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Blu-ray Disc

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 codecs 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 170 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. Seven of the eight major movie studios have already announced titles for Blu-ray, including Warner, Paramount, Fox, Disney, Sony, MGM and Lionsgate. The initial line-up is expected to consist of over 100 titles and include recent hits as well as classics such as Batman Begins, Desperado, Fantastic Four, Fifth Element, Hero, Ice Age, Kill Bill, Lethal Weapon, Mission Impossible, Ocean's Twelve, Pirates of the Caribbean, Reservoir Dogs, Robocop, and The Matrix. 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.

MOVIES:

Seven of the eight major movie studios have announced that they will release movies in the Blu-ray Disc format as soon as hardware becomes available. The movies will feature high definition video and audio as well as advanced interactive features. Compared to standard definition (SD), which is the resolution used in today's TVs and DVDs, high definition (HD) offers five times the amount of detail. A standard TV uses either NTSC which is 480i (640—480) or PAL/SECAM which is 576i (768—576). The "i" stands for interlaced, which means that only half of the lines are updated for each frame alternating between the odd and even lines. Blu-ray movies will be in 1080p (1920—1080), which is the highest of the HD resolutions. The "p" stands for progressive, which means that every line and pixel will be updated for each frame.

Blu-ray releases

Title	Studio	Info
50 First Dates	Sony	Release date: June 20, 2006
A Knight's Tale	Sony	Release date: September 19, 2006
Aeon Flux	Paramount	Release date: October 10, 2006
American Psycho	Lionsgate	Release date: October 17, 2006
Amityville Horror	MGM	Not yet announced, but packaging shown at CES
Angel Seekers	Air TBS	Japan only
Armageddon	Disney
Basic Instinct	Lionsgate	Not yet announced, but packaging shown at CES
Basic Instinct 2	MGM	Release date: July 11, 2006
Batman Begins	Warner
Behind Enemy Lines	Fox	Release date: November 14, 2006
Benchwarmers	Sony	Release date: July 25, 2006
Big Hit	Sony	Release date: September 19, 2006
Black Hawk Down	Sony
Blazing Saddles	Warner	Release date: September 5, 2006
Bram Stoker's Dracula	Sony
Bridge on the River Kwai	Sony
Brothers Grimm	Disney	Release date: October 17, 2006
Bulletproof Monk	MGM	Release date: December 5, 2006
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory	Warner
Chicken Little	Disney	Not a launch title, to be released later in 2006
Chronos	Goldhil	Documentary, Release date: May 23, 2006
Click	Sony	Release date: October 10, 2006
Constantine	Warner
Crash	Lionsgate	Release date: June 27, 2006
Crimson Tide	Disney	Not yet announced, but packaging shown at CES
Da Vinci Code	Sony
Dark Water	Disney	Release date: October 17, 2006
Desperado	Sony
Devil's Rejects	Lionsgate	Release date: August 29, 2006
Dinosaur	Disney	Release date: September 19, 2006
Dukes of Hazzard	Warner
Dune	Lionsgate	TV miniseries aka Frank Herbert's Dune, Release date: June/July
Eight Below	Disney	Release date: September 19, 2006
Everest	Disney	Documentary
Exorcism of Emily Rose	Sony
Fantastic Four	Fox	Release date: November 14, 2006
Fifth Element	Sony	Release date: June 20, 2006
Firewall	Warner	Release date: September 5, 2006
Flightplan	Disney	Not yet announced, but packaging shown at CES
For a Few Dollars More	MGM
Four Brothers	Paramount	Release date: September 26, 2006
Fugitive	Warner	Release date: September 26, 2006
Full Metal Jacket	Warner	Release date: September 5, 2006
Gattaca	Sony	Release date: October 17, 2006
Glory Road	Disney	Release date: October 17, 2006
Gone in Sixty Seconds	Disney	Release date: October 17, 2006
Good Night, and Good Luck	Warner	Release date: August 1, 2006
Goodfellas	Warner	Not yet announced, but packaging shown at CES
Great Raid	Disney	Release date: September 19, 2006
Green Mile	Warner	Not yet announced, but Warner has stated that they will release all their titles in both formats
Guns of Navarone	Sony
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire	Warner	Not yet announced, but Warner has stated that they will release all their titles in both formats
Haunted Mansion	Disney	Release date: October 17, 2006
Hero	Disney
Hitch	Sony	Release date: June 20, 2006
Hostel	Sony
House of Flying Daggers	Sony	Release date: June 20, 2006
