Blu-ray

The main application of Blu-ray is as a medium for video material such as feature films and for the physical distribution of video games for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

It was the first console to use Blu-ray Disc as its primary storage medium.

DVD-Video discs were limited to a maximum resolution of 480p (NTSC, 720×480 pixels) or 576p (PAL, 720×576 pixels).

DVD-Video was the dominant consumer home video format in Asia, North America, Europe, and Australia in the 2000s until it was supplanted by the high-definition Blu-ray Disc.

Afterwards, it continued to be developed until its official release on June 20, 2006, beginning the high-definition optical disc format war, where Blu-ray Disc competed with the HD DVD format.

The high-definition optical disc format war was between the Blu-ray and HD DVD optical disc standards for storing high-definition video and audio; it took place between 2006 and 2008 and was won by Blu-ray Disc.

The BD format was developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association, a group representing makers of consumer electronics, computer hardware, and motion pictures.

The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) is the industry consortium that develops and licenses Blu-ray Disc technology and is responsible for establishing format standards and promoting business opportunities for Blu-ray Disc.

Blu-ray or Blu-ray Disc (BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format.

A typical disc is about 1.2 mm (0.05 in) thick, while the track pitch (distance from the center of one track to the center of the next) ranges from 1.6 μm (for CDs) to 320 nm (for Blu-ray discs).

Afterwards, it continued to be developed until its official release on June 20, 2006, beginning the high-definition optical disc format war, where Blu-ray Disc competed with the HD DVD format.

On February 19, 2008, after a protracted format war with rival Blu-ray, Toshiba abandoned the format, announcing it would no longer manufacture HD DVD players and drives.

The main application of Blu-ray is as a medium for video material such as feature films and for the physical distribution of video games for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

The console can play Blu-ray Disc, and overlay live television programming from an existing set-top box or a digital tuner for digital terrestrial television with an enhanced program guide.

The information density of the DVD format was limited by the wavelength of the laser diodes used.

Laser diodes are the most common type of lasers produced, with a wide range of uses that include fiber optic communications, barcode readers, laser pointers, CD/DVD/Blu-ray disc reading/recording, laser printing, laser scanning and light beam illumination.

The main application of Blu-ray is as a medium for video material such as feature films and for the physical distribution of video games for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

Its read-only optical drive is capable of reading Blu-ray Discs at speeds of up to three times that of its predecessor.

The name "Blu-ray" refers to the blue laser (actually a violet laser) used to read the disc, which allows information to be stored at a greater density than is possible with the longer-wavelength red laser used for DVDs.

Some of the most commercially common blue lasers are the diode lasers used in Blu-ray applications which emit 405 nm "violet" light, which is a short enough wavelength to cause fluorescence in some chemicals, in the same way as radiation further into the ultraviolet ("black light") does.

Sony unveiled the first Blu-ray disc prototypes in October 2000, and the first prototype player was released in April 2003 in Japan. Sony started two projects in collaboration with Panasonic, Philips, and TDK, applying the new diodes: UDO (Ultra Density Optical), and DVR Blue (together with Pioneer), a format of rewritable discs that would eventually become Blu-ray Disc (more specifically, BD-RE).

Sony (either alone or with partners) has introduced several of the most popular recording formats, including the floppy disk, Compact Disc and Blu-ray Disc.

Sony started two projects in collaboration with Panasonic, Philips, and TDK, applying the new diodes: UDO (Ultra Density Optical), and DVR Blue (together with Pioneer), a format of rewritable discs that would eventually become Blu-ray Disc (more specifically, BD-RE).

In 1982, Philips teamed with Sony to launch the Compact Disc; this format evolved into the CD-R, CD-RW, DVD and later Blu-ray, which Philips launched with Sony in 1997 and 2006 respectively.

The first releases using the newer VC-1 and AVC formats were introduced in September 2006.

H.264 is perhaps best known as being the most commonly used video encoding format on Blu-ray Discs.

The first releases using the newer VC-1 and AVC formats were introduced in September 2006.

VC-1 is supported in the now deprecated Microsoft Silverlight framework, the now discontinued HD DVD, and in the Blu-ray Disc.

At CES 2007, Warner proposed Total Hi Def—a hybrid disc containing Blu-ray on one side and HD DVD on the other, but it was never released.

The Blu-ray Group held at the January 2004 CES the first US press conference to promote the Blu-ray Disc format.

AVCHD camcorders were also introduced in 2006.

At the file system level, the structure of AVCHD is derived from the Blu-ray Disc specification, but is not identical to it.

In January 2005, TDK announced that they had now developed an ultra-hard yet very thin polymer coating ("Durabis") for Blu-ray discs; this was a significant technical advance because a far tougher protection was desired in the consumer market to protect bare discs against scratching and damage compared to DVD, while technically Blu-ray Disc required a much thinner layer for the denser and higher frequency blue laser.

The need for a protective polymer arose because the data layer on Blu-ray discs is much closer to the surface of the disc than in other disc formats, such as HD DVD.

Hollywood studios insisted that players be equipped with digital rights management before they would release movies for the new format, and they wanted a new DRM system that would be more secure than the failed Content Scramble System (CSS) used on DVDs.

It has been superseded by newer DRM schemes such as Content Protection for Recordable Media (CPRM), or by Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) in the Advanced Access Content System (AACS) DRM scheme used by HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc, which have 56-bit and 128-bit key sizes, respectively, providing a much higher level of security than the less secure 40-bit key size of CSS.

For playback of 4K content Blu-ray has been superseded by Ultra HD Blu-ray.

Ultra HD Blu-ray (marketed as 4K Ultra HD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that supersedes Blu-ray.

Sony started two projects in collaboration with Panasonic, Philips, and TDK, applying the new diodes: UDO (Ultra Density Optical), and DVR Blue (together with Pioneer), a format of rewritable discs that would eventually become Blu-ray Disc (more specifically, BD-RE). In January 2005, TDK announced that they had now developed an ultra-hard yet very thin polymer coating ("Durabis") for Blu-ray discs; this was a significant technical advance because a far tougher protection was desired in the consumer market to protect bare discs against scratching and damage compared to DVD, while technically Blu-ray Disc required a much thinner layer for the denser and higher frequency blue laser.

Industry trends see the company moving into new forms of media; in 2004 TDK was the first media manufacturer to join the companies developing BD post-DVD technology.

In an effort to increase sales, studios are releasing movies in combo packs with Blu-ray Discs and DVDs as well as digital copies that can be played on computers and mobile devices.

The term contrasts this computer file with the physical copy (typically a DVD or Blu-ray disc) with which the digital copy is usually offered as part of a bundle.

Sony started two projects in collaboration with Panasonic, Philips, and TDK, applying the new diodes: UDO (Ultra Density Optical), and DVR Blue (together with Pioneer), a format of rewritable discs that would eventually become Blu-ray Disc (more specifically, BD-RE).

The earliest releases used MPEG-2 video compression, the same method used on standard DVDs.

Transport stream file formats include M2TS, which is used on Blu-ray discs, AVCHD on re-writable DVDs and HDV on compact flash cards.

At CES 2007, Warner proposed Total Hi Def—a hybrid disc containing Blu-ray on one side and HD DVD on the other, but it was never released.

Total Hi Def Disc, also called Total HD or THD, was a planned optical disc format that included both of the rival high-definition optical disc formats, Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD.

Netflix and Blockbuster—major DVD rental companies—said they would no longer carry HD DVD.

In the United States, the company provides a monthly flat-fee for DVD and Blu-ray rentals.