blu-ray disc can store up to $# =B% enough to hold a!out ".$ hours of high-definition video or more than *# hours of standard video. 'nd there are even plans in the works to develop a disc with twice that amount of storage.

1$. APPLICATIONS
STAND ALONE RECORDERS AND GA!E CONTROLLERS

The first Blu-ray recorder was unveiled !y 2ony and was introduced to the 9apanese market. 9V and 2amsung 0lectronics announced Blu-ray !ased products at I:' in Berlin% =ermany. 2ony has announced that the 1lay2tation @ will !e shipped with a Bluray drive% !ut possi!ly 7ust a read-only one. 2ony>s machine will also support BD--./ pre-recorded media% which are e(pected to !e availa!le in early *##&.

PC DATA STORAGE
Blu-ray drives currently in production can transfer appro(imately @& /!it?s ($" /!it?s for BD--./)% !ut *( speed prototypes with a +#A /!it?s transfer rate are in development. -ates of A( or more are planned for the future.

)ewlett 1ackard has announced plans to sell Blu-ray-e8uipped desktop 1 s and laptops. In Decem!er *##$% )1 announced that they would also !e supporting the rival )D DVD technology. 1hilips was scheduled to de!ut a Blu-ray computer drive in the second half of *##$% !ut it was also delayed. .n /arch +#% *##$ 'pple 7oined the Blu-ray Disc 'ssociation. omputer

11. ON GOING DEVELOP!ENT

'lthough the Blu-ray Disc specification has !een finali6ed% engineers continue working to advance the technology. Quad-layer (+## =B) discs have !een demonstrated on a drive with modified optics (TDE version) and standard unaltered optics (;)itachi used a standard drive.;) )itachi stated that such a disc could !e used to store < hours of @* /!it?s video ()DTV) or @.$ hours of &" /!it?s video ( inema "E). In 'ugust *##&% TDE announced that they have created a working e(perimental Blu-ray Disc capa!le of holding *## =B of data on a single side% using si( @@ =B data layers. 'lso !ehind closed doors at 02 *##<% -itek revealed that they had

successfully developed a )igh Definition optical disc process that e(tends the disc capacity to +# layers. That increases the capacity of the discs to *$# =B. )owever% they noted that the ma7or o!stacle is that current reader and writer technology does not support the additional layers. 9V has developed a three-layer technology that allows putting !oth standard-definition DVD data and )D data on a BD?DVD com!o. If

successfully commerciali6ed% this would ena!le the consumer to purchase a disc which could !e played on current DVD players% and reveal its )D version when played on a new BD player. The first >hy!rid> Blu-ray?DVD com!o is announced to !e released :e!ruary +A. The 9apanese optical disc manufacturer Infinity has announced this. > ode Blu> will feature four hy!rid discs% which feature a single Bluray layer (*$=B) and two DVD layers (D =B) on the same side of the disc. In 9anuary *##<% )itachi showcased a +## =B Blu-ray Disc% which consists of four layers containing *$ =B each. ,nlike TDE and 1anasonic>s +## =B discs% they claim this disc is reada!le on standard Blu-ray Disc drives that are currently in circulation% and it is !elieved that a firmware update is the only re8uirement to make it reada!le to current players and drives. In Decem!er *##A% 1ioneer orporation unveiled a "## =B Blu-ray

disc% which contains +& data layers% *$ =B each% and will !e compati!le with current players after a firmware update. ' planned launch is in the *##D-*#+# time frames for -./ and *#+#-*#+@ for rewrita!le discs. .ngoing development is under way to create a + TB Blu-ray disc as soon as *#+@. 't 02 *##D 1anasonic unveiled the D/1-B+$% the first porta!le Blu-

ray Disc player and 2harp showed off the C -BD&#, and C -BDA#, series% the first C D )DTVs with integrated Blu-ray players.

's of 'pril *##A% a 7oint licensing agreement for Blu-ray Disc has not yet !een finali6ed. ' 7oint licensing agreement would make it easier for companies to get a license for Blu-ray Disc without having to go to each individual company that owns a Blu-ray Disc patent. :or this reason a 7oint licensing agreement was eventually made for DVD !y the DVD& Cicensing 'gency.

12. CONCLUSION
Blu-ray disc has !een a consistent road map to emerging disc technologies. Blue-ray can store up to $" =B% enough to hold a!out ".$ hours of high -definition video or more than *# hours of standard video. 'nd there are even plans in the works to develop a disc with twice that amount of storage. It3s very likely that the technology will !e adopted as the ne(t generation optical disc format for 1 data storage and replace technologies such as DVD4--% DVD4--5% and DVD--'/.

13. REFERENCES
TE;T BOOKS<
+. omplete =uide to Digital 'udio *. The Digital Bits Insider =uide to DVD @. DVD Demystified By hris /iddleton. By Bill )unt By 9im Taylor

WEB SITES<
+. www.howstuffworks.com

*. www.!lu-ray.com