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First of what is Blu-Ray. Blu-Ray is like a super DVD, it is similar to a DVD combined with a mini disk in that it is enclosed in a cartridge and stores data in a similar way to a DVD. The disk/cartridge holds up to 27 gigabytes of data on a single layer (or 50 if it is dual layered). Compared with current DVD's which hold 4.7GB the new Blu-Ray disks are a lot bigger.
In terms of films this means instead of a disk holding about 2 and a half hours of film the new disk could hold around 13 hours of film.
Most of you will know that data is stored on DVD's in tiny grooves on the surface which are read using a laser. Blu-Ray has smaller grooves and therefore more grooves on one disk meaning more data can be stored but to read the data a different laser is required, a blue laser (due to the smaller wave-length required) is used.
The disks are enclosed in a plastic casing to protect them, something which is important to avoid damage from fingerprints, scratches, dropping etc.
Blu-Ray was developed by nine different developers, Sony, pioneer and Hitachi the main ones and also LG electronics, Matsushita, Philips, Samsung, Sharp and Thomson. It was developed by various companies to try prevent problems with standards so that it would be the same for all companies wishing to use it.
So is this the end for normal DVD's?
Well it could be, sometime in the future though. The two are unlikely to be compatible due to the different lasers required to read them and also the difference in appearance. This means that possibly in 5 years we could see Blu-Ray being used for movies and games, like the step from CD's and Videos to DVD's I guess. Technology is moving faster than it used to and we always require more storage so this could well be the next step to better films and games.
Playstation 3?
Well I find it a bit odd that the Blu-Ray disks are set to be released in about 3-5 years which is around the same time that the IBM processor planned to be used In the PS3 (if they call it that) is to be ready for mass production. Maybe I am reading to much into it but maybe this has been Sony's plans since the release of the PS2, get it out before the others then when the time comes use the latest technology in the PS3, Sony being a major developer in the Blu-Ray disk could include it in the PS3 and maybe take gaming to new heights. When it does come out it could benefit Sony as it may be too early for Nintendo and Microsoft to release another console leaving Sony to do their best and attract more fans and customers. Again I may be reading to far into it but surely it is a possibility.
So where will it be used? Well not totally sure it is likely to be used in PC's, possibly games machines and deffinately to be used as storage for movies similar to DVD's, meaning we will need new stand alone machines to play them.
This is where cost once again comes into play. How much does it cost to make them and what cost is the hardware used to play them? No doubt expensive but as with DVD's the price is likely to come down after a while.
It is unlikely that we will see Blu-Ray disks being used within the next 3 years but it is possible. I would expect to see them in Sony's next console and possibly any other companies consoles released around the same time. Nintendo always seem to be different but can they choose to be different in the future or will it just cause too many problems.
It is one of these things that we will just need to wait and see and hope it will be as good as it first sounds. In my opinion Blu-Ray disks have the ability to change the film and gaming industries for the better.
In terms of films this means instead of a disk holding about 2 and a half hours of film the new disk could hold around 13 hours of film.
Most of you will know that data is stored on DVD's in tiny grooves on the surface which are read using a laser. Blu-Ray has smaller grooves and therefore more grooves on one disk meaning more data can be stored but to read the data a different laser is required, a blue laser (due to the smaller wave-length required) is used.
The disks are enclosed in a plastic casing to protect them, something which is important to avoid damage from fingerprints, scratches, dropping etc.
Blu-Ray was developed by nine different developers, Sony, pioneer and Hitachi the main ones and also LG electronics, Matsushita, Philips, Samsung, Sharp and Thomson. It was developed by various companies to try prevent problems with standards so that it would be the same for all companies wishing to use it.
So is this the end for normal DVD's?
Well it could be, sometime in the future though. The two are unlikely to be compatible due to the different lasers required to read them and also the difference in appearance. This means that possibly in 5 years we could see Blu-Ray being used for movies and games, like the step from CD's and Videos to DVD's I guess. Technology is moving faster than it used to and we always require more storage so this could well be the next step to better films and games.
Playstation 3?
