Blu-Ray Technology "It [technology] has surely reduced the world to a global village, greatly reducing distances between people and nations" (How Does Technology . . ., 2009, ¶ 1).

Blu-ray

During June 2006, even though only total of 24 Blu-ray movies were available at that time, stores advertised and sold the first Blu-ray DVD player, Samsung's BD-P1000, for $1,000. In the article, "Blu-Ray or HD-DVD? A format battle rages for supremacy over the new generation of high-definition DVD Players," Johnson (2006) explains that "Blu-ray was jointly developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association, a group of the world's leading consumer electronics, personal computer, and media manufacturers" (Johnson, 2006, p. 82). Its future, albeit, as well as the future of HD DVD, the contemporary contender for next generation digital video players appeared unclear, Consequently, electronics manufacturers waged fierce battles in their war to determine whether the Blu-ray or HD-DVD format would the win dominate the market.

In addition to Samsung, supporters of the Blu-ray included Apple, Dell, Panasonic, Philips, Pioneer, Sharp, and Sony. Along with Toshiba, Microsoft, NEC, and Sanyo backed the HD-DVD Toshiba. Johnson (2006) reported that both Blu-ray or HD-DVD offered " high-resolution pictures and sensational sound, along with pop-up onscreen menus, picture-in-a-picture features, and the ability to change languages or scenes" (p. 82). During 2006, Blu-ray offered an enhanced scene search function HD-DVD did not provide; implementing a clickable menu of the actors and scenes as well as the scenes in which they appeared. A significant selling point for HD-DVD during 2006, however, gave Toshiba a different kind of edge in the war to attract buyers when it released a pair of HD-DVD players: The HD-A1 ($499) and the HD-XA1 ($799); prices relatively higher than standard DVD players, nevertheless, significantly less than expensive than Samsung's Blu-ray version.

Competing and incompatible aptly describe Blu-ray and HD DVD, two recently invented high-definition video storage and playback formats technological inventions that have historically battled for completion; each stoically remaining incompatible with the other. In the article, "Digital Video Update: YouTube, Flash, High-Definition," Godwin-Jones, (2007) assert that during 2007, even though players for both formats for Blu-ray and HD DVD had officially been released, consumers did not rush to purchase them for two reasons. One: The initial costs related to each format proved expensive. Two: Consumers determined to wait and see whether Blu-ray or DVD would win the "war" as they battled to convince customers their format constituted the best buy. The Blu-ray Disc, also known as Blu-ray or BD, consists of dimensions identical to a standard CD or DVD. In the article, "Comdex computer course kit: Windows Vista with Microsoft Office 2007, Gupta (2008) points out that primary uses for Blu-ray include high-resolution video and pictures and storing massive volume of data. "A dual layer Blu-ray Disc can store 50 GB, almost six times the capacity of a dual layer DVD" (Gupta, p. 15). Benefits of both Blu-ray and HD-DVD are that they possess larger storage capacity and higher quality video than DVD. The interactive programming which both formats offer constitutes another feature language professionals of the high definition video formats find particularly appealing....

Godwin-Jones, (2007) explains:
Blu-ray uses Blu-ray Java Interactivity (BD-J), while HD DVD features iHD. iHD offers a shallower learning curve than BD-J, as it combines fairly well-known technologies, namely CSS, JavaScript and XML. BD-J represents an easier transition for Java programmers; it also provides more options for customization through a full-fledged programming environment. Its use also allows programs to run on any Blu-ray player, whether it is a drive on a computer, in a game console, or in a stand-alone player. (Godwin-Jones, 2007, High-definition video archives Section, ¶ 2)

In 2010, one could purchase a Blu-ray player for approximately pounds 200 in England or for approximately $319.86 in the United States. Online, one could purchase this player for as little as pounds 90. One could buy a DVD player for pounds 90 or $143.97. In the newspaper article, "Blu-Ray to the future; format makes the most of new releases," Fulton (2010), purports that similar to DVD, Blu-ray constitutes an optical disc. The blu-ray, however, stores 10 times more data than the DVD and reflects resolution six times higher than that of DVD. This in turn gives the viewer better color, detail, and sound quality; in addition to a number of other extra perks. Two years prior to the official release of Blu-ray, a monthly newsletter published by Home networks (2004), predicted that Blu-ray would become the preferred choice for its type technology in the future. The name, Blu-ray, the article explained, relates to the blue lasers that transmit the signals. These rays proved to possess more storage power than the red rays carrying DVD transmissions. According to Blu-ray FAQ (2011), reportedly the world's largest Blu-ray dedicated site as well as one of the largest online home theater sites, the underlying technology of Blu-ray, utilizing a blue-violet laser to read and write data, gave Blu-ray its name. As a combination of "Blue' (blue-violet laser) and 'Ray' (optical ray). . ., [according] to the Blu-ray Disc Association the spelling of 'Blu-ray' is not a mistake, the character 'e' was intentionally left out so the term could be registered as a trademark" (Blu-ray FAQ, Section 1.2). The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), a group of leading consumer electronics, personal computer and media manufacturers; currently with more than 180 member companies from throughout the world developed the Blu-ray Disc format. Table 1 portrays the differences between Blu-ray and DVD.

Table 1. Comparison of the Parameters of Blu-ray and DVD (Blu-ray FAQ, Section 2.4).

Parameters

Blu-ray

DVD

Storage capacity

25 GB (single-layer)

50 GB (dual-layer)

4.7GB (single-layer)

8.5GB (dual-layer)

Laser wavelength

405 nm (blue laser)

650 nm (red laser)

Numerical aperture (NA)

0.85

0.60

Disc diameter

Disc thickness

1.2mm

1.2mm

Protection layer

Hard coating

0.1mm

Yes

0.6mm

No

Track pitch

0.32µm

0.74µm

Data transfer rate (data)

Data transfer rate (video/audio)

36.0Mbps (1x)

54.0Mbps (1.5x)

11.08Mbps (1x)

10.08Mbps (