The term 'Blu-ray' refers to an optical disc format primarily used for storing high-definition video and games for the Playstation 3 gaming system. With data capacity of up to 25 GB for single-layered discs and 50 GB for dual-layered discs, the Blu-ray disc was developed to take over the standard DVD format.  It has the same size as standard DVD's and CD's.

A Blue-ray system uses a blue-violet laser beam to read blu-ray discs, which is where the name 'Blu-ray' came from.  This laser has a wavelength of 405 nm, as compared to the 650-nm wavelength of the red laser used by DVD.

Developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association, it was earlier involved in a 'format war' with High-Definition DVD (HD DVD), which was championed by Toshiba.  The format war ended in 2008 when Warner Bros. announced that it will stop releasing video in HD DVD format after May 2008.  Since then, the Blu-Ray format has made great strides in the consumer electronics market.

Blu-ray discs can store high-definition videos with a resolution of up to 1920x1080 pixels at up to 60 frames per second interlaced or 24 frames per second progressive.  Other standard Blu-ray resolutions are: 1440x1080, 1280x720, 720x480, and 720x576.

    

Figure 1.  A Blu-Ray Player

            

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