High-Definition Audio/Video and Blu-Ray Disc

Advancing technology now allows consumers to record and store high definition audio/video onto DVDs. One such method of recording HD content to an optical disk is Blu-ray technology. The technology aims to be as close to the HD format as possible, while still retaining the ability to play traditional DVDs. It uses a blue-laser optical disc (MPEG-2 or MPEG-4). It is all set to take the world of high definition programming by storm. It gets its name from the characteristic blue-colored laser that it uses. The recording system uses a shorter wavelength when compared to traditional DVDs, thus allowing it to hold more content on a disk.

The Blu-ray disk format has a greater capacity for storage (25 gigabytes) as opposed to a standard DVD (15 gigabytes). A single-layer Blu-ray disk can store four hours of high definition programming, while a dual-layer disk can store eight hours of HD content. Disks that are four and eight layered, are being researched on, and may soon be available sporting capacities of 100 and 200 gigabytes.

Blu-ray technology has also made its mark in the computer industry, which sees its use in its capacity to store huge amounts of data. Major companies including Apple, Pioneer, Dell, Hitachi and Sony have pledged to support the technology. Sony hopes to introduce Blu-ray in its PlayStation 3 product. Hewlett-Packard's computers and laptops would also support Blu-ray disks. Blu-ray is set to hit the United States after Japan, in areas ranging from video games to DVD systems to high definition TVs. Microsoft has also announced support for Blu-ray in its Xbox 360 product.

Hollywood studios also support Blu-ray format or plan to do so in the near future. Sony Pictures, in 2005, took the lead of making available the movie, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, completely in a Blu-ray disk. Twentieth Century Fox and Walt Disney Studios also support this technology.

Blu-ray is however, not without competition. The other competitors are: the Enhanced Versatile Disk, the Digital Multilayer disk, and the Holographic Versatile Disk. In the area of HD storage, Blu-ray competes with HD DVD. HD DVD disks are cheaper to produce than Blu-ray disks, but have less storage capacity. But HD DVD is supported by big names like Intel, Microsoft and Toshiba, and Universal Studios. Some companies such as Paramount, Samsung and Warner Brothers support both Blu-ray and HD DVD.