 Blu-ray Disc (BD) is
a next-generation optical disc format meant for storage of
high-definition video and high-density data. The Blu-ray standard was
jointly developed by a group of consumer electronics and PC companies
called the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA). As compared to the HD DVD
format, its main competitor, Blu-ray has more information capacity per
layer, 25 instead of 15 gigabytes, but may initially be more expensive
to produce.
Blu-ray gets its name from the shorter wavelength (405 nm) of a "blue"
(technically blue-violet) laser that allows it to store substantially
more data than a DVD, which has the same physical dimensions but uses a
longer wavelength (650 nm) red laser. Blu-ray unveiled their plans for
a Spring 2006 launch at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January
2006. It will be released on May 23rd, 2006.
Blu-ray has an experimental digital rights management (DRM) feature
titled BD+ that allows for dynamically changing encryption schemes.
Should the encryption be compromised, manufacturers can update the
encryption scheme and put it on all new discs, preventing a single
crack from opening up the entire specification for the duration of its
lifetime. It also uses the Mandatory Managed Copy system allowing users
to securely rip a file into a secure format, a feature originally
requested by HP. [8] The lack of a dynamic encryption model is what
made DeCSS so disastrous in the industry's eyes: once CSS was cracked,
all DVDs from then on were crackable. See Advanced Access Content
System (AACS).
The Blu-ray Disc Association also agreed to add digital watermarking
technology to the discs. Under the name "ROM-Mark", this technology
will be built into all ROM-producing devices, and prevent content from
being reproduced in the event that a watermark is detected. Through
licensing, the BDA believes that it can eliminate the possibility of
mass producing BD-ROMs without authorization.
In addition, Blu-ray players must follow AACS guidelines pertaining to
outputs over non-encrypted interfaces. This is set by a flag called the
Image Constraint Token (ICT), which restricts the resolution for
outputs without HDCP to 960x540. The decision to set the flag to
restrict output ("down-convert") is left up to the content provider.
According to CED Magazine, Sony/MGM and Disney currently have no plans
to down-convert, and Fox is opposed to it as well. Warner Pictures is a
proponent of the ICT, and it is expected that Paramount will also
implement it. Other studios releasing Blu-ray content have not yet
commented on whether or not they will use down-conversion. AACS
guidelines require that any title that implements the ICT must clearly
state so on the packaging.
Complete list of announced BD
launch releases
20th Century
Fox:
Behind Enemy Lines
Fantastic Four
Ice Age
Kiss of the Dragon
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Artisan
Entertainment:
Basic Instinct
Lions Gate
Films:
The Devil's Rejects
Dune (2000)
Lord of War
The Punisher
Rambo: First Blood
Reservoir Dogs
Saw
See No Evil
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Total Recall
Paramount Pictures:
Æon Flux
Four Brothers
Italian Job
Manchurian Candidate
Mission Impossible Trilogy (I, II & III)
Sahara
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
Sleepy Hollow
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
U2: Rattle & Hum
We Were Soldiers
Sony
Pictures:
The Amityville Horror
Black Hawk Down
Bram Stoker's Dracula
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Desperado
The Fifth Element
For a Few Dollars More
The Guns of Navarone
Hitch
House of Flying Daggers
Into the Blue
A Knight's Tale
Kung Fu Hustle
The Last Waltz
Legends of the Fall
Resident Evil
Resident Evil: Apocalypse
RoboCop
Sense and Sensibility
Species
Spider-Man
Stargate Atlantis
Stealth
S.W.A.T.
Underworld: Evolution
XXX
XXX: State of the Union
Warner Bros.:
Batman Begins
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Constantine
The Dukes of Hazzard
GoodFellas
The Last Samurai
Lethal Weapon
The Matrix
The Matrix Reloaded
The Matrix Revolutions
Million Dollar Baby
Ocean's Twelve
Swordfish
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
Training Day
Troy
Twister
Unforgiven
Walt Disney
Pictures:
Armageddon
The Brothers Grimm
Chicken Little
Dark Water
Dinosaur
Everest
Flightplan
The Great Raid
Hero
The Incredibles
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
Kill Bill Vol. 1
Ladder 49
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
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