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By Root 1637 0

The standard size matches that of earlier optical discs, such as CD-R and DVD-RW, and is what you’ll see used in computers and for movies (Figure 13-27). The mini-size discs are a lot smaller and, naturally, offer less storage. You’ll find mini Blu-ray Discs in very high-end camcorders. Table 13-2 shows the details of the two formats.

Figure 13-27 Standard Blu-ray Disc

Table 13-2 Standard and Mini Blu-ray Disc Comparison Chart

Unlike with DVD discs, Blu-ray Disc offers no option at this time of a double-sided disc. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this option in the coming years.

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NOTE There was a brief battle for supremacy in the high-definition digital war between Blu-ray Disc and a competing high-definition optical disc standard called HD DVD. Major content manufacturers and developers leaned toward Blu-ray Disc, and in early 2008, Toshiba—the primary company behind HD DVD—threw in the towel. HD DVD is no longer being developed or supported.

Blu-ray Disc technology offers several advantages over DVD aside from raw capacity. First, Blu-ray Disc uses a blue-violet laser (hence, the Blu in the name) with a wavelength of 405 nm. (DVD uses a red laser technology with a wavelength of 650 nm.) The 405-nm wavelength is smaller and much more precise, enabling better use of space during the creation process and ultimately resulting in a sharper image. Second, Blu-ray Disc can handle high-definition (HD) video in resolutions far higher than DVD. Finally, Blu-ray Disc supports many more video compression schemes, giving producers more options for putting content on discs.

BD-ROM

BD-ROM (read only) is the Blu-ray Disc equivalent of the standard DVD-ROM data format except, as noted earlier, it can store much more data and produces superior audio and video results. Almost all BD-ROM drives are fully backward compatible and support DVD-video as well as most CD-ROM formats. If you want to display the best possible movie picture quality on your HDTV, you should get a Blu-ray Disc player and use Blu-ray Discs in place of DVDs. Most new computer systems don’t come standard with Blu-ray Disc drives installed. You can often custom-order a system with a Blu-ray Disc drive or you can simply install one yourself. Figure 13-28 shows a Blu-ray Disc drive.

Figure 13-28 A combination CD/DVD/Blu-ray Disc drive

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NOTE If you own a PlayStation®3, you already have a Blu-ray Disc player. That’s the optical format the game system uses.

BD-R and BD-RE

Blu-ray Discs come in two writable formats, BD-R (for recordable) and BD-RE (for rewritable). You can write to a BD-R disc one time. You can write to and erase a BD-RE (rewritable) several times. There are also BD-R and BD-RE versions of mini Blu-ray Discs.

Blu-ray Burners

Most Blu-ray Disc burners cost a lot (at the time of this writing) and are out of the price range for the average consumer, but they will eventually be as common as the average CD-RW or DVD-RW. Blu-ray Disc burners and other Blu-ray Disc drives can be connected internally or externally to a system. It is common for them to be connected externally via Hi-Speed USB 2.0, FireWire, or eSATA or internally through PATA, SATA, SCSI, or USB connections. Operating systems such as Windows 2000, XP, Vista, and Windows 7 all support Blu-ray Disc burners and software. The software you use for burning is totally up to you; however, as always, you should follow the manufactured specifications for the best results. Most multidrive Blu-ray Disc burners offer the following support features.

Media Support BD-R, BD-RE, DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, DVD-Video, DVD+/-R DL, DVD+/-R, DVD+/-RW, CD-DA, CD-ROM, CD-R, and CD-RW.

Write speed (max) 2× BD-R, 4× DVD+/-R DL, 8× DVD+/-R(8×), and 24× CD-R

Rewrite speed (max) 2× BD-RE, 8× DVD+RW, 6× DVD-RW, 5× DVD-RAM, and 16× CD-RW

Read speed (max) 2× BD-ROM, i8× DVD-ROM, and 32× CD-ROM

Compatibility Most Blu-ray Disc drives are backward compatible, meaning they can read and play CDs and DVDs. CD and DVD drives and players cannot read or play Blue-ray Discs.

Installing Optical