A Blu-ray Disc (also called BD) is a high-density optical disc format for the
storage of digital media, including high-definition video.
Overview
The name Blu-ray Disc is derived from the blue-violet laser used to read and
write this type of disc. Because of its shorter wavelength (405 nm),
substantially more data can be stored on a Blu-ray Disc than on the DVD format,
which uses a red (650 nm) laser. A single layer Blu-ray Disc can store 25
gigabytes (GB), over five times the size of a single layer DVD at 4.7 GB. A dual
layer Blu-ray Disc can store 50 GB, almost 6 times the size of a dual layer DVD
at 8.5 GB.
Blu-ray Disc is similar to PDD, another optical disc format developed by Sony
(which has been available since 2004) but offering higher data transfer speeds.
PDD was not intended for home video use and was aimed at business data archiving
and backup.
Blu-ray Disc is currently in a format war with rival format HD DVD.
Technical specifications
About 9 hours of high-definition (HD) video can be stored on a 25 GB disc.
About 23 hours of standard-definition (SD) video can be stored on a 50 GB disc.
On average, a single-layer disc can hold a High Definition feature of 135
minutes using MPEG-2, with additional room for 2 hours of bonus material in
standard definition quality. A dual layer disc will extend this number up to 3
hours in HD quality and 9 hours of SD bonus material.
Physical size Single layer capacity Dual layer capacity
12 cm, single sided 25 GB 50 GB
8 cm, single sided 7.8 GB 15.6 GB
Laser and optics
The Blu-ray Disc system uses a blue-violet laser operating at a wavelength of
405 nm, similar to the one used for HD DVD, to read and write data hence the
name. Conventional DVDs and CDs use red and infrared lasers at 650 nm and 780 nm
respectively.
Profiles
The BD-ROM specification defines four profiles of Blu-ray Disc players. All
video-based profiles are required to have a full implementation of BD-J.
1.0 is the basic profile that all current Blu-ray Disc players (as of August
2007) are based on. Players based on this profile are only required to have 64
KB of application data area storage, which is typically used for bookmarks and
other preference storage. Most players have more than the minimum required 64
KB. After October 31, 2007, this profile will be superseded by profile 1.1 as
the new minimum profile.
1.1 (mandatory November 2007) is typically referred to as "Profile 1.1" (but is
more formally known as "Final Standard Profile") adds a secondary video decoder
(typically used for picture in picture), secondary audio (typically used for
interactive audio and commentary) and capability of supporting a minimum of 256
MB of local storage (for storing audio/video and title updates). Compliance with
this profile will be mandatory for player models introduced to the market after
October 31, 2007, but existing products will be unaffected. As of July 24, 2007,
only the Denon DVD-3800BDCI and DVD-2500BTCI have been announced as supporting
this feature when they become available in the fall of 2007.
Some profile 1.0 players may be upgradeable via firmware update to profile 1.1
if they have the appropriate hardware, but no manufacturer has announced any
such upgrade. When software authored with interactive features dependent on
Profile 1.1 hardware capabilities are played on profile 1.0 players some
features may not be available or may offer limited capability. Profile 1.0
players will still be able to play the main feature of the disc, however.
2.0 (BD-Live), also known as BD-Live, adds network connectivity to the list of
mandatory functions and increases mandatory local storage capability to 1 GB. So
far one manufacturer, Daewoo, has created a player with this profile, the Daewoo
DBP-1000, and will hit the consumer market in the very near future.
3 (audio only) is meant for an audio-only player and does not require video
decoding or BD-J.
Hard-coating technology
Because the Blu-ray Disc standard places the data recording layer close to the
surface of the disc, early discs were susceptible to contamination and scratches
and had to be enclosed in plastic caddies for protection. The consortium worried
that such an inconvenience would hurt Blu-ray Disc's market adoption. Blu-ray
Discs now use a layer of protective material on the surface through which the
data is read.
The recent introduction of a clear polymer coating has given Blu-ray Discs
substantial scratch resistance. The coating is developed by TDK and is called "Durabis".
