As HDTV’s became more common, consumers needed an effective way to purchase and record high definition video. The Blu-Ray format was created by Sony (with Pioneer) in order to satisfy this demand.
Blu-Ray discs, as you may infer from their name, utilize a blue laser to read their source material. This compares to the red laser used for older formats, such as CD and DVD. The blue laser is less wide, allowing for higher data densities.
The high density of Blu-Ray discs allows them to store ~25 GB of material, which translates to ~2 hours of high definition video with the MPEG-2 codec, and up to 4 hours with more advanced codecs.
When Blu-Ray was first released, it had a serious competitor in HD-DVD. Similar to the VHS/Beta VCR wars, the competing formats made choice difficult for consumers. Luckily, HD-DVD has recently watched studios and retailers drop support, making it the clear also-ran. The large number of studios backing Blu-Ray, combined with the substantial player base created by Sony’s Playstation 3, managed to end this consumer-unfriendly battle.
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