Blu-Ray Technology

Blu-Ray Technology:

Think about Blu-Ray as an advanced version of a DVD disc. Blu-Ray optical discs are used to store large amounts of data, which is suitable for high-definition video and high-density data. It's the next-generation optical disc format jointly developed by a group of computer and consumer electronics companies, called the Blu-Ray Disc Association (BDA).

Compared to a traditional DVD or HD DVD, a standard single-layer Blu-Ray disc can hold much more data -- 25 GB versus 5 GB for standard DVD or 8.5 GB on a dual-sided HD DVD. A dual layer Blu-Ray disc can hold up to 45 to 50 GB of data. This means a dual layer disc can play 8 hours of HD video. But wait… there's more! Researchers are also developing 100 GB and 200 GB Blu-Ray discs.

A Blu-Ray disc gets its name from the blue-violet laser used to store data on the disc. This shorter wavelength of the ray (405 nm) and tighter track pitch facilitates more precise storage of data, and higher storage capacity. A conventional DVD reads and writes data using red and infrared lasers at 650 nm while a CD uses the same lasers at 780 nm. (How small is a nanometer? For reference, there are 25.4 million nanometers in an inch.)

How Will The Consumer Benefit?

Needless to say, the larger storage capacity of the Blu-Ray disc offers consumers a lot of benefits when it comes to storing data in their personal computers. You'd need a stack of about 32,000 floppy discs to equal the capacity of a single dual-sided Blu-Ray disc. We've come a long way in just a few years!

Also, Blu-Ray technology will change the way we see movies and high definition videos. Although the Blu-Ray disc players are costlier at the moment, they are expected to become less expensive as the production increases. Sony is using Blu-Ray drives in the popular PlayStation gaming systems, which could help to boost the Blu-Ray market.

Before switching to this new technology, you should make sure that the new Blu-Ray disc player plays your traditional DVDs too. Manufacturers and video content producers have yet to embrace this technology on a large scale and not all video content is available on Blu-Ray discs. If your new Blu-Ray disc does not play normal DVDs, it may be of limited value in the short run.