It allows BDs to be cleaned safely with only a tissue. The coating is said to
successfully resist "50 grit sandpaper scrubbing" according to Samsung Optical
technical manager Chas Kalsi. It is not clear, however, whether discs will use
the Durabis coating as a standard or only in premium discs.
Both Sony and Panasonic replication methods include proprietary hard-coat
technologies. Sony's rewritable media are sprayed with a scratch-resistant and
antistatic coating. Verbatim recordable and rewritable Blu-ray Disc discs use
their own proprietary hard-coat technology called ScratchGuard.
Ongoing development
Although the Blu-ray Disc specification has been finalized, engineers continue
working to advance the technology. Quad-layer (100 GB) discs have been
demonstrated on a drive with modified optics. Furthermore TDK announced in
August 2006 that they have created a working experimental Blu-ray Disc capable
of holding 200 GB of data on a single side, using six 33 GB data layers. Such
discs would probably not work on today's players, as these devices are only
designed and tested on discs that meet the current specification.
Also behind closed doors at CES 2007, Ritek has revealed that they had
successfully developed a High Definition optical disc process that extends the
disc capacity of both competing formats to 10 layers. That increases the
capacity of the discs to 250 GB for Blu-ray compared to 150 GB for HD DVD using
the same process. However, they noted that the major obstacle is that current
reader and writer technology does not support the additional layers.
JVC has developed a three layer technology that allows putting both
standard-definition DVD data and HD data on a BD/DVD combo. If successfully
commercialized, this would enable the consumer to purchase a disc which could be
played on current DVD players, and reveal its HD version when played on a new BD
player. This hybrid disc does not appear to be ready for production and no
titles have been announced that would utilize this disc structure.
BD-9
BD-9 is a red laser DVD with BD contents on it. This disc should be rotated at
3x speed or more to satisfy the minimum transfer rate of 30.24 Mbit/s.
Software standards
Codecs
Codecs are compression schemes that reduce data storage requirements; both lossy
and lossless compression techniques have been developed and are being used.
Depending on the application, either can be used to greatly increase the amount
of audio or video storable on fixed bit-capacity media.
The BD-ROM specification mandates certain codec compatibilities for both
hardware decoders (players) and the movie-software (content). For video, all
players are required to support ISO MPEG-2, H.264/AVC, and SMPTE VC-1. MPEG-2
video allows decoder backward compatibility for DVDs. H.264, sometimes called
MPEG-4 part 10, is a more recent video codec. VC-1 is a competing MPEG-4
derivative codec proposed by Microsoft (based on Microsoft's previous work in
Windows Media 9). BD-ROM titles with video must store video using one of the
three mandatory codecs (multiple codecs on a single title are allowed).
The initial version of Sony's Blu-ray Disc-authoring software shipped with
support for only 1 video-codec: MPEG-2. Consequently, all launch titles were
encoded in MPEG-2 video. A subsequent update allowed the content producers to
author titles in any of the 3 supported codecs: MPEG-2, VC-1, or H.264. The
choice of codecs affects the producer's licensing/royalty costs, as well as the
title's maximum runtime (due to differences in compression efficiency). Discs
encoded in MPEG-2 video typically limit content producers to around two hours of
high-definition content on a single-layer (25 GB) BD-ROM. The more advanced
video codecs (VC-1 and H.264) typically achieve a video runtime twice that of
MPEG-2, with comparable quality.
For audio, BD-ROM players are required to support Dolby Digital AC-3, DTS, and
linear PCM (up to 7.1 channels). Dolby Digital Plus, and lossless formats Dolby
TrueHD and DTS HD are player optional. BD-ROM titles must use one of mandatory
schemes for the primary soundtrack (linear PCM, Dolby Digital, or DTS). A
secondary audiotrack, if present, may use any of the mandatory or optional
codecs. For uncompressed PCM and lossless audio in Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD Master
Audio formats, Blu-ray Discs support encoding in up to 24-bit/192 kHz for a
maximum of six channels, or up to eight channels with at most 24-bit/96 kHz
sampling.
