Blu-ray
Sony unveiled the first Blu-ray Disc prototypes in October 2000. These early devices relied on blue laser diodes operating at 405 nanometers to achieve higher data density than previous formats. Prototype discs made with diodes at a slightly longer wavelength of 407 nanometers appeared in October 1998. The shorter wavelength allowed information to be stored at a greater density than is possible with the longer-wavelength red laser used for DVDs. This technical shift enabled the storage of several hours of high-definition video. Conventional DVD players used red lasers that limited their capacity significantly compared to the new blue technology. Sony commenced two projects in collaboration with Panasonic, Philips, and TDK applying these new diodes. One project was called UDO or Ultra Density Optical while another became DVR Blue together with Pioneer. The core technologies of these formats remained similar throughout development. A trademark for the Blue Disc logo was filed on the 9th of February 2001. On the 19th of February 2002, the project was officially announced as Blu-ray Disc. Blu-ray Disc Founders was founded by nine initial members shortly after this announcement.
The first consumer device arrived in stores on the 10th of April 2003: the Sony BDZ-S77. This US$3,800 BD-RE recorder was made available only in Japan. HD DVD players beat them to market by a few months when commercial releases began in mid-June 2006. Toshiba, the main company supporting HD DVD, discontinued the format in February 2008. Warner Bros., the only major studio still releasing movies in both formats, announced it would release only in Blu-ray after May 2008. Major American retailers such as Best Buy, Walmart, and Circuit City dropped HD DVD from their stores. Woolworths, then a major European retailer, also removed HD DVD from its inventory. Netflix and Blockbuster said they would no longer carry HD DVD titles. On the 19th of February 2008, Toshiba announced it would end production of HD DVD devices. Universal Studios became the sole major studio backing HD DVD since its inception before switching focus to Blu-ray Disc. Paramount Pictures started releasing movies only in HD DVD format during late 2007 but switched to Blu-ray Disc afterward. By January 2007, Blu-ray Discs had outsold HD DVDs by about two to one during the first three quarters of that year.
The initial specification for storing movies on Blu-ray discs defined a maximum resolution of 1080p at up to 24 progressive or 29.97 interlaced frames per second. Revisions to the specification allowed newer Blu-ray players to support videos with higher resolutions. Ultra HD Blu-ray players extended the maximum resolution to 4K at frame rates up to 60 frames per second. The specification for an 8K Blu-ray format was completed by December 2017. This 8K resolution specification remained exclusive to Japan for use by Japanese public broadcasters. They planned to broadcast the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in 8K resolution using this standard. Standard Blu-ray discs contain 25GB per layer while dual-layer discs hold 50GB as the industry standard for feature-length video. Triple-layer discs reached 100GB and quadruple-layer discs achieved 128GB for BDXL re-writer drives. Hitachi stated that a quad-layer disc could store seven hours of HDTV video or three hours and 30 minutes of ultra-high-definition television content. TDK announced plans to produce 200GB discs by 2009 but later canceled plans for 8-layer 200GB Blu-ray Discs in April 2006.
High-definition software sales in the United States were slower in the first two years than DVD software sales. Media Research reported 16.3 million DVD software units sold between 1997 and 1998 compared to just 8.3 million high-definition software units from 2006 to 2007. The smaller marketplace contributed to this difference with only 26.5 million HDTVs available in 2007 versus 100 million SDTVs in 1998. By January 2016, 44% of American broadband households had a Blu-ray player. A study by the NPD Group found awareness of Blu-ray Disc had reached 60% of households in the United States. In December 2008, the Blu-ray Disc version of Warner Bros.' The Dark Knight sold 600,000 copies on its first day across multiple countries. That title became the first Blu-ray Disc release to sell over one million copies within its first week globally. Sales figures showed cumulative growth reaching 350 million units by 2010 according to industry data. Adoption rates increased faster than DVD format adoption at similar periods according to Singulus Technologies AG analysis.
The Advanced Access Content System (AACS) was developed by AACS Licensing Administrator LLC including Disney, Intel, Microsoft, Panasonic, Warner Bros., IBM, Toshiba, and Sony. Since the appearance of the format on devices in 2006, several successful attacks have been made on it. The first known attack relied on the trusted client problem while decryption keys were extracted from weakly protected players. BD+ was developed by Cryptography Research Inc as a small virtual machine embedded in authorized players. This system allows content providers to include executable programs on Blu-ray Discs that examine host environments for tampering. If playback device manufacturers find their devices hacked they can potentially release BD+ code detecting vulnerabilities. The first titles using BD+ protection appeared in October 2007. Various versions of AnyDVD HD circumvented BD+ protection since November 2007. Programs like DumpHD and MakeMKV also bypassed these security measures. Hollywood studios insisted that players be equipped with digital rights management before releasing movies for the new format. They wanted a DRM system protecting more against unauthorized copying than the failed Content Scramble System used on DVDs.
High Fidelity Pure Audio launched in 2013 as a marketing initiative spearheaded by Universal Music Group for audio-only Blu-ray optical discs. AVCHD was originally developed as a high-definition format for consumer tapeless camcorders derived from the Blu-ray Disc specification. These recordings could play back on many Blu-ray Disc players without re-encoding but remained incompatible with HD DVD players. The BDA officially announced 3D specs for Blu-ray Disc on the 17th of December 2009 allowing backward compatibility with current 2D players though limited by triple-layer thickness. Sony added Blu-ray 3D support to its PlayStation 3 console via firmware upgrade on the 21st of September 2010. Most major home entertainment studios discontinued the Blu-ray 3D format in North America while continuing production elsewhere. Paramount Pictures ceased all global sales of 3D Blu-ray Discs with Ghost in the Shell and Transformers: The Last Knight as final releases. Warner Bros continued selling 3D Blu-ray Discs in North America until 2022 ending with Dune. In 2023 Disney released remastered versions of Avatar and its sequel on Blu-ray 3D marking their first 3D releases since 2017.
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Common questions
When did Sony unveil the first Blu-ray Disc prototypes?
Sony unveiled the first Blu-ray Disc prototypes in October 2000. These early devices relied on blue laser diodes operating at 405 nanometers to achieve higher data density than previous formats.
What date was the Blu-ray Disc project officially announced as Blu-ray Disc?
The project was officially announced as Blu-ray Disc on the 19th of February 2002. A trademark for the Blue Disc logo had been filed earlier on the 9th of February 2001.
Which company discontinued HD DVD in February 2008?
Toshiba, the main company supporting HD DVD, discontinued the format in February 2008. On the 19th of February 2008, Toshiba announced it would end production of HD DVD devices.
How much storage capacity does a dual-layer Blu-ray disc hold?
Dual-layer discs hold 50GB as the industry standard for feature-length video. Standard Blu-ray discs contain 25GB per layer while triple-layer discs reached 100GB and quadruple-layer discs achieved 128GB for BDXL re-writer drives.
When did Sony add Blu-ray 3D support to its PlayStation 3 console?
Sony added Blu-ray 3D support to its PlayStation 3 console via firmware upgrade on the 21st of September 2010. The BDA officially announced 3D specs for Blu-ray Disc on the 17th of December 2009 allowing backward compatibility with current 2D players.