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The Evolution of Blu-ray: How The Blu-ray Disc Was Born
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By now, you have probably heard of Blu-ray or Blu-ray
discs and players, but do you know how this high definition
technology came to be born or developed? It's a fascinating
story, with some major battles thrown in for good measure,
a story that is well worth reading even if you're not a tech
junkie.
In order to truly understand Blu-ray, you have to go back
to the early 80's when CDs or Compact Discs were introduced.
CDs were a giant leap forward if you compared it to the current
media at the time; mainly because the CD offered more storage,
better sound quality and quickly became the universal standard
for pre-recorded, recordable and rewritable media. CDs had around
650MB of storage capacity which was revolutionary at the time
for data storage and retrieval.
However, no technology stands still, especially when you consider
our insatiable need for more compact storage and higher quality
images. Hence, we had the introduction of the DVD in the 90's which
had a 5-10 X increase in capacity over the CD. The DVD allowed for
high quality, standard definition video distribution and recording,
not to mention accommodating larger data application. Another key
element to this seamless transition, was that the DVD spec used the
same factor as the CD which allowed for full backwards compatibility.
These key factors would not be lost on the development in the next
generation media; this being the Blu-ray Disc.
The beginnings of the Blu-ray started in the mid '90's with
the introduction of HDTV sets. Consumers soon realized there
was no media capable of recording or playing back High Definition
content. There were no mediums that could store HD codecs, with
the exception of JVCs Digital VHS and Sony's HDCAM; but nothing
practical like the CD and DVD media.
However, it was known that using lasers with shorter wavelengths
you would be able to create optical storage with higher density.
With this knowledge, Shuji Nakamura invented practical blue laser
diodes. Its commercial use was delayed by a patent lawsuit, but
eventually the Blu-ray disc became available and the next step
in the evolution of storage media began.
The Difference: The benefits of Blu-ray Discs versus DVDs.
Although blu-ray disc are the same physical size of a DVD or CD,
they are capable of storing and reading much more data. The reason
behind this is its use of a blue laser as opposed to the red laser
used by DVDs and CDs. The blue laser has a shorter wavelength,
a smaller aperture lens and a thinner cover layer on the disc
that makes it possible to create a smaller beam spot size capable
of storing and reading much more data on the disc.
Of course, no discussion would be complete without mentioning the
very heated battle between the two opposing technologies: Blu-ray
vs HD-DVD. Each disc format have major backers, behind Blu-ray
stands Sony, Dell, Hitachi, Hewlett-Packard, Panasonic, Pioneer,
Philips, Samsung... and backing HD-DVD we have Toshiba, NEC and
some major movie studios Universal Studios, Paramount Pictures,
Warner Bros and New Line Cinema.
While many believe Blu-ray has won the battle and will probably
become the dominant high definition technology. (Beta anyone?)
The main argument being storage space, since Blu-ray offers 25 GB
for single-layer and 50 GB for dual-layer; this is compared to
HD-DVD which gives 15 GB for single-layer and 30 GB for dual-layer.
This is Blu-ray's strongest playing card, a single layer
Blu-ray disc can hold 25 GB of data. This is compared to
the 4.5 GB on a standard DVD. As mentioned before, a dual
layer Blu-ray disc can hold 50 GB. This amount of storage
allows the disc to capture a full 1080p High Definition image.
It has a resolution of 1920 by 1080 progressively scanned pixels.
A standard DVD has 720 by 480 pixels. Another benefit of the
Blu-ray disc is it has a much wider bandwidth than a DVD.
It can produce signals at speeds up to 48 Mbps. This is 6
times quicker than DVD's 8 Mbps.
Furthermore, remember your old DVD's will not be obsolete,
as Blu-ray players can play DVD's. Blu-ray players can upscale
regular DVD's standard definition images and convert them to a
higher resolution which is needed on a HDTV. This process greatly
increases picture quality, although it doesn't actually increase
resolution. The quality of the players up scaling function is
often the determining factor in the quality of the image that
is converted.
Considering all these points and features, the future of Blu-ray
looks very bright indeed. Blu-ray discs and players will
probably be around for quite some time or until another more
advanced technology takes its place! But for now, we can all
fully enjoy the superior performance and visuals Blu-ray offers
us.
...
For a more information on Blu-ray and Blu-ray Players
try this handy comparison guide:
Blu-ray DVD Players
Or try checking out the latest deals on Blu-ray Players here:
Best Blu-ray Deals.
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