For users recording digital television programming, the recordable Blu-ray Disc
standard's datarate of 54 Mbit/s is more than adequate to record high-definition
broadcasts from any source (IPTV, cable/satellite, or terrestrial). For Blu-ray
Disc movies the maximum transfer rate is 48 Mbit/s (1.5x) (both audio and video
payloads together), of which a maximum of 40 Mbit/s can be dedicated to video
data. This compares favorably to the maximum of 36.55 Mbit/s in HD DVD movies
for audio and video data.
Java software support
At the 2005 JavaOne trade show, it was announced that Sun Microsystems' Java
cross-platform software environment would be included in all Blu-ray Disc
players as a mandatory part of the standard. Java will be used to implement
interactive menus on Blu-ray Discs, as opposed to the method used on DVD video
discs, which uses pre-rendered MPEG segments and selectable subtitle pictures,
which is considerably more primitive and less seamless. Java creator James
Gosling, at the conference, suggested that the inclusion of a Java Virtual
Machine as well as network connectivity in BD devices will allow updates to
Blu-ray Discs via the Internet, adding content such as additional subtitle
languages and promotional features that are not included on the disc at pressing
time. This Java Version will be called BD-J and will be a subset of the Globally
Executable MHP (GEM) standard. GEM is the world-wide version of the Multimedia
Home Platform standard.
Region codes
The Blu-ray Disc movie region codes are different from the DVD region codes. The
following are the region codes for Blu-ray discs:
Regions for Blu-ray standard Region code Area
A/1 North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South
Korea, Phillipines, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia.
B/2 Europe, Greenland, French territories, Middle East, Africa, Australia and
New Zealand.
C/3 India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Mainland China, Pakistan, Russia, Central and
South Asia.
This arrangement puts the countries of the major Blu-ray manufacturers (Japan,
Korea, Malaysia) in the same region as the U.S., thus ensuring early releases of
U.S. content to those markets. Europe isn't in this zone, and this factor may
drive a greater acceptance of the HD DVD format there.
Digital rights management (DRM)
The Blu-ray Disc format employs several layers of DRM.
Advanced Access Content System is a standard for content distribution and
digital rights management. It is developed by AACS Licensing Administrator, LLC
(AACS LA), a consortium that includes Disney, Intel, Microsoft, Matsushita
(Panasonic), Warner Brothers, IBM, Toshiba and Sony.
Since appearing in devices in 2006, several successful attacks have been made on
the format. The first known attack relied on the trusted client problem. In
addition, decryption keys have been extracted from a weakly protected player
(WinDVD).
BD+ is effectively a small virtual machine embedded in authorized players. It
allows content providers to include executable programs on Blu-ray Discs. Such
programs can:
examine the host environment, to see if the player has been tampered with. Every
licensed playback device manufacturer must provide the BD+ licensing authority
with memory footprints that identify their devices.
verify that the player's keys have not been changed.
execute native code, possibly to patch an otherwise insecure system.
transform the audio and video output. Parts of the content will not be viewable
without letting the BD+-program unscramble it.
If a playback device manufacturer finds that its devices have been hacked, it
can potentially release BD+-code that detects and circumvents the vulnerability.
These programs can then be included in all new content releases.
The specifications of the BD+ virtual machine are only available to licensed
device manufacturers.
BD-ROM Mark is a small amount of cryptographical data that is stored physically
differently from normal Blu-ray data. Bit-by-bit copies that do not replicate
the BD-ROM Mark are impossible to decode. A specially licensed piece of hardware
is required to insert the ROM-mark into the media during replication. Through
licensing of the special hardware element, the BDA believes that it can
eliminate the possibility of mass producing BD-ROMs without authorization.
Mandatory Managed Copy allows users to copy content a limited number of times,
but requiring registration with the content provider to acquire the keys needed;
this feature was originally requested by HP.
AnyDVD HD allows users to watch Blu-ray Disc movies on non-HDCP compliant PC
hardware. The movies can be decrypted on the fly direct from the Blu-ray Disc or
can be copied to hard disk. AnyDVD HD is also capable of automatically removing
any unwanted logos and trailers. They have stated that AnyDVD HD uses several
different mechanisms to disable the encryption, and is not dependent on the use
of a single compromised encryption key. They have also stated that AACS has even
more flaws in its implementation than CSS, rendering it highly vulnerable, but
they will release no details for obvious reasons.
