bluray

=Blu-Ray=

=**Description:**= Blu-Ray is the next generation in home video. As it stands, the DVD medium is unable to handle high definition video, since they top out at 9GB of storage space. Blu-Ray (referencing the blue-violet laser used to read and write information) on the other hand has a theoretical maximum storage capacity of 100GB, which is more than enough to carry high definition video and plenty of bonus features.Blu-ray provides picture quality beyond anything available, with full capability 1080p/24 resolution in Blu-ray and up to 40Mbps bit encoding - 5X current DVD. The theater quality "uncompressed" audio supports 8 channels of Liner PCM and up to 32 streams of audio. As of right now there is a slow movement away from DVD and on to Blu-Ray or its competitor HD-DVD. Sony also promises video games to be released on Blu-ray discs for the Playstation 3. This high capacity medium will allow developers even more freedom with regards to developing high definition video game content. The price of the first Blu-Ray player the Sony BDP-S1 that was released in the US cost $1000. Sony is also coming out with the Playstation 3 that is scheduled to come out in November. The PS3 how ever is only $700, but to get your hands on one is another story, not only can the PS3 play Blu-Ray movies but the games are in Blu-Ray format. Giving the developers alot to work in making the games look as real as a movie and making movies look better than real life. This technology is the top of the line making it very expensive.

=**Background**:= The Blu-ray Disc standard was jointly developed by a group of consumer electronics and PC companies called the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA). It is currently competing with the HD DVD format for wide adoption as the preferred next generation optical standard, similar to the videotape format war between JVC's VHS and Sony's Betamax. As of 2006, neither the Blu-ray Disc nor the HD DVD has succeeded in supplanting the present home video standard, the DVD. The Blu-ray Disc Association unveiled their plans for a May 23, 2006 release date at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January 2006. Since then, Blu-ray Disc was delayed, but eventually shipped in the U.S. on June 20, 2006.[3] Currently available BD-ROM and recordable discs store up to 50 gigabytes (using 2 layers.)

=**Advantages**:= >
 * single layer Blu Ray dic[[image:http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/blu-ray-4.gif width="372" height="398" align="right"]]
 * 27 GB of storage
 * 2+ hours of HD video
 * 13+ hours standard video


 * double layer Blu- Ray dic
 * 50 GB of storage
 * 4.5+ hours of HD video
 * 20+ hours of standard video

Other Blu-ray advantages include the recording of high-definition television (HDTV) without any quality loss. Also, this new technology allows you to instantly skip to any spot on the disc and then record one program while watching another on the disc. Next you can create playlists, edit or reorder programs recorded on the disc and automatically search for an empty space on the disc to avoid recording over a program. Finally, you can access the Web to download subtitles and other extra features on Blu-ray discs.

=**Disadvantages:**= = = The biggest disadvantage is the price, how likely is a consumer to purchase a $1000 Blu-ray player vs a $50 DVD player? It needs to become more affordable to the average consumer so that it can sell and eventually make DVDs obsolete. Real or not, another knock against Blu-ray is that the discs--initially, at least--will be more costly to produce than HD-DVD media (Sony claims otherwise). Until recently, the other knock was that unlike DVD-HD, the Blu-ray spec did not include support for more advanced video compression codecs such as MPEG-4 AVC and Microsoft's VC-1, in addition to the MPEG-2 codec. But the Blu-ray Group recently announced support for those codecs, so they're now on even ground on that front.

=**When Will Blu-ray Become Available?**= Blu-ray recorders have been available in Japan for some time, where more consumers have access to [|HDTV] than in the United States. Outside of Japan, however, it has been a bit of a waiting game. Until June 2006, the format had been available in the United States only for home recording, professional recording and data storage. In a press release dated June 15, 2006, Samsung Electronics America, Inc. announced the shipment of the industry's first Blu-ray disc player to retailers in the U.S. market. The Blu-ray disc players will be available for purchase on June 25th. (Sony's Blu-ray compatible VAIO VGN-AR190G [|PC] is also geared to hit the streets.) and, just so you won't be without something to play in your new machine here are some [|Blu-Ray Movies & Release Dates]. From the seven of the eight major movie studios which include Warner Brothers, Walt Disney Pictures, Lions Gate Films, Sony Pictures and Paramont Pictues have announced that they will release movies in the Blu-ray Disc format as soon as hardware becomes available. The movies will feature high definition video and audio as well as advanced interactive features. Compared to standard definition (SD), which is the resolution used in today's TVs and DVDs, high definition (HD) offers five times the amount of detail. A standard TV uses either NTSC which is 480i (640×480) or PAL/SECAM which is 576i (768×576). The "i" stands for interlaced, which means that only half of the lines are updated for each frame alternating between the odd and even lines. Blu-ray movies will be in 1080p (1920×1080), which is the highest of the HD resolutions. The "p" stands for progressive, which means that every line and pixel will be updated for each frame.


 * http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/blu-ray.htm



Check Out the new and Up coming features with blu-ray http://www.blu-ray.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc [|NEC unveils chip to bridge the Blu-ray/HD DVD divide] [|http://www.blu-raydisc.com] [|http://www.engadget.com/2005/09/19/**blu-ray**-vs-hd-dvd-state-of-the-s-union-s-division/[[http://news.com.com/NEC+unveils+chip+to+bridge+Blu-rayHD+DVD+divide/2100-1041_3-6124799.html]|]] http://reviews.cnet.com/Sony_BDP_S1/4505-6463_7-31799184.html http://www.us.playstation.com/PS3/about.html