Blu-ray the nex Generation Video

This upcoming technology can intensify your movie-watching experience and make games even more immersive.

The impact of technology on every bit of our lives has changed the face of entertainment many times over. Whether it is crystal-clear audio, sharp video, stupendous visual effects, realistic and immersive gaming environments, technology has improved all aspects of some kinds of entertainment. Blu-ray is another step in that direction.

What is Blu-ray?

Blu-ray is an optical disc format that can record, rewrite, and play high-definition (HD) video and also store large amounts of data. A single-layer Blu-ray disc (BD) can store 25 GB, while a dual-layer can hold up to 50 GB. That’s approximately five times the capacity of comparable DVDs.Given that home theater systems, computer monitors, and gaming consoles are all moving towards larger screens and higher resolutions, the standard definition (SD) video that’s supported on VCDs and DVDs is unlikely to give the video quality that these new-age systems are capable of displaying. Therefore, enter HD video, which is capable of delivering a much richer and clearer viewing experience at higher resolutions.HD video is now available through digital cable television, direct broadcast satellites, some internet downloads, and the latest gaming consoles. To view HD films, however, you need a disc that stores much more information than the DVD, and that’s where BD makes an appearance.The format gets its name from the blue or violet colored laser that is used to read or write data on the disc. DVDs use a red-colored laser instead. The advantage with the blue laser is that it has a shorter wavelength than the red laser, which enables data to be written with more precision. Hence, more data can be packed on to a disc of the same size and dimensions as a DVD disc.

Current status

Blu-ray has been jointly developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), which is a group of leading manufacturers in consumer electronics, personal computers, and media for these. More than 180 such manufacturers support this format; and many film studios and music companies have also joined the bandwagon. Seven major film studios, in fact—Disney, Paramount, Fox, Warner, Sony, and Lionsgate—have released their films in the BD format, and some titles from these studios (except Paramount) are available exclusively on BD in the US.BD players, recorders, and disc drives are available from several leading manufacturers, such as Sony, Philips, Mitsubishi, Pioneer, Samsung, Hitachi, LG, JVC, and others. The earlier systems were not backward compatible with DVDs, but most of the current systems can play BDs, DVDs and CDs.
Looking forward

The format holds promise for HD video and in future, we will probably see more titles in this format. Further development of the technology is also on, where manufacturers are exploring even higher storage capacities or technologies that will enable storage of both HD and SD on the same disc.The technology is in its early days yet and is, therefore, likely to see more churn and development in the near future