Applications
Compatibility
While it is not compulsory for manufacturers, the Blu-ray Disc Association
recommends that Blu-ray Disc drives should be capable of reading standard DVDs
for backward compatibility. For instance, Samsung's first Blu-ray Disc drive can
read CDs, regular DVDs, and Blu-ray Discs. All other Blu-ray Disc players
released support DVD playback as well, however not all support CD playback. This
includes Sony, Panasonic, Philips, LG, Pioneer and PC-based players from
Alienware, Sony, and Dell. LG has also produced a player that is capable of
playing both Blu-ray and HD DVD formats.
Stand-alone players
PlayStation 3 (Sony)
VidaBox MAX Dual Blu-ray Disc+HD DVD SystemThe home video game console system
PlayStation 3 (Sony) is shipped with a 2x Blu-ray Disc drive. The drive is
read-only as is the case with most game console optical drives. According to
Sony's press releases, it supports DVD (8x), CD (24x), and SACD (2x) formats in
addition to BD-ROM, BD-R, and BD-RE. Full HD 1080/60p and 24p True Cinema Video
Output. AVCHD Media playback with x.v.Color output.
On January 4, 2006, at the Consumer Electronics Show Philips announced their
first Blu-ray Disc consumer product to the U.S. market.
On April 13, 2006, Panasonic announced its first Blu-ray Disc player for the
U.S. market, the DMP-BD10 would be shipping together in late 2006 along with
their first commercially available plasma 1080p HDTVs.
On December 4, 2006, Sony launched their first standalone Blu-ray Disc player,
the BDP-S1, to the U.S. market for US$1000.
On January 8, 2007, Samsung announced their second generation Blu-ray Disc
player BD-P1200. It retails for US$799.
On February 26, 2007, Sony announced their second generation Blu-ray Disc player
BDP-S300 for the U.S. market. Full HD 1080/60p and 24p True Cinema Video Output.
AVCHD Media playback with x.v.Color output. The player has all the features of
the BDP-S1 along with CD playback in a smaller chassis and retails for US$499.
On July 11, 2007, Samsung announced their third generation Blu-ray Disc players.
The BD-P1400 and the BD-P2400 will retail for $549 and $649 and be available in
October 2007. The BD-P2400 will utilize the HQV or "Hollywood Quality Video"
video processing chip.
Recordable stand-alone players
The first Blu-ray Disc recorder was demonstrated by Sony on March 3, 2003, and
was introduced to the Japanese market in April that year. On September 1, 2003,
JVC announced Blu-ray Disc-based products at IFA in Berlin, Germany.
In June 2004, Panasonic became the second manufacturer to launch a Blu-ray Disc
recorder to the Japanese market. Launching in July the DMR-E700BD was one of the
first few units to support writing to existing DVD formats, and to single-side
dual-layer Blu-ray Discs with a maximum capacity of 50 gigabytes. The launch
price of the recorder was US$2,780, with 50 GB disc costing around US$69 and the
25 GB disc costing around US$32.
On September 13, 2006, Panasonic announced a Blu-ray Disc (BD) recorder capable
of playing back BDs. The Blu-ray Disc DIGA DMR-BW200 and DMR-BR100 can record
high-definition imagery on BD-RE rewritable discs and dub from the built-in
hard-disk drive.
Portable players
Sony will release the first portable BD player in 2008. It's rumored that the
screen will be an OLED as opposed to an LCD.
Universal players (Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD)
On October 18, 2006, VidaBox announced the first media center PC capable of
playing back both Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD. The VidaBox MAX and VidaBox LUX can
have both drives upgraded to play both high-definition formats up to their
native 1080p resolutions at 24-bit color.
On January 7, 2007, LG Electronics announced the release of the BH-100
(Super-Multi Blue Player), the first player to market that was able to play
movies from both high definition formats. It is not able to utilize the
interactive menus and features (HDi) of the HD DVD format.