Well I find it a bit odd that the Blu-Ray disks are set to be released in about 3-5 years which is around the same time that the IBM processor planned to be used In the PS3 (if they call it that) is to be ready for mass production. Maybe I am reading to much into it but maybe this has been Sony's plans since the release of the PS2, get it out before the others then when the time comes use the latest technology in the PS3, Sony being a major developer in the Blu-Ray disk could include it in the PS3 and maybe take gaming to new heights. When it does come out it could benefit Sony as it may be too early for Nintendo and Microsoft to release another console leaving Sony to do their best and attract more fans and customers. Again I may be reading to far into it but surely it is a possibility.
So where will it be used? Well not totally sure it is likely to be used in PC's, possibly games machines and deffinately to be used as storage for movies similar to DVD's, meaning we will need new stand alone machines to play them.
This is where cost once again comes into play. How much does it cost to make them and what cost is the hardware used to play them? No doubt expensive but as with DVD's the price is likely to come down after a while.
It is unlikely that we will see Blu-Ray disks being used within the next 3 years but it is possible. I would expect to see them in Sony's next console and possibly any other companies consoles released around the same time. Nintendo always seem to be different but can they choose to be different in the future or will it just cause too many problems.
It is one of these things that we will just need to wait and see and hope it will be as good as it first sounds. In my opinion Blu-Ray disks have the ability to change the film and gaming industries for the better.
Yep. Smaller Wavelength means more 1's and 0's crammed onto a DVD.
I'm sure that Panasonic (Matsushita) will help Nintendo produce a Blue Ray Optical disk and Microsoft are bound to find someone or other...
I remember when a 4Gb hardrive seemed huge.
So did 650Mb CD's...
I'm sure that Panasonic (Matsushita) will help Nintendo produce a Blue Ray Optical disk and Microsoft are bound to find someone or other...
I remember when a 4Gb hardrive seemed huge.
So did 650Mb CD's...
So I've gone from 8-track cassettes to tape to CD, and now I've got a PS3 that possibly won't play my CD collection anymore? Damn...
50 Gigs is a lot though. But if they could use say just 5 Gigs for the games and the another 5 Gigs for the 'making of and extras' features, that would justify it. The remaining 17 Gigs of one side could be used as a buffer perhaps to reduce loading times between levels? Maybe for downloading demos and more games? Or a movie or two?
This would mean read-write Blu-Ray discs, but you'd think this time they'd develop the write part alongside the read part, because in the past we've always just had the read only discs always coming out a year or two before the more useful component.
50 Gigs is a lot though. But if they could use say just 5 Gigs for the games and the another 5 Gigs for the 'making of and extras' features, that would justify it. The remaining 17 Gigs of one side could be used as a buffer perhaps to reduce loading times between levels? Maybe for downloading demos and more games? Or a movie or two?
This would mean read-write Blu-Ray discs, but you'd think this time they'd develop the write part alongside the read part, because in the past we've always just had the read only discs always coming out a year or two before the more useful component.
First of what is Blu-Ray. Blu-Ray is like a super DVD, it is similar to a DVD combined with a mini disk in that it is enclosed in a cartridge and stores data in a similar way to a DVD. The disk/cartridge holds up to 27 gigabytes of data on a single layer (or 50 if it is dual layered). Compared with current DVD's which hold 4.7GB the new Blu-Ray disks are a lot bigger.
In terms of films this means instead of a disk holding about 2 and a half hours of film the new disk could hold around 13 hours of film.
Most of you will know that data is stored on DVD's in tiny grooves on the surface which are read using a laser. Blu-Ray has smaller grooves and therefore more grooves on one disk meaning more data can be stored but to read the data a different laser is required, a blue laser (due to the smaller wave-length required) is used.
The disks are enclosed in a plastic casing to protect them, something which is important to avoid damage from fingerprints, scratches, dropping etc.
Blu-Ray was developed by nine different developers, Sony, pioneer and Hitachi the main ones and also LG electronics, Matsushita, Philips, Samsung, Sharp and Thomson. It was developed by various companies to try prevent problems with standards so that it would be the same for all companies wishing to use it.
So is this the end for normal DVD's?
Well it could be, sometime in the future though. The two are unlikely to be compatible due to the different lasers required to read them and also the difference in appearance. This means that possibly in 5 years we could see Blu-Ray being used for movies and games, like the step from CD's and Videos to DVD's I guess. Technology is moving faster than it used to and we always require more storage so this could well be the next step to better films and games.
Playstation 3?
Well I find it a bit odd that the Blu-Ray disks are set to be released in about 3-5 years which is around the same time that the IBM processor planned to be used In the PS3 (if they call it that) is to be ready for mass production. Maybe I am reading to much into it but maybe this has been Sony's plans since the release of the PS2, get it out before the others then when the time comes use the latest technology in the PS3, Sony being a major developer in the Blu-Ray disk could include it in the PS3 and maybe take gaming to new heights. When it does come out it could benefit Sony as it may be too early for Nintendo and Microsoft to release another console leaving Sony to do their best and attract more fans and customers. Again I may be reading to far into it but surely it is a possibility.
So where will it be used? Well not totally sure it is likely to be used in PC's, possibly games machines and deffinately to be used as storage for movies similar to DVD's, meaning we will need new stand alone machines to play them.
This is where cost once again comes into play. How much does it cost to make them and what cost is the hardware used to play them? No doubt expensive but as with DVD's the price is likely to come down after a while.
It is unlikely that we will see Blu-Ray disks being used within the next 3 years but it is possible. I would expect to see them in Sony's next console and possibly any other companies consoles released around the same time. Nintendo always seem to be different but can they choose to be different in the future or will it just cause too many problems.
It is one of these things that we will just need to wait and see and hope it will be as good as it first sounds. In my opinion Blu-Ray disks have the ability to change the film and gaming industries for the better.
In terms of films this means instead of a disk holding about 2 and a half hours of film the new disk could hold around 13 hours of film.
Most of you will know that data is stored on DVD's in tiny grooves on the surface which are read using a laser. Blu-Ray has smaller grooves and therefore more grooves on one disk meaning more data can be stored but to read the data a different laser is required, a blue laser (due to the smaller wave-length required) is used.
The disks are enclosed in a plastic casing to protect them, something which is important to avoid damage from fingerprints, scratches, dropping etc.
Blu-Ray was developed by nine different developers, Sony, pioneer and Hitachi the main ones and also LG electronics, Matsushita, Philips, Samsung, Sharp and Thomson. It was developed by various companies to try prevent problems with standards so that it would be the same for all companies wishing to use it.
So is this the end for normal DVD's?
Well it could be, sometime in the future though. The two are unlikely to be compatible due to the different lasers required to read them and also the difference in appearance. This means that possibly in 5 years we could see Blu-Ray being used for movies and games, like the step from CD's and Videos to DVD's I guess. Technology is moving faster than it used to and we always require more storage so this could well be the next step to better films and games.
Playstation 3?
Well I find it a bit odd that the Blu-Ray disks are set to be released in about 3-5 years which is around the same time that the IBM processor planned to be used In the PS3 (if they call it that) is to be ready for mass production. Maybe I am reading to much into it but maybe this has been Sony's plans since the release of the PS2, get it out before the others then when the time comes use the latest technology in the PS3, Sony being a major developer in the Blu-Ray disk could include it in the PS3 and maybe take gaming to new heights. When it does come out it could benefit Sony as it may be too early for Nintendo and Microsoft to release another console leaving Sony to do their best and attract more fans and customers. Again I may be reading to far into it but surely it is a possibility.
So where will it be used? Well not totally sure it is likely to be used in PC's, possibly games machines and deffinately to be used as storage for movies similar to DVD's, meaning we will need new stand alone machines to play them.
This is where cost once again comes into play. How much does it cost to make them and what cost is the hardware used to play them? No doubt expensive but as with DVD's the price is likely to come down after a while.
It is unlikely that we will see Blu-Ray disks being used within the next 3 years but it is possible. I would expect to see them in Sony's next console and possibly any other companies consoles released around the same time. Nintendo always seem to be different but can they choose to be different in the future or will it just cause too many problems.
It is one of these things that we will just need to wait and see and hope it will be as good as it first sounds. In my opinion Blu-Ray disks have the ability to change the film and gaming industries for the better.