There are some interesting advances going on in the world of Blu-ray technology so we thought we'd share them with you...
Blu-ray is no longer the preserve of games developers and the big film studios; independent publishers – even the smaller ones – are coming on board as well. Already in the UK, Blu-ray accounts for 26% of 'District 9' disc sales, 23% of 'Terminator Salvation' sales and 22% of 'Inglourious Basterds' and ‘Star Trek 11. The ever increasing size of data files for certain evidence data and the security sector is pushing the uptake of Blu-ray recordable drives and media into the professional non-entertainment markets too. This was the same pattern for DVD in the early days with transition from CD to the next generation larger capacity format.
The forthcoming Blu-ray Disc Academy forum at Frankfurt on 19 May will be Europe’s first event showcasing 'live' advanced Blu-ray features and BD-Live applications that push the creative boundaries of the high-definition format, and how these can unlock commercial opportunities. Such as a BD disc linking Internet-based social networks; a BD player communicating with WiFi-enabled smart devices; a pay-per-view video delivery service that lets users rent movies via their BD player; a low-cost ’out-of-the-box’ BD-Live content management solution with back office server; a copying software added to a Pure Audio Blu-ray service; an application which allows mobile phone users to send videos to any BD-Live-enabled BD player. Not to mention the arrival of 3D on Blu-ray. There are also a few early examples of BD-live being used for business-to-business applications.
The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) has announced two new media specifications that use Blu-ray Disc technology. These provide targeted functionality for commercial and consumer applications. The specifications for BDXL (High Capacity Recordable and Rewritable discs) and IH-BD (Intra-Hybrid Blu-ray Discs) are expected in the next few months.
The BDXL specification, targeted primarily at commercial segments such as broadcasting, medical and document imaging enterprises with significant archiving needs, will provide customers with write-once options on 100GB and 128GB capacity discs and rewritable capability on 100GB discs. The discs reach these capacities by incorporating three to four recordable layers. A consumer version of BDXL is also expected, particularly in those regions where BD recorders have achieved broad consumer acceptance.
Professional industries have expressed a desire to find optical disc solutions that enable them to transition away from magnetic media for their archiving needs. The Blu-ray Disc Association Global Promotions Committee chair. "Leveraging Blu-ray Disc to meet this need provides professional enterprises with a compact, stable and long-term solution for archiving large amounts of sensitive data, video and graphic images using a proven and widely accepted optical technology."
The IH-BD incorporates a single BD-ROM layer and a single BD-RE layer so as to enable the user to view, but not overwrite, critical published data while providing the flexibility to include relevant personal data on the same physical disc. This allows for consumer specific applications where combining published content with related user data on a convenient, single volume is desirable. Both the ROM and the RE layers on IH-BD discs provide 25GB of capacity.
As both BDXL and IH-BD are specially designed formats with specific market segments in mind, newly designed hardware is required to play back or record BDXL or IH-BD media. However, because the new media specifications are extensions of current Blu-ray Disc technology, future BDXL and IH-BD devices can be designed to support existing 25GB and 50GB Blu-ray Discs.
Should you have any queries with regards to Blu-ray and how it could benefit you please call today on 01491 636373 or email our technical team on technical@cdteam.co.uk
Author: Alex Ashur, Technical Manager