On April 13, 2007, Samsung announced their first generation Universal Combo
player BD-UP5000. This is the first player announced that supports the full
specs of both the Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD formats including all interactive
features of both formats.
Camcorders
On July 23, 2007, Hitachi, Ltd. revealed that they had developed technologies
for 1920×1080 pixel Blu-ray camcorders. The camcorders are scheduled for a fall
2007 release in Japan.
On August 2, 2007, Hitachi, Ltd. announced the world's first Blu-ray Disc
Camcorder. The new camcorders will start selling in Japan on August 30, 2007,
and overseas market sequentially starting from October.
Personal Computer and Notebook
In 2006, Sony introduced its VAIO AR range notebook featuring Blu-ray Disc
drive. This is the first notebook featuring Blu-ray Disc drive.
In December of 2006, Dell introduced its XPS M1710 laptop with a BD-ROM player
and burner at a base price of US$3,599. Dell's 20 inch laptop, XPS M2010 is
customisable to include Blu-ray Disc drive.
On 9 May 2007, Hewlett-Packard introduced its select Pavilion Desktop range
featuring LG's combo Blu-ray Disc Recordable/HD DVD-ROM drive, which can be
customised online.
HP's business laptop range features a Blu-ray Disc drive as the only
high-definition drive available to choose from.
In UK, Acer, supporter of both formats, has released notebook with Blu-ray Disc
drive.
PC Drives
On May 2, 2007, Pioneer announced its BDC-2202 Blu-ray Disc computer drive. It
will be able to play back Blu-ray Disc movies, as well as BD-ROM/BD-R/BD-RE at
up to 5x and can read BD-ROM (DL) and BD-R/-RE (DL) at up to 2x speed. It does
not have the ability to write Blu-ray Discs but does have the ability to record
to DVD and CD media. The drive is now available at a retail price of US$299.
Recordable PC drives
Blu-ray Disc recordable
Originally, Blu-ray Disc drives in production could only transfer approximately
4.5 Megabytes per second (MB/s) (equivalent to 36 Mbit/s) (54 Mbit/s required
for BD-ROM), but 4x speed drives with a 18 MB/s (144 Mbit/s) transfer rate are
now available. Rates of 8x (36 MB/s or 288 Mbit/s) or more are planned for the
future. Initially, devices used Parallel ATA but newer ones more commonly use
Serial ATA.
The first mass-market internal Blu-ray rewritable drive for the PC was the
BWU-100A, released by Sony on July 18, 2006. It records both single and dual
layer BD-R, as well as BD-RE discs. This item had a suggested retail price of
US$699. As of 2007 several other models by companies such as LiteOn, LG,
Pioneer, and Plextor have also been released, including a dual layer device and
4x BD-R writing, and devices capable of working with ordinary DVD and CD as well
as Blu-ray.
Corporate support
List of corporations supporting Blu-ray
Blu-ray Disc has gained a large amount of support in the corporate world, with
companies such as Apple Inc., Dell, and Panasonic supporting it. Blu-ray Disc
was started by Hitachi, LG, Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony,
and Thomson in February 19, 2002. Blu-ray Disc Founders was established in May,
2002. It shifted to Blu-ray Disc Association on May 18, 2004.
While some corporate sources claim HD DVD is "lower cost" to reproduce, a study
performed by Home Media Magazine (August 5, 2007) reveals this is no longer the
case. Quotes from several disc manufacturers for 25,000 units of HD DVDs and
Blu-rays revealed a price differential of only 5–10 cents. (Lowest price: 90
cents versus 100 cents. Highest price: $1.45 versus $1.50.)
It has been reported (in PCworld, Arstechnica, on CNN, et al) that Blu-ray bans
pornography and that this may have an effect on which format is successful.
However, this is inaccurate, as both formats have said they fully support all
material, including porn, and have no control over what companies release with
their license.
Currently, Blu-ray Disc is exclusively supported by Sony Pictures Entertainment
and MGM (both owned by Sony) as well as Disney, 20th Century Fox, and Lionsgate.
