IndiesHD » Blu-ray

Blu-ray: Duplication vs Replication and AACS

gbalaji — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 15:39:55 +0000

Adobe Encore (from CS3 to CS4) and Toast 9 with BD Plugin installed will be able to create Blu-ray disc with a Blu-ray recorder purchased for Rs. 15,000 as of Indian price. But the real issue is not creating a BD content but with the license associate with it. To get clear picture, we need understand the difference between Duplication and Replication.Duplication: Using existing Disc or Disc image and making copies with store purchased Blu-ray recorders.Replication: Creating Gold Master Disc or Disc Image and taking to profession replication house, where the Disc is professionally mass produced with error free for more than 1000s of copies.Duplication can be done with Encore CS3 / CS4 and Toast. Blu-ray replication cannot be done using Encore Disc image because of licensing of copy protection system called AACS. AACS, or Advanced Access Content System is required for profession replicated Blu-ray discs. Profession replication will not replicate the disc unless it is copy protected under AACS. Cost breakdown:One time cost to join AACS: Roughly $2000Cost to get AACS certificate for each title $1500 You need AACS certificate for each title. If you are starting now you need to invest $3500 upfront and for each title you need to shell out $1500. If you add bonus content for existing titles for replication, again a new certificate is must. DVD alliance is started a online petition to unite the industry to have unified and simpler steps for Blu-ray replication here.

Gen next Optical Disk medium, Blu-ray arrives in India with a humble beginning!

gbalaji — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 15:39:03 +0000

Blu-ray is a next generation optical disk storage medium capable of storing up to 50GB of 1080p HD Video with uncompressed Sound. The benefits of blue-violet laser (405nm) is that it has shorter wavelength than red laser (605nm), which makes it possible to focus laser spot with even greater precision. Blu-ray is currently supported by about 200 of the world’s leading consumer electronics, personal computer, recording media, video game and music companies. The format also has support from all Hollywood studios and countless smaller studios as a successor to today’s DVD format.

Inroads of Blu-ray titles are very less in India and one company which is pioneering to achieve this new height on Blu-ray authoring is AP International, a chennai based company.

About AP International:

AP international is a leading film exporter based in chennai whose promoters have a 50 years of history in film industry.They began with film finance, distribution and exporting films, releasing audio cassettes and compact discs in India. Within a short span of time, AP International has made rapid strides forward with a focus on production and distribution of software for home entertainment and Corporate needs through DVD, VCD and Audio CDs. API is now moving forward to merchandise its software (ownership of Copyrights) of more than 400 Tamil and Malayalam films – a majority of them are blockbusters – into the digital world of entertainment through Satellite, Internet, DTH and PayTV. AP International also designed and authored DVD Discs for more than 250 titles across various languages in India. Some of Hollywood DVD titles for Indian version are being designed by AP International, which speaks for their capabilities.

AP International Studio facilities:

Based out of Chennai with exceptional high quality team and top expertise people in the field . They involve efficient product development pipeline, workflow and strategies to create superior quality encoded pictures and high quality sound in DVD and Blu-ray nutshell. Their Quality Control pipeline is one of the bullet proof mechanisms matches international standards for their entire product lines.

Blu-ray arrives in India with a bang!

De-Mystifying Blu-ray Authoring

gbalaji — Fri, 09 May 2008 12:05:44 +0000

De-Mystifying Blu-ray Authoring

Myths

High Definition Shoot / High Definition Telecine to D5 or File based?
Authoring Tools?
Authoring Drives?
Software Skills?
Authoring Techniques?
Quality Check?

For all the above questions my answer is simply yes and no. If you are going to do feature film based Blu-ray Authoring like the one you presently do for DVD Authoring you can do it cost effectively with the following tools and workflows.

Hardware

Mac-Pro Quad-core 2.8GHz machine

External Blu-ray Writers ( available from Sony($500) & LG($380)

Black-Magic Deck Link HD Extreme (starting from $995) / Aja Kona 3

Adobe Production Premium CS3 ($1699)

Final Cut Studio 2 ($1299)

Sony Play-station 3 Game Console (Quality Check)

LCD / Plasma TV – Samsung or Sony

Workflow

Capture via HD-SDI if the footage is given in D5 Tape or use image sequence if given as file based from Telecine House.
Use Final Cut Pro to lay captured video and sound in a sequence.
Send the final cut pro sequence to Compressor and use the following settings Apple – DVD – HD DVD:H.264 90 minutes and change the Video Encoder Stream Usage to Blu-ray in the inspector and save this settings as Blu-ray for future use and Use Dolby Digital for Sound.
Use Adobe Encore and create Menus and Layouts as you do for DVD Authoring and use the encoded m2v and ac3 to create Blu-ray Authored disc using external Blu-ray writer.
You can even use Toast 9 to author and write to connected external Blu-ray writer as replacement for Adobe Encore, if you not familiar with Encore.
Check the Authored Disc using Sony Play Station 3 for quality check. Hollywood Blu-ray discs are all compatible with Sony Play Station 3 and Sony insist this for more compatible players.

The above tools and Workflow is only for Blu-ray authoring using same present DVD authoring techniques and tools in a cost effective way. Blu-ray is more than just viewing High Definition Video with 5.1 DTS or Dolby audio.

Blu-ray faqs via www.blu-ray.com

What is Blu-ray?

Blu-ray, also known as Blu-ray Disc (BD) 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 storing large amounts of data. The format offers more than five times the storage capacity of traditional DVDs and can hold up to 25GB on a single-layer disc and 50GB on a dual-layer disc. For more general information about Blu-ray, please see our What is Blu-ray? section.

What Blu-ray formats are planned?

As with conventional CDs and DVDs, Blu-ray plans to provide a wide range of formats including ROM/R/RW. The following formats are part of the Blu-ray Disc specification:BD-ROM – read-only format for distribution of HD movies, games, software, etc.BD-R – recordable format for HD video recording and PC data storage.BD-RE – rewritable format for HD video recording and PC data storage.There’s also plans for a BD/DVD hybrid format, which combines Blu-ray and DVD on the same disc so that it can be played in both Blu-ray players and DVD players.

How much data can you fit on a Blu-ray disc?

A single-layer disc can hold 25GB.A dual-layer disc can hold 50GB.To ensure that the Blu-ray Disc format is easily extendable (future-proof) it also includes support for multi-layer discs, which should allow the storage capacity to be increased to 100GB-200GB (25GB per layer) in the future simply by adding more layers to the discs.

How much video can you fit on a Blu-ray disc?

Over 9 hours of high-definition (HD) video on a 50GB disc.About 23 hours of standard-definition (SD) video on a 50GB disc.

How fast can you read/write data on a Blu-ray disc?

According to the Blu-ray Disc specification, 1x speed is defined as 36Mbps. However, as BD-ROM movies will require a 54Mbps data transfer rate the minimum speed we’re expecting to see is 2x (72Mbps). Blu-ray also has the potential for much higher speeds, as a result of the larger numerical aperture (NA) adopted by Blu-ray Disc. The large NA value effectively means that Blu-ray will require less recording power and lower disc rotation speed than DVD and HD-DVD to achieve the same data transfer rate. While the media itself limited the recording speed in the past, the only limiting factor for Blu-ray is the capacity of the hardware. If we assume a maximum disc rotation speed of 10,000 RPM, then 12x at the outer diameter should be possible (about 400Mbps). This is why the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) already has plans to raise the speed to 8x (288Mbps) or more in the future.

What video codecs will Blu-ray support?

MPEG-2 – enhanced for HD, also used for playback of DVDs and HDTV recordings.MPEG-4 AVC – part of the MPEG-4 standard also known as H.264 (High Profile and Main Profile).SMPTE VC-1 – standard based on Microsoft’s Windows Media Video (WMV) technology.Please note that this simply means that all Blu-ray players and recorders will have to support playback of these video codecs, it will still be up to the movie studios to decide which video codec(s) they use for their releases.

What audio codecs will Blu-ray support?

Linear PCM (LPCM) – up to 8 channels of uncompressed audio. (mandatory)Dolby Digital (DD) – format used for DVDs, 5.1-channel surround sound. (mandatory)Dolby Digital Plus (DD+) – extension of Dolby Digital, 7.1-channel surround sound. (optional)Dolby TrueHD – lossless encoding of up to 8 channels of audio. (optional)DTS Digital Surround – format used for DVDs, 5.1-channel surround sound. (mandatory)DTS-HD High Resolution Audio – extension of DTS, 7.1-channel surround sound. (optional)DTS-HD Master Audio – lossless encoding of up to 8 channels of audio. (optional)Please note that this simply means that Blu-ray players and recorders will have to support playback of these audio codecs, it will still be up to the movie studios to decide which audio codec(s) they use for their releases.

Will Blu-ray require an Internet connection?

No, you will not need an Internet connection for basic playback of Blu-ray movies. The Internet connection will only be needed for value-added features such as downloading new extras, watching recent movie trailers, web browsing, etc. It will also be required to authorize managed copies of Blu-ray movies that can be transferred over a home network.

Will Blu-ray support mandatory managed copy?

Yes, mandatory managed copy (MMC) will be part of the Blu-ray format. This feature will enable consumers to make legal copies of their Blu-ray movies that can be transferred over a home network. Please note that “mandatory” refers to the movies having to offer this capability, while it will be up to each hardware manufacturer to decide if they want to support this feature.

Blu-ray vs DVD

Will Blu-ray replace DVDs?

Yes, that’s the expectation. The Blu-ray format has received broad support from the major movie studios as a successor to today’s DVD format. In fact, seven of the eight major movie studios (Disney, Fox, Warner, Paramount, Sony, Lionsgate and MGM) have released titles in the Blu-ray format. Many studios have also announced that they will begin releasing new feature films on Blu-ray Disc day-and-date with DVD, as well as a continuous slate of catalog titles every month. For more information about Blu-ray movies, check out our Blu-ray movies section which offers information about new and upcoming Blu-ray releases, as well as what movies are currently available in the Blu-ray format.However, the two formats (Blu-ray and DVD) will most likely co-exist for quite some time until HDTVs become more widespread.

Will Blu-ray be backwards compatible with DVD?

Yes, several leading consumer electronics companies (including Sony, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Pioneer, Sharp and LG) have already demonstrated products that can read/write CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs using a BD/DVD/CD compatible optical head, so you don’t have to worry about your existing DVD collection becoming obsolete. In fact, most of the Blu-ray players coming out will support upscaling of DVDs to 1080p/1080i, so your existing DVD collection will look even better than before. While it’s up to each manufacturer to decide if they want to make their products backwards compatible with DVD, the format is far too popular to not be supported. The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) expects every Blu-ray Disc device to be backward compatible with DVDs.

Why should I upgrade from DVD to Blu-ray?

The simple answer is HDTV. If you’ve ever seen high-definition (HD) video on an HDTV, then you know just how incredibly sharp the picture is and how vivid the colors are. In fact, HD offers five times the amount of detail compared to standard-definition (SD). The problem with today’s DVDs is that they only support SD and don’t have the necessary storage capacity to satisfy the needs of HD. That’s where Blu-ray comes in, it offers up to 50GB of storage capacity and enables playback, recording and rewriting of HD in all of the HD resolutions including 1080p. The format also supports high-definition audio formats and lossless audio.In addition to the greater video and audio quality, the extra storage capacity also means there will be plenty of room for additional content and special features. This combined with the new BD-J interactivity layer adopted by Blu-ray will bring the menus, graphics and special features to a whole new level. For example, you will be able to bring up the menu system as an overlay without stopping the movie, and you could have the director of the movie on the screen explaining the shooting of a scene while the scene is playing in the background. The advanced interactivity combined with the networking features of Blu-ray will also allow content producers to support new innovative features such as downloading extras, updating content via the web, and watching live broadcasts of special events.Thanks to the greatly enhanced HD video and audio quality as well as the advanced interactivity and networking features, Blu-ray represents a huge leap forward in the DVD viewing experience and will offer consumers an unprecedented HD experience.

What is the difference between Blu-ray and DVD?

Parameters	Blu-ray	DVD
Storage capacity	25GB (single-layer) 50GB (dual-layer)	4.7GB (single-layer) 8.5GB (dual-layer)
Laser wavelength	405nm (blue laser)	650nm (red laser)
Numerical aperture (NA)	0.85	0.60
Disc diameter Disc thickness	120mm 1.2mm	120mm 1.2mm
Protection layer Hard coating	0.1mm Yes	0.6mm No
Track pitch	0.32µm	0.74µm
Data transfer rate (data) Data transfer rate (video/audio)	36.0Mbps (1x) 54.0Mbps (1.5x)	11.08Mbps (1x) 10.08Mbps (<1x)
Video resolution (max) Video bit rate (max)	1920×1080 (1080p) 40.0Mbps	720×480/720×576 (480i/576i) 9.8Mbps
Video codecs	MPEG-2 MPEG-4 AVC SMPTE VC-1	MPEG-2 - -
Audio codecs	Linear PCM Dolby Digital Dolby Digital Plus Dolby TrueHD DTS Digital Surround DTS-HD	Linear PCM Dolby Digital DTS Digital Surround - - -
Interactivity	BD-J	DVD-Video

What about Blu-ray for PCs?

There are plans for BD-ROM (read-only), BD-R (recordable) and BD-RE (rewritable) drives for PCs, and with the support of the worlds two largest PC manufacturers, HP and Dell, it’s very likely that the technology will be adopted as the next-generation optical disc format for PC data storage and replace technologies such as DVD±R, DVD±RW, and DVD-RAM.

Blu-Ray movies available in India

gbalaji — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 14:23:03 +0000

Blu-Ray movies compatible with Play Station 3 available in Landmark, Chennai, India. As much as only 30 titles available as of now are Resident Evil Extinction, Spider-man 3, The Pursuit of Happyness and more. Sony is really pushing PS3 has a Blu-Ray player. Play Station 3 available in india for a price of Rs. 25,000 ($626). Blu-Ray Disc are available for a price of Rs.1799 ($45). Both Play Station 3 and Blu-Ray disc in comparison with US and Europe markets are costlier by 1.5 times. Expected the price to drop for Blu-Ray players ( PS3 & other vendors). LG combo Blu-Ray writer(6X) and HD-DVD ROM available for PC for a price of Rs.20,000 ($500).

Sony Blu-Ray Drive in CES 2008

gbalaji — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 10:47:38 +0000

Sony announced an internal Serial ATA Blu-ray drive BDU-X10S for the price tag of $199.99 in CES 2008. Picture courtesy Cnet.com

HP Desktop with Blu-ray & HD-DVD combo writer

gbalaji — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 06:03:33 +0000

via Engadget,

Regrettably, there’s not a lot to go on just yet, but DigiTimes has it that HP will soon be launching “next-generation PCs with a Blu-ray / HD DVD dual-format burner.” The announcement was reportedly issued at a product presentation held in Singapore, and while no model numbers were doled out, we can purportedly expect the two-faced machines to land in Europe and America sometime next month.

Balaji Note: Hp is taking a great initiative to promote HD-DVD and Blu-ray to end user than the original creators of both side.

LG Blu-ray & HD-DVD combo Player for $999

gbalaji — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 11:10:46 +0000

Via EngadgetHD,

LG has shown in CEDIA booth , their new combo player playing both HD-DVD and Blu-ray for the price tag of $999. Cool.

Will samsung and LG take HD-DVD and Blu-ray players and media to the masses?

Post your thoughts?

Paramount cancels Blu-Ray support

gbalaji — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 18:24:46 +0000

via higdefdigest.com

In a note to retailers, Paramount has officially canceled all previously-announced upcoming Blu-ray releases.

As expected, Paramount won’t release a single of its previously-announced upcoming Blu-ray titles, including ‘Blades of Glory,’ ‘Next,’ ‘Top Gun,’ ‘The Jack Ryan Collection’ and ‘Face/Off.’ Instead, each of the titles will now be HD DVD exclusive.

Retailers received official word late Monday that all five Blu-ray titles would be cancelled, and that existing orders would not be fulfilled.Within hours, pre-orders for these titles disappeared from sites like Amazon.com, DVDEmpire and others. (We’ve updated our own Blu-ray release schedule, as well.)

It remains unclear how long Paramount’s previously-released Blu-ray titles will remain on store shelves, and/or whether they’re even included in the terms of the studio’s exclusivity pact with HD DVD. Needless to say, we’ll let you know as soon as any official information comes in.

To discuss more about this join the highdefdigest forum.

Update: EngadgetHD is reporting that Michael Bay director of Transformer is going to say no to Paramount for the Second Edition.

India still in Standard Definition world!

gbalaji — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 18:15:26 +0000

Are we really part of digital Revolution?

U.S, Europe and Japan are talking about HD Broadcast / HD-DVD & Blu-Ray disc wars. We in India not able to find HD-DVD & Blu-Ray Blank Discs / Recorders / Players to begin with. It seems that, there is non-availbility of HD-DVD media as well as HD-DVD writer from joint developers of this format NEC & Toshiba in India. Infact both the company staffs in india dont even have the idea of what it is while contacted through Email and Phone.

Major DVD-Authoring studios in india are finding it difficult to source HD-DVD & Blu-Ray Discs (Blank Media), Recorders and Players.

Come on China, India needs more HD-DVD and Blu-Ray Blank Discs / Recorders & Players to flood our market. More indian houses are buying LCD TV’s from Samsung, LG, Panasonic and Sony and we dont have the content both in inform of HD Broadcast channels or HD-DVD / Blu-Ray. We dont even have the clear cut announcement from Government when will we the HD broadcast policy be formulated.

Are by anychance, India in race for HD-DVD / Blu-Ray / HD-Broadcast?
Post back your comments and feedback what do you think about HD-DVD / Blu-Ray / HD Broadcast in India.

Microsoft not so interested on HD Optical Disc support

gbalaji — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 08:30:10 +0000

EngadgetHD reports that Microsoft is not so keen on supporting HD Optical Discs both HD DVD and Blu-ray.Richard Doherty of Microsoft says that they are not