That didn't stop us from moving forward with Blu-ray and the Sony product. Blu-ray, also known as Blu-ray Disc (BD), is the name of a next-generation optical disc format jointly developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), a group of the world's leading consumer electronics, personal computer and media manufacturers (including Apple, Dell, Hitachi, HP, JVC, LG, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, TDK and Thomson). The format was developed to enable recording, rewriting and playback of high-definition video (HD), as well as storing large amounts of data. The format offers more than five times the storage capacity of traditional DVDs and can hold up to 25GB on a single-layer disc and 50GB on a dual-layer disc. This extra capacity combined with the use of advanced video and audio codec will offer consumers an unprecedented HD experience.

While current optical disc technologies such as DVD, DVD±R, DVD±RW, and DVD-RAM rely on a red laser to read and write data, the new format uses a blue-violet laser instead, hence the name Blu-ray. Despite the different type of lasers used, Blu-ray products can easily be made backwards compatible with CDs and DVDs through the use of a BD/DVD/CD compatible optical pickup unit. The benefit of using a blue-violet laser (405nm) is that it has a shorter wavelength than a red laser (650nm), which makes it possible to focus the laser spot with even greater precision. This allows data to be packed more tightly and stored in less space, so it's possible to fit more data on the disc even though it's the same size as a CD/DVD. This together with the change of numerical aperture to 0.85 is what enables Blu-ray Discs to hold 25GB/50GB.

Blu-ray is currently supported by more than 180 of the world's leading consumer electronics, personal computer, recording media, video game and music companies. The format also has broad support from the major movie studios as a successor to today's DVD format. In fact, seven of the eight major movie studios (Disney, Fox, Warner, Paramount, Sony, Lionsgate and MGM) are supporting the Blu-ray format and five of them (Disney, Fox, Sony, Lionsgate and MGM) are releasing their movies exclusively in the Blu-ray format. Many studios have also announced that they will begin releasing new feature films on Blu-ray Disc day-and-date with DVD, as well as a continuous slate of catalog titles every month.

We are very excited about the advances made in the Optical Media industry and the introduction of Blu-ray as an alternative and far reaching format. For more information, feel free to contact COLORTAPE.

INTRODUCTION TO BLU-RAY Q&A
Blu-ray Disc is a next-generation, optical disc format that enables the ultimate high-def entertainment experience. Blu-ray Disc provides these key features and advantages:

• Maximum picture resolution. Blu-ray Disc delivers full 1080p* video resolution to provide pristine picture quality.
• Largest capacity available anywhere (25 GB single layer/50 GB dual layer). Blu-ray Disc offers up to 5X the capacity of today’s DVDs.
• Best audio possible. Blu-ray Disc provides as many as 7.1 channels of native, uncompressed surround sound for crystal-clear audio entertainment.
• Enhanced interactivity. Enjoy such capabilities as seamless menu navigation, exciting, new bonus features, and network/Internet connectivity.
• Broadest industry support from brands you trust. More than 90% of major Hollywood studios, virtually all leading consumer electronics companies, four of the top computer brands, the world’s two largest music companies, PLAYSTATION® 3 and the leading gaming companies, all support Blu-ray Disc.
• The largest selection of high-def playback devices. Blu-ray Disc is supported by many of the leading consumer electronics and computing manufacturers. That means you can maximize the use of your HDTV and your home entertainment system with the widest selection of high-def playback devices—including players, recorders, computers, aftermarket drives and the PLAYSTATION® 3 game console.
• Backward compatibility**. Blu-ray Disc players enable you to continue to view and enjoy your existing DVD libraries.
• Disc robustness. Breakthroughs in hard-coating technologies enable Blu-ray Disc to offer the strongest resistance to scratches and fingerprints.
  

Why is the format called Blu-ray Disc?
The name Blu-ray came from the fact that the laser beam which reads the data from the new discs is blue instead of red which is used for current DVDs and CDs. This new blue laser is at the heart of Blu-ray Disc technology (i.e. blue ray of light).

What is the difference between Blu-ray Disc and DVD?
May 03, 2006
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Just as DVD meant a five to 10 times increase in storage capacity compared to CD, Blu-ray Disc represents an increase over DVD capacity by five to 10 times. This is due, among other reasons, to the usage of a blue instead of a red laser and improved lens specifications, allowing for a much smaller focus laser beam which enables the recording of much smaller and higher density pits on the disc.

Due to the fact that the data layer on a Blu-ray Disc is placed much “closer” to the laser lens than in DVD, there is less distortion resulting in significantly improved tolerances. Hence, more precision and ultra-high storage densities are now possible.