It is non-exclusively supported by Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema. Several
members of the Blu-ray organization's Board of Directors, such as
Hewlett-Packard, Samsung, and LG, pledged support to Blu-ray Disc, and later,
also supported HD DVD.
In a recent interview with GameSpot, when quizzed on the new LG HD DVD/Blu-ray
Disc combo players, Sir Howard Stringer, CEO of Sony, had this to say:
It's an expensive way of showing Universal discs. The three biggest box-office
winners of this year were, in order: Sony, Disney, and Fox. Those are the three
Blu-ray players. When you consider that those three successful studios will be
delivering last year's successful box office in home video this year, then
that's an enormous advantage. The fourth is Warner, and they release in both
formats, so it doesn't hurt. If you are going to be buying discs, you are going
to be buying an awful lot of Blu-ray discs going forward—if you want Pirates of
the Caribbean or James Bond or Da Vinci Code or Spider-Man. Universal is the
only one with HD DVD. I don't feel terribly intimidated.
Beginning July 2007, Blockbuster Video, one of the largest chain of DVD and
video game rental stores in the world, will be carrying only Blu-ray Discs in
1,450 more stores, in addition to the original 250 that carried both HD DVD and
Blu-ray Disc. Online they will still be offering both formats. Blockbuster will
continue to offer both formats at its initial 250 stores that currently carry
both high-definition formats.
On July 25, 2007, Target Corporation announced they will carry Sony Blu-ray Disc
stand alone players in their stores and promote them with end cap displays
including exclusive Blu-ray Disc movies from Sony and Walt Disney. While Target
will not carry HD DVD stand alone players on its shelves, the chain will
continue to sell both Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD movies in all stores and HD DVD
players online.
On August 20, 2007, Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks Pictures and DreamWorks
Animation, announced they would no longer be supporting the Blu-ray format.
Citing HD DVD's lower consumer equipment and disc replication costs (due to its
simarlarities to the standard DVD format), all future Paramount/Dreamworks
titles will be released exclusively on HD DVD. Together, Paramount and
DreamWorks are currently the 2007 box office leaders and their first two HD DVD
exclusive titles Shrek 3 and Transformers are both poised to be top sellers
during the 2007 holiday season. Movies directed by Steven Spielberg are not
included in this announcement as Spielberg controls his films. In an interview
with PC World Alan Bell the Executive Vice President and Chief Technology
Officer for Paramount Pictures stated the support for HD DVD exclusively is
currently indefinite. However, two Viacom executives who spoke to the New York
Times disclosed that the terms of the agreement were for $150 million in
incentives in exchange for the exclusivity lasting at least 18 months, or
through the next two holiday seasons.
Blu-ray Disc / HD DVD comparison
Comparison of high definition optical disc formats
This article or section contains too much jargon and may need simplification or
further explanation.
Please discuss this issue on the talk page, and/or remove or explain jargon
terms used in the article. Editing help is available.
This article has been tagged since July 2007.
The primary rival to Blu-ray Disc is HD DVD, championed by Toshiba, NEC
Corporation and Microsoft. HD DVD has a lower disc capacity per layer (15 GB vs.
25 GB). However the vast majority of Blu-ray Disc titles released before 2007
are in the 25 GB single layer format while almost all HD DVD movies are in the
30 GB dual layer format. The first 50 GB release for Blu-ray Disc was not made
until October 2006. The Blu-ray Disc version of the Adam Sandler movie Click was
released on October 10, 2006, as the first ever dual-layer release. So far in
2007 approx 42% of the new releases for Blu-ray Disc movies were released in 25
GB Discs with the other 58% being released in 50 GB dual layer format.
In terms of audio/video compression, Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD are similar on the
surface: both support MPEG-2, VC-1, and H.264 for video compression, and Dolby
Digital (AC-3), PCM, and DTS for audio compression. The first generation of
Blu-ray Disc movies released used MPEG-2 (the standard currently used in DVDs,
although encoded at a much higher video resolution and a much higher bit rate
than those used on conventional DVDs), while initial HD DVDs releases used the
VC-1 codec. Due to greater total disc capacity, the Blu-ray Disc producers may
choose in the future to utilize a higher maximum video bit rate, as well as
potentially higher average bit rates. In terms of audio, there are some
differences. Blu-ray Disc allows conventional AC-3 audiotracks at 640 kbit/s,
which is higher than HD DVD's maximum of 504 kbit/s. Nevertheless, Dolby Digital
Plus support is mandatory for standalone HD DVD players at a maximum of 3
Mbit/s, while optional for BD players with support at a bitrate of 1.736 Mbit/s.
