Archive for May, 2008
DVD reigned over VHS. BLURAY reign over DVD?
May 29th, 2008 | 
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By: thomashewitt
Posted in Other - Electronics | 
Tags: Advertisement, Bluray, Dvd Vhs, Era, Film Dvd, Home Entertainment, Vhs Dvd | 
3 Comments »
What is Blu-Ray?
No, it’s not a creature of the deep or any mythical beast. Blu-ray is a third-generation digital media or data storage technology from the Blu-ray Disc Association, an assembly of corporate media and electronics technology leaders. Blu-ray discs are currently competing with HD-DVD to become the new optical disc format. They have much more storage capacities and data transfer speeds than conventional DVD’s and CD’s.
Blu-ray Disc Versus Other Optical Discs
A Blu-ray disc, looks much like any other optical disc, including first-generation CDs, second-generation DVDs, and the competing third-generation HD DVDs.
A Blu-ray disc system uses a blue-violet laser with a wavelength of 405 nanometers to write and read data on the optical disc. This laser is the source of Blu-ray’s name and the technology which differentiates Blu-ray from previous generation optical media. The 405 nanometer blue-violet laser is also used for writing and reading data on third-generation HD DVD discs, which have smaller data storage capacity per layer. Older optical media require a red laser for data storage and retrieval.
Blu-ray Storage Capacity
The Blu-ray disc system uses a shorter wavelength than conventional optical discs (CD systems use a red laser with a wavelength of 780 nanometers whereas DVD systems use the same red laser with a wavelength of 650 nanometers). The shorter wavelength means more precise data recording, which allows more data to be packed on the Blu-ray disc surface than a comparable CD or DVD surface. In fact, a standard single-layer Blu-ray disc can store as much as 25 GB of digital data, more than five times the storage capacity of conventional DVDs. A dual-layer Blu-ray disc can store a maximum of 50 GB of digital data. On the drawing board are quadruple-layer Blu-ray discs with 100 GB digital data storage capacities.
Blu-ray Support
To enjoy the considerable benefits of a Blu-ray disc, one must have a Blu-ray disc player (either standalone or software-based) that supports reading of the Blu-ray disc. Blu-ray video players need to have an MPEG-2 codec (which makes a player capable of playing DVDs and HD DVDs), a VC-1 codec, and an AVC or MPEG-4 codec. Movies stored in Blu-ray discs will use any one of the above-mentioned codecs. One movie can also have more than one codec, as long as each codec used is supported by Blu-ray technology.
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By: Tim Childree
Blu-Ray – The New Standard For Home Entertainment
Blu-Ray is not only the latest but, since Toshiba withdrew its HD-DVD competing product from the market, the greatest replacement for DVDs and CDs. The HD-DVD versus Blu-Ray battle had close parallels between the VHS versus Betamax contest of the video age in the early 80`s.
This type of battle between mega-corporations is not only interesting for business analysts. The emergence of a clear winner in this battle allows the industry standard to be clearly defined and allows consumers to invest their hard earned cash with confidence.
Without going into too much technical detail, the new Blu-Ray technology is really quite similar to CDs or DVDs. One main difference is that, instead of using a red laser beam to read and write information, it uses a blue-violet beam. It is from this that it derives its name.
The blue laser beam has a shorter wavelength than the “traditional” red one and this allows the laser to be focused on a more precisely defined point on the disc. This allows the information to be packed more closely together and effectively increases the storage capacity of the disc.
The end result is that all of the extra information required for new high definition television (HD TV) can be fitted onto one disc and the consumer can enjoy high quality movies on their lovely big LCD TV set. The extra disc space will also allow lots of room for the cut scenes, alternative endings, interactive games, interviews and “the making of…” type of bonuses which have now become expected since the advent of “special edition” dvds.
A dual layer Blu-Ray disc can store around 50 GB of information – which is approximately six times more than a dual layer DVD. Four layer Blu-Ray discs capable of holding 100 GB of information have already been demonstrated and TDK announced that they have created a working experimental disc with a capacity of 200 GB. 250 GB discs are currently under research.
In order to play Blu-Ray discs a special Blu-Ray disc player is required. Whilst not compulsory, most manufacturers have been producing Blu-Ray disc players which have the capability to play both audio CDs and standard DVDs in addition to the Blu-Ray format.
It is interesting to note that the most popular Blu-Ray disc player is undoubtedly the Sony PS3. Ten million of these have shipped to date and it seems as if Sony’s decision to make their new console not just a gaming machine but a home entertainment system has paid dividends.
Considering that Toshiba shipped approximately one million HD DVD machines, the tenfold difference in potential customer base is so large that Sony’s triumph was more a matter of time than a great surprise.
By: Hamish Hayward
PS3 Bluray drive or lens?
By: Ridgy
Now is the Time to Buy That Blu-Ray Player!
Now that HD DVD is dead, home theater fans have only one choice for high-def movie discs, Blu-ray. Blu-ray players deliver outstanding image quality, with movies encoded in 1080p resolution. This picture quality puts regular DVD players to shame. I will tell you that the best Blu-ray player on the market is the Sony PlayStation 3. The PlayStation 3 is by far the most recommendable Blu-ray player available today. There are a few things that the PS3 doesn’t offer, but nobody is perfect, right? It doesn’t have analog multichannel outputs or an IR receptor. That is no reason why you shouldn’t get a PlayStation 3 for your Blu-ray player. You have to remember that is also a high-def gaming console and media streamer. You are getting a top of the line product with a company you know stands by there products. I know that if you are a home theater die hard, you will insist on a standalone player. That is fine, but everyone else should stick with the PS3 until standalones cost much less and perform comparably.
Since the PS3 has been released, we’ve seen several Blu-ray players from Samsung, Panasonic, LG, and Sony itself. And none of them generally perform any better than the PS3, even though they cost more (twice as much or more in some cases). HD movies look superb on the PS3, which can output video at full 1080p resolution via its HDMI 1.3 port. Audio support is also top notch: the PS3 decodes Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks internally, outputting them as linear PCM, which should deliver impeccable lossless surround when connected to most HDMI-equipped AV receivers. Sticklers may lament the lack of “bit stream” audio output or multichannel analog connectors–if either is an issue for you, than you’re in the small minority who should opt for one of those more expensive standalone Blu-ray players.
The PS3 is made for high-definition playback of games, movies and photos. I will describe the PS3 as an entertainment hub, a little more than a mere games console. It’s a system designed to sit at the heart of your digital world, with internet connectivity and Blu-ray playback making up a significant proportion of the services it offers.
By: Bob Moeller
I need some help! Should I get a regular DVD or Bluray?
Are the features the same??? Is there a two-disk special DVD thing?? Which one should I get?? DVD or Bluray??? Please help!!
By: ♪♫♪chococat♪♫♪
