Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage media format. Its main uses are high-definition video and data storage. The disc has the same dimensions as a standard DVD or CD.
Blu-ray, also known as Blu-ray Disc (BD), is the name of a next-generation optical disc format jointly developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), a group of the world's leading consumer electronics, personal computer and media manufacturers (including Apple, Dell, Hitachi, HP, JVC, LG, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, TDK and Thomson). The format was developed to enable recording, rewriting and playback of high-definition video (HD), as well as storing large amounts of data. The format offers more than five times the storage capacity of traditional DVDs and can hold up to 25GB on a single-layer disc and 50GB on a dual-layer disc. This extra capacity combined with the use of advanced video and audio codecs will offer consumers an unprecedented HD experience.
Unlike DVDs and CDs, which started with read-only formats and only later added recordable and re-writable formats, Blu-ray is initially designed in several different formats:
- BD-ROM (Blu-Ray Disc read-only) - for pre-recorded content
- BD-R (Blu-Ray Disc recordable) - for Computer data storage
- BD-RW (Blu-Ray Disc rewritable) - for Computer data storage
- BD-RE (Blu-Ray Disc rewritable) - for HDTV recording
S.No
Item
Blu-Ray
HD-DVD
1
Media type:
High-density optical disc
High-density optical disc
2
Encoding:
MPEG-2, MPEG-4 AVC (H.264), and VC-1
VC-1, H.264, and MPEG-2
3
Capacity:
25 GB (single layer), 50 GB (dual layer)
15 GB (single layer)
30 GB (dual layer)4
Read mechanism:
405 nm laser,
1x@36 Mbit/s
2x@72 Mbit/s & 4x@144 Mbit/s & 12x@432 Mbit/s
650 nm laser
1x@36 Mbit/s & 2x@72 Mbit/s
5
Developed by:
Sony and Philips
Toshiba and Hitachi
6
Usage:
Data storage,
High-definition video
and PS3 gamesData storage, including high-definition video
