close

To view this content, JavaScript must be enabled, and you need the latest version of the Adobe Flash Player. Get the free Adobe Flash Player.

Experience Blu-ray

Blu-ray, also known as Blu-ray Disc (BD), is the name of a next-generation optical disc format developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), and is supported by more than 170 of the world's leading consumer electronics, personal computer and media manufacturers, video game and music companies, major movie studios. The format was developed to enable recording, rewriting and playback of high-definition video (HD), as well as storing large amounts of data.

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. The benefit of using a blue-violet laser is that it utilizes a shorter wavelength than a red laser, 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, making it possible to fit more than six times the storage capacity of traditional DVDs even though it's the same size as a CD/DVD. In addition, this extra capacity combined with the use of advanced video and audio codecs offer consumers an unprecedented HD experience.