Blu-ray Wins the HD Battle

What is Blu-ray

Also known as Blu-ray Disc (BD), it is the name of a next-generation optical disc format. The format was developed to enable recording, rewriting, and playback of high-definition video (HD), as well as to store large amounts of data.

Why "Blu-ray"

Blu-ray Discs are read by a blue laser beam, instead of the red which is currently used for CDs and DVDs. Improvements in lens technology have made it possible to more tightly focus a laser beam, allowing for smaller and denser pits to be recorded to disc. As a result, Blu-ray Disc offers a five to ten times increase in capacity over standard DVDs. (Oh, and the omission of an "e" at the end of "Blu" is not an error but a requirement for trademark purposes.)

Who came up with Blu-ray?

The format has its roots in a Sony initiative (joined in part by Pioneer) from a decade ago that would evolve into the Blu-ray Disc. In 2000, a consortium of leading consumer electronics firms would form the Blue-ray Disc Founders (now the Blue-ray Disc Association or BDA) and launched the format. Initial supporters included Sony, Pioneer, Panasonic, Philips, 20th Century Fox, LG Electronics Inc., Thomson Multimedia, Hitachi, Samsung, Sharp, TDK Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co., and Dell Inc.  BDA has over 180 member companies around the world, with a Board of Directors that include the above mentioned as well as Apple Computer, Inc., Matsushita, Sun Microsystems, Walt Disney Pictures, and Warner Bros. Entertainment.

Wasn’t HD DVD a competing format? What happened to it?

Yes, it was. During the past decade, HD DVD had emerged as a rival to Blu-ray, with each format splitting support between the six major studios in Hollywood by 2005. As late as the summer of 2007, HD DVD appeared to have a secure position in the market. However, Warner's announcement at CES 2008 that they would exclusively support Blu-Ray started a cascade affect HD-DVD wouldn't recover from. Principal HD DVD supporter, Toshiba, would back out within a month. (Their new Blu-ray player, the BDX2000, just hit the stores early November of 2009.) Top DVD-seller Wal-Mart would soon shift its priorities and only back the Blu-ray format — a step some industry observers saw as the final blow.           

Prior to the tide turning, many were citing the VHS vs. Beta war of recordable formats in 1980a as a comparison, in part because of Sony had a role in both battles. (In the earlier case, it wasn't a winner-take-all result entirely, with Betamax building a professional following and VHS ending up as the consumer format.) A number of factors probably swayed the industry, such as Sony including Blu-ray drives in the Playstation 3 and Blu-ray titles outselling HD DVD by two to one throughout most of 2007.