Blu-ray also supports Dolby TrueHD lossless encoding of up to 8 channels of
audio, DTS-HD High Resolution Audio and DTS-HD Master Audio, a lossless encoding
of up to 8 channels of audio.
Both HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc support the 24p (traditional movie) frame rate, but
technical implementations of this mode are different between the formats.
Blu-ray Disc supports 24p with its native timing, while HD DVD uses 60i timing
for 24p (encoded progressively, replacing missing fields with "repeat field
flags"). Decoders can ignore the “flags” to output 24p. There is no impact on
picture resolution and minimal impact on storage space as a result of this, as
the HD DVD format often uses the same encoded video—it simply adds notational
overhead.
A Table Comparing the High-definition Optical Media Formats
DVD included for comparison
Mandatory codecs must be supported by the player. Each disc must use one or more
of the mandatory codecs. v ? d ? e Blu-ray Disc HD DVD DVD
Laser wavelength 405 nm (blue-violet laser) 650 nm (red laser)
Numerical aperture 0.85 0.65 0.6
Storage
capacity single layer 25 GB 15 GB 4.7 GB
dual layer 50 GB 30 GB 8.5 GB
Playback
time in
(video only) SD with MPEG-2 at 5 Mbit/s 22.2 hours 13.3 hours 3.8 hours
HD with AVC or VC-1 at 13 Mbit/s 8.5 hours 5.1 hours N/A
MPEG-2 at 20 Mbit/s 5.6 hours 3.3 hours N/A
Mandatory Video codecs MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) / VC-1 / MPEG-2 MPEG-1 / MPEG-2
Audio
codecs lossy Dolby Digital Mandatory @ 640 Kbit/s Mandatory @ 504 Kbit/s
Mandatory @ 448 Kbit/s
DTS Mandatory @ 1.5 Mbit/s Mandatory @ 1.5 Mbit/s Optional @ 1.5 Mbit/s
Dolby Digital Plus Optional @ 1.7 Mbit/s Mandatory @ 3.0 Mbit/s N/A
DTS-HD High Resolution Optional @ 6.0 Mbit/s Optional @ 3.0 Mbit/s N/A
lossless Linear PCM Mandatory Mandatory Mandatory
Dolby TrueHD Optional Mandatory N/A
DTS-HD Master Audio Optional @ 24.0 Mbit/s Optional @ 18.0 Mbit/s N/A
Maximum
bitrate Raw data transfer 53.95 Mbit/s 36.55 Mbit/s 11.08 Mbit/s
Audio+Video 48.0 Mbit/s 30.24 Mbit/s 10.08 Mbit/s
Video 40.0 Mbit/s 29.4 Mbit/s 9.8 Mbit/s
Secondary video decoder (PiP) Optional (Profile 1.1) Mandatory N/A
Secondary audio decoder Optional (Profile 1.1) Mandatory N/A
Interactivity Blu-ray Disc Java HDi Interactive Format N/A
Internet support Optional (Profile 2.0) Mandatory N/A
Video resolution (maximum) 1920×1080 24p or 50/60i HDTV 1920×1080 24/25/30p or
50/60i HDTV 720×480 60i and 720×576 50i SDTV
Content protection system AACS-128bit / BD+ AACS-128bit CSS 40-bit
Region code 3 Regions Region free 6 Regions
Hardcoating of disc Mandatory Optional Optional
^ a Playback times are quoted for dual layer discs, for single layer discs
divide by two. The numbers represent video only and the choice of audio codec
and extra content also affects playback time.
^ b All HD DVD players are required to be able to decode Dolby TrueHD to two
channels, however all current players handle 5.1 decoding.
^ c Secondary video decoder will become mandatory for new Blu-ray Disc players
with Profile 1.1 on October 31, 2007.
^ d On Blu-ray, Dolby Digital Plus (DD+) must be accompanied by a primary Dolby
Digital (DD) 5.1 audiotrack. 640 Kbit/s is allocated to the primary DD 5.1
audiotrack (which is independently playable on players that do not support DD+),
and 1 Mbit/s is allocated for the 'extension' DD+ bitstream. Furthermore, the
DD+ audiotrack itself may only carry additional channel-information, and hence,
Blu-ray DD+ may only be used for 6.1/7.1 audiotracks. On HD DVD, Dolby Digital
Plus may be used in any legal channel configuration (up to 7.1), at any
supported bitrate up to the maximum of 3 Mbit/s
The Blu-ray Disc / HD DVD "format war"
Blu-ray Disc is currently in a "format war" with rival format HD DVD, to
determine which (if either) of the two formats will become the leading carrier
for high-definition content to consumers.
Released titles
Some Blu-ray Disc movie casesThe first Blu-ray Disc titles were released on June
20, 2006. They included the following titles from the following companies:
Sony titles
The Fifth Element
House of Flying Daggers
Underworld: Evolution
50 First Dates
XXX
MGM titles
The Terminator
Disney titles
King Arthur
As of August 21, 2007, 326 titles have been released on Blu-ray Disc in the
United States. The earliest releases used MPEG-2 video compression. This is the
compression method used on DVDs. The first releases using the newer VC-1 and AVC
codecs were introduced in September 2006. The first movies using dual layer
discs (50 GB) were introduced in November 2006. Since January 2007, new releases
on dual layer disc have represented about half of all new releases approximately
75 titles and 2.5 mm discs.
Enter Warner's finally-commercialized Total HD discs, the hybrid double-sided
Blu-ray HD DVD discs we originally heard about being patented are now being
commercialized and introduced at CES. Of course, so long as some studios don't
release in both formats on the same disc (say, for example, Sony Pictures
Entertainment), this disc actually hinders the unwitting user who buys content
that isn't double-sided, thinking that Blu-ray and HD DVD formats are no longer
relevant in day to day buying decisions. We know this is indeed a great stopgap
for all those crossover movies released in multiple formats, but we really think
it's the hybrid players, not discs, that are going to save the day during this
format war.
RuneScape is a Java-based
MMORPG operated by Jagex Ltd. With over nine million active free accounts and
more than one million paid member accounts, RuneScape is rated among the most
popular online games in the world. More than five million unique players access
their accounts to play RuneScape at least once per month. RuneScape offers both
free and subscription content and is designed to be accessible from any location
with an Internet connection and to run in an ordinary web browser without
straining system resources. One of the best website that discussed various
gamers' issues is IJFG.com IJFG.COM
Internet Junction For Gamers Internet Junction
For Gamers, Runescape Market and More IJFG.COM This site has Jokes, Pranks, Runescape and other cool games at IJFG.COM. RuneScape is set in a medieval
fantasy world, similar to "Guild Wars" or "EverQuest", where players control
character representations of themselves. As with most massive multiplayer online roleplaying games (MMORPG), there is no overall objective or end to the game.
Players explore, form alliances, perform optional tasks, and complete quests for
rewards and to build character's skills.
Internet Junction For Gamers, Runescape Market and More. IJFG.com IJFG.com
RuneScape takes place in the fantasy-themed realm of Gielinor, which is divided
into several different kingdoms, regions, and areas. Players can travel
throughout the gaming world on foot, by using magical teleportation spells or
devices, or mechanical means of transportation. Each region offers different
types of monsters, materials, and quests to challenge players. Players are shown
on the screen as customisable avatars. They set their own goals and objectives,
deciding which of the available activities to pursue. There is no linear path
that must be followed. Players can engage in combat with other players or with
monsters, complete quests, or increase their experience in any of the available
skills. Players interact with each other through trading, chatting, or playing
combative or cooperative mini-games.
Internet Junction For Gamers, Runescape Market and More IJFG.COM
IJFG.com
