by Christopher Rivard

Created on: January 04, 2009

The Blu-ray disc is the next generation optical disc format. It is primarily used for high-definition video and for data storage. Blu-ray disc are able to hold 25 Giga bytes of data on a single layer disc, and 50 Giga bytes of data on a dual layer disc. That is more then five time the data storage of a traditional Digital Versatile Disc or DVD. A single dual layer Blu-ray disc is capable of storing 9 hours of high-definition video.

The Blu-ray disc gets it's name from the blue-violet laser that is used to read the data, instead of the red laser that is used for DVD and CD players. The blue-violet laser has a shorter wave length, which allows the data to be packed more tightly on the disc. Blu-ray was intentionally spelled without the "e" so that the creators of the technology, would be able to trademark the name.

Blu-ray disc look and feel similar to DVDs and CDs, however, they are made with a new hard coating technology that make the disc more resistant to scratches and finger prints. The Blu-ray manufactures have also made the packaging slightly different from the packaging for DVDs so that they are easily recognizable to consumers, on the store shelves. The Blu-ray case is approximately 1/2 an inch shorter than the DVD case, and is usually made out of blue plastic. Though for marketing reasons the cases are not always blue, for example the "Incredible Hulk" was released with a Blu-ray case made out of green plastic.

Blu-ray video disc have a video resolution of 1080P, and require audio be in 5.1 surround sound. Some Blu-ray disc also offer audio tracks in the 7.1 surround sound format. By comparison most satellite, cable, and over the air broadcast have resolutions of 720P or 1080i. Even the satellite providers that are broadcasting in 1080P can not match the quality of a Blu-ray due to the compression that the system has to use in it's broadcast.

Blu-ray players are backward compatible with both DVDs and CDs. This means that the consumers' video collections will not become obsolete, like the VHS video collections did when DVD became the standard video format. Also because of the ability to play CDs, many models of Blu-ray players are sold as a stereo home theater system.

Currently there are about 2900 Blu-ray titles available. The Blu-ray disc usually cost between $5 and $10 more than the typical DVD, but the picture and sound quality are by far superior. Also most of the major movie studios are releasing all their new movies on Blu-ray, and racing to re-release their older movies on Blu-ray. So the titles available increase every week.

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