House of Wax	Warner	Release date: September 26, 2006
Ice Age	Fox
Ice Age: The Meltdown	Fox	Release date: November 21, 2006
Incredibles	Disney	Not yet announced, but packaging shown at CES
Into The Blue	Sony	Release date: August 15, 2006
Italian Job	Paramount	Release date: October 10, 2006
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back	Disney	Release date: September 19, 2006
Kill Bill Vol. 1	Disney
King Arthur	Disney	Not yet announced, but packaging shown at CES
Kingdom of Heaven	Fox	Release date: November 14, 2006
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang	Warner	Release date: August 1, 2006
Kiss of the Dragon	Fox	Release date: November 14, 2006
Kung Fu Hustle	Sony	Release date: July 25, 2006
Ladder 49	Disney
Lake House	Warner	Release date: September 26, 2006
Last Samurai	Warner
Last Waltz	MGM	Documentary, Release date: June 27, 2006
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen	Fox	Release date: November 14, 2006
Legends of the Fall	Sony	Release date: July 25, 2006
Lethal Weapon	Warner	Release date: September 5, 2006
Lethal Weapon 2	Warner	Release date: September 26, 2006
Lord of War	Lionsgate	Release date: June 27, 2006
Manchurian Candidate	Paramount
Matrix	Warner
Matrix Reloaded	Warner	Not yet announced, but packaging shown at CES
Memento	Sony	Release date: August 15, 2006
Million Dollar Baby	Warner
Mission Impossible	Paramount	Not a launch title, to be released later in 2006
Mission Impossible II	Paramount	Not a launch title, to be released later in 2006
Mission Impossible III	Paramount	Release date: October 30, 2006
Monster House	Sony	Release date: October 24, 2006
New Cinema Paradise	Asmik Ace	Japan only
Ocean's Twelve	Warner
Omen (666)	Fox	Release date: November 14, 2006
Phantom of the Opera	Warner	Not yet announced, but Warner has stated that they will release all their titles in both formats
Pirates of the Caribbean	Disney	Not yet announced, but packaging shown at CES
Professionals	Sony	Release date: October 17, 2006
Punisher	Lionsgate	Release date: June 27, 2006
Rambo: First Blood	Lionsgate	Release date: October 17, 2006
Reservoir Dogs	Lionsgate	Release date: October 24, 2006
Resident Evil	Sony	Not yet announced, but packaging shown at CES
Resident Evil: Apocalypse	Sony	Release date: July 25, 2006
Robocop	MGM
Rocky	MGM	Release date: December 5, 2006
Rumor Has It	Warner	Release date: August 1, 2006
RV	Sony	Release date: August 15, 2006
S.W.A.T.	Sony	Release date: September 19, 2006
Sahara	Paramount
Saw	Lionsgate	Release date: June 27, 2006
Saw II	Lionsgate	Release date: October 17, 2006
See No Evil	Lionsgate
Sense and Sensibility	Sony
Silent Hill	Sony	Release date: August 22, 2006
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow	Paramount	Release date: September 26, 2006
Sleepy Hollow	Paramount	Release date: September 26, 2006
Space Cowboys	Warner	Release date: September 26, 2006
Species	MGM	Release date: July 25, 2006
Speed	Fox	Release date: November 14, 2006
Spider-Man	Sony	Not yet announced, but packaging shown at CES
Stargate	Lionsgate	Release date: August 29, 2006
Stargate Atlantis	MGM	TV series, Release date: June/July
Stealth	Sony	Release date: July 25, 2006
Steamboy	Bandai Visual	Japan only
Step Into Liquid	Lionsgate
Stir of Echoes	Lionsgate	Release date: August 29, 2006
Swordfish	Warner	Release date: September 26, 2006
Syriana	Warner	Not yet announced, but Warner has stated that they will release all their titles in both formats
Tears of the Sun	Sony	Release date: September 19, 2006
Terminator	MGM	Release date: June 20, 2006
Terminator 2: Judgment Day	Lionsgate	Release date: June 27, 2006
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines	Warner
Tim Burton's Corpse Bride	Warner	Release date: September 26, 2006
Tomb Raider	Paramount	Release date: September 26, 2006
Total Recall	Lionsgate	Release date: August 29, 2006
Training Day	Warner	Release date: August 1, 2006
Transporter	Fox	Release date: November 14, 2006
Troy	Warner
Twister	Warner
U2: Rattle and Hum	Paramount	Documentary, Release date: October 10, 2006
Ultraviolet	Sony	Release date: June 27, 2006
Underworld: Evolution	Sony	Release date: June 20, 2006
Unforgiven	Warner
Usual Suspects	MGM	Release date: November 28, 2006
We Were Soldiers	Paramount
Windtalkers	MGM	Release date: November 28, 2006
xXx	Sony	Release date: June 20, 2006
xXx: State of the Union	Sony	Not yet announced, but packaging shown at CES
Young Guns	Lionsgate	Release date: October 17, 2006