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Nα δωσω και εγω καποιες πληροφοριες για τα δισκακια HD DVD και BlUE RAY
καθως και για συσκευες BlUE RAY που προκειται να κυκλοφορησουν
A Blu-ray Disc (BD) is a next-generation optical disc format meant for high-density storage of high-definition video and data. The Blu-ray standard was jointly developed by a group of consumer electronics and PC companies called the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), spearheaded by Sony. It is currently competing with the HD DVD format for wide adoption as the preferred next generation optical standard.
The name Blu-ray is derived from the blue-violet laser it uses to read and write to the disc. A Blu-ray Disc will be able to store substantially more data than a DVD, because of the shorter wavelength (405 nm) of the blue-violet laser (DVDs use a 650-nm-wavelength red laser and CDs an infrared 780 nm laser), which allows more information to be stored digitally in the same amount of space. In comparison to HD DVD, which also uses a blue laser, Blu-ray has more information capacity per layer (25 gigabytes instead of 15) but may initially be more expensive to produce.
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 was delayed, but finally shipped in the U.S. on June 20, 2006.[1]
Variations and sizes
A single-layer Blu-ray disc (BD) has enough storage capacity (25GB) for approximately two hours of high-definition video with audio. A dual-layer (50GB) BD can hold enough data for approximately four hours of HD video. TDK recently announced that they have created a working Blu-ray disc capable of holding 200GB of data (six 33GB data layers).
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Laser and optics
Blu-ray systems use a blue-violet laser operating at a wavelength of 405 nm, similar to the one used for HD DVD, to read and write data. Conventional DVDs and CDs use red and infrared lasers at 650 nm and 780 nm respectively.
The blue-violet laser's shorter wavelength makes it possible to store more information on a 12 cm CD/DVD sized disc. The minimum "spot size" on which a laser can be focused is limited by diffraction, and depends on the wavelength of the light and the numerical aperture of the lens used to focus it. By decreasing the wavelength, using a higher numerical aperture (0.85, compared with 0.6 for DVD, and 0.65 for HD DVD), higher quality, dual-lens system, and making the cover layer over the data level thinner (0.1mm (Blu-ray) vs 0.6mm (HD-DVD)) to avoid undesirable optical effects, the laser beam can be focused much more tightly. This produces a smaller spot on the disc than in existing CDs or DVDs, and allows more information to be physically stored in the same area.
Hard-coating technology
TDK 100-gigabyte four-layer Blu-ray Disc.Because the Blu-ray standard places data so close to the surface of the disc, early discs were susceptible to dust and scratches and had to be enclosed in plastic caddies for protection. Such an inconvenience, the consortium worried, would retard Blu-ray's adoption in the face of the rival HD DVD standard; HD DVDs place data further away like DVDs. CDs use a single layer of lacquer over the reflective data backing (on the label side) and are more susceptible to damage on the label side than DVDs, HD DVDs, or Blu-ray Discs.
A solution was announced in January 2004 with the introduction of a clear polymer coating that gives Blu-ray Discs unprecedented scratch resistance. The coating was developed by TDK Corporation and is called "Durabis". It allows BDs to be cleaned safely with only a tissue. The coating is said to successfully resist "wire-wool scrubbing" according to Samsung Optical technical manager Chas Kalsi. HD DVDs are much more similar to current CDs and DVDs in this respect, as they can be manufactured using essentially the same processes and do not require such a surface layer.
HD DVD has a dual-layer capacity of 30 GB and a single-layer capacity of 15 GB. Toshiba has announced a triple-layer disc which offers 45GB of storage. HD DVD can offer both the current DVD and HD DVD formats on one disc, which means that special HD DVD discs will play in any DVD player, old or the new high definition players. This makes retail marketing and shelf space management easier. For consumers shopping is simplified as they can simply buy a movie that plays in any DVD player in their house, standard definition or high definition. The HD DVD format also can be applied to current red laser DVDs in 5, 9, 15 and 18 GB capacities which offers an even lower cost option to content owners wanting to sell short form content.
The data layer of an HD DVD disc is 0.6mm below the surface, akin to the common DVD. The numerical aperture of the optical pick-up head is 0.65, compared with 0.6 for DVD (a lower surface layer and numerical aperture allow for tighter focus and so increased data density). Both of the new formats are likely to be backward compatible with DVDs and both employ the same video compression techniques: MPEG-2, Video Codec 1 (VC1) and H.264/MPEG-4 AVC.
HD DVD can be mastered with up to 7.1 channel surround sound using the linear (uncompressed) PCM, Dolby Digital and DTS formats also used on DVDs. In addition, it also supports Dolby Digital Plus and the lossless formats Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD. Currently, most DVD movies are made with 5.1 channels of surround sound. There are relatively few titles that offer 6.1 channels of surround sound. On HD DVD the Dolby formats are mandatory, meaning that a Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, or Dolby TrueHD track may be used as the sole soundtrack on a disc, because every player will have a decoder that can process any of these three bitstreams.[1] For lossless audio in movies in the PCM, Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD formats, HD DVD discs support encoding in up to 24-bit/192kHz for two channels, or up to eight channels of up to 24-bit/96kHz encoding.[2] For reference, even new big-budget Hollywood films are mastered in 24-bit/48kHz.
The HD DVD format supports a wide variety of resolutions, from low-resolution CIF and SDTV up to HDTV formats such as 720p, 1080i and 1080p.[3] All movie titles released so far have had the feature encoded in 1080p, with supplements in 480i or 480p.
Physical size Single layer capacity Dual layer capacity Triple layer capacity
12 cm, single sided 15 GB 30 GB 45 GB
12 cm, double sided 30 GB 60 GB 90 GB
8 cm, single sided 4.7 GB 9.4 GB
8 cm, double sided 9.4 GB 18.8 GB
Jun 15, 2006 - Samsung Launches Industry's First Blu-ray Player
Samsung today announced that the industry's first Blu-ray player has been shipped to retailers in the U.S. market for availability on June 25th. The Samsung BD-P1000 plays Blu-ray software titles at the highest resolution available via a native 1080p HDMI output for films digitally mastered in 1920×1080p. The BD-P1000 also up-converts conventional DVDs to 1080p through the HDMI digital interface so the picture quality of any traditional DVD will look noticeably more detailed when used with the disc player. The BD-P1000 is backwards compatible and plays both standard DVDs and CDs in addition to supporting all DVD formats including, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+RW, and DVD+R. Connectivity includes HDMI, Component, S-video and composite outputs. Supported audio formats include Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, DTS, MP3 and 192KHz LPCM. The BD-P1000 will be available in stores on June 25, 2006 at a MAP of $999.99.
May 3, 2006 - Sony Pictures Moves Back Blu-ray Releases to June
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (SPHE) president Benjamin Feingold today said the studio's first batch of Blu-ray releases will be ready by May 23 as planned, but the release date will be moved back to June 20 in an effort to ensure a more coordinated launch. "The majority of our retail base and hardware partners have requested that we reconsider this date to better coincide with the first commercially available Blu-ray-compatible hardware." Feingold said. The decision to hold off shipping Blu-ray titles to retailers comes a month after Samsung announced its first Blu-ray player wouldn't arrive in stores until June 25. The eight Blu-ray titles scheduled for release on June 20 are 50 First Dates, The Fifth Element, Hitch, House of Flying Daggers, A Knight's Tale, The Last Waltz, Resident Evil Apocalypse and xXx.
Ξερω οτι μακρυγορησα αλλα πιστευω οτι γενικα οι πληροφοριες αυτες ειναι ενδιαφερουσες.