What is the difference between 1080i and 1080p?
May 03, 2006
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Blu-ray Disc offers 1080p video resolution—HDTV video quality that far surpasses any other medium or broadcast format available today. With a resolution of up to 1920x1080 and up to 54 Mbps bandwidth (roughly double that of a normal HDTV broadcast), no other format can match the video quality of Blu-ray Disc. Furthermore, due to the overwhelming capacity of a Blu-ray Disc, no tight compression algorithms that may alter the picture quality are required, as with other formats that offer less recording space. Depending on the application, Blu-ray Disc also supports other video formats, including standard-definition TV.

1080i refers to the resolution of a picture with interlaced (i) fields, which fit together to form one full frame and produces an image that has a TV-like quality. 1080p refers to the resolution of the picture with progressive (p), multiple full frames, producing an image that appears more like film.

Will Blu-ray Disc products play my existing DVDs and CDs?
May 03, 2006
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The Blu-ray Disc system uses the same 12 cm and 8 cm disc sizes to support backward compatibility with your CDs and DVDs and other optical disc formats.

What is an HDMI connector?
May 03, 2006
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HDMI delivers uncompressed high-definition video and multichannel digital audio signals through a single cable to compatible components, producing the best Blu-ray Disc experience possible.

Will PLAYSTATION® 3 play Blu-ray Disc movies?
May 03, 2006
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Yes! PLAYSTATION 3 is a fully functional Blu-ray Disc player, so you can watch, listen and enjoy your favorite high-def movies and music in full 1080p resolution and in as many as 7.1 channels of surround sound. Of course, that’s in addition to having the industry’s ultimate console for high-def gaming.

What home theater equipment is needed for optimal Blu-ray Disc performance?
May 03, 2006
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For the optimal Blu-ray Disc performance, your entertainment system should include:

• Blu-ray Disc Player (Blu-ray Discs will not play on standard DVD players)
• HDTV with 720p, 1080i or higher resolution
• Surround sound speaker system—5.1 channel or 7.1 channel
• HDMI connector cables
• High-quality analog cables or digital optical cables
  

Blu-ray Disc for Movie Distribution
August 24, 2004
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Introduction
Most people know about Blu-ray Disc's basic features: It can store 25 GB (single layer) or 50 GB (dual layer) on a single-sided disc - about 5 to 10 times the capacity of DVD. As a result, Blu-ray Disc supports the highest quality HD video available in the industry (up to 1920 x 1080 at 40 Mbit/sec). Large capacity means no compromise on video quality. Furthermore, a Blu-ray Disc has the same familiar size and look as DVD, allowing for compatibility with existing discs.

Compatibility across full family
Blu-ray Disc Rewritable (BD-RE) and related video specifications were first defined in 2003. The Blu-ray Disc ROM format for movie distribution is fully based on this specification when it was defined in 2004. As a result, users can play home-recorded discs on all of their Blu-ray Disc equipment; there are no playback compatibility issues as with rewritable DVD formats. The Video Distribution format was widely expanded to offer content producers a full range of additional features unavailable in the home recording format.

Video highlights
The BD-ROM format for movie distribution supports three highly advanced video codecs, including MPEG-2, so an author can choose the most suitable one for a particular application. All codecs are industry standards, meaning easy integration with existing authoring tools, and choice from wide range of encoding solutions. All consumer video resolutions are available:
- 1920 x 1080 HD (50i, 60i and 24p)
- 1280 x 720 HD (50p, 60p and 24p)
- 720 x 576/480 SD (50i or 60i)

Audio highlights
The BD-ROM format for movie distribution supports various advanced audio codecs, so an author can choose the most suitable for a particular application. The high capacity and data rate of Blu-ray Disc allow for extreme high quality audio in up to 8 channels to accompany High Definition video. Final audio specifications include DTS (core format), Dolby Digital AC-3 and LPCM (up to 96/24) . Optionally, the format might support DTS++ and LPCM 192/24 7.1.

Exceed DVD feature set
The Blu-ray Disc movie distribution format was designed to offer all of the features and the familiar user interface model of DVD-Video. However, content producers have a wide array of new and extended features to be included in a Blu-ray Disc title. For this, two profiles are available:

"HDMV" mode
Offers all features of DVD-Video and more. The authoring process is in line with DVD-Video creation.

"BD-J" mode
Offers unparalleled flexibility and features, because it is based on the Java runtime environment. It allows for extensive interactive applications, and offers Internet connectivity.

"HDMV" mode

Introduction
"HDMV" mode was designed to offer exciting new features, while keeping the authoring process as simple as possible. It streamlines the production of both Blu-ray Disc as well as DVD-Video titles, as the production process incorporates many identical phases. It offers improved navigational and menu features, improved graphics and animation, improved subtitling support and new features like browsable slideshows.

"Out-of-mux" reading
Unlike DVD-Video, the Blu-ray Disc format allows for data to be read from a different location on the disc, while uninterruptedly decoding and playing back video. This allows the system to call up menus, overlay graphics, pictures, button sounds, etc. at user request without stopping playback. Some examples of possibilities will be explained later.

Graphic planes
Two individual, full HD resolution (1920x1080) graphics planes are available, on top of the HD video plane. One plane is assigned to video-related, frame accurate graphics (like subtitles), and the other plane is assigned to interactive graphical elements, such as buttons or menus. For both planes, various wipes, fades and scroll effects are available, for example to present a menu.

Button graphics
Menu buttons can have three different states: Normal, Active and Selected. They support 256 color full-resolution graphics and animation, thereby greatly surpassing the capabilities of DVD-Video. Buttons can be called and removed during video playback, there is no need to return to a "menu screen".

Button sounds
Button sounds can be loaded into memory of the Blu-ray Disc player. When a user highlights or selects a menu option, the sound can be played (such as a voice-over explaining the highlighted menu choice, or button clicks). These button sounds can even be mixed with the running audio from the movie or menu.

Multi-page menus
In DVD-Video, playback was interrupted each time a new menu screen is called. Due to Blu-ray Disc's ability to read data from the disc without interrupting the current audio/video stream, a menu can consist of several pages. Users will be able to browse through the menu pages or select different menu paths, while the audio and video remain playing in the background.

User-browsable slideshows
In DVD-Video, user browsable slideshows were not possible with uninterrupted audio. As a result of Blu-ray Disc's ability to read data from the disc without interrupting the current audio/video stream, users can browse through various still pictures while the audio remains playing. This applies not only to forward and backward selecting: A user can make different selections on what picture to view (or select from a screen presented with thumbnail images) while the audio remains playing.

Subtitles
In DVD-Video, subtitles were stored in the audio/video stream, and therefore they had limitations on the number of languages and display styles. Again, it is due to Blu-ray Disc's ability to read data from the disc without interrupting the current audio/video stream, that subtitles can be stored independently on the disc. A user may select different font styles, sizes and colors for the subtitles, or location on screen, depending on the disc's offerings. Subtitles can be animated, scrolled or faded in and out.

"BD-J" mode

Introduction
"BD-J" mode was designed to offer the content provider almost unlimited functionality when creating interactive titles. It is based on Java 2 Micro Edition, so programmers will quickly be familiar with the programming environment for BD-J. Every Blu-ray Disc player will be equipped with a Java interpreter, so that it is capable of running discs authored in BD-J mode.

Graphical User Interface
In BD-J mode, the author has complete freedom in designing the user interface. The interface is controllable by using standard navigational buttons on the remote. It can display up to 32-bit dynamically generated graphics (millions of colors), and it supports the display of pictures in standard file formats like JPEG, PNG, etc.

Playback control
The BD-J application can act as the sole interface to the disc's contents (thus replacing the player's on-screen controls as with discs authored in HDMV mode). The BD-J environment offers all of the playback features of HDMV mode, including the selection of subtitle, trick play modes, angles, etc. Video can even be scaled dynamically, so that it can be played in a small size in the corner of a menu, and resume full screen when a selection is made.

Storage
A Blu-ray Disc player might contain a small amount of non-volatile system storage (flash memory). This system storage can be used to store game scores, bookmarks, favorites from a disc, training course results, etc. As a manufacturer's option, a Blu-ray Disc player may also be equipped with Local Storage (hard disk, to allow large amounts of data like audio/video to be stored).

Internet connection
The BD-J system supports basic Internet protocols like TCP/IP and HTTP. The player may connect to the disc publisher's web site to unlock certain content on the disc (after certain conditions, like payment, are met), or dynamically display certain info (like theater playing schedules for a movie) on the screen. The disc's program may be extended with JPEG pictures or audio fragments downloaded from the Internet, or it can even stream full new audio/visual content to Local Storage.

Conclusion
The Blu-ray Disc format for Movie Distribution offers two flexible profiles for the creation of titles. It was designed to allow for the streamlined development of Blu-ray Disc (HD) and DVD-Video (SD) titles at the same time, if needed. Basic menus and navigation can be identical. However, it also offers many new functions that will benefit both the author (by offering flexible ways of creating disc content), as well as end users (by offering exciting new functionality compared to DVD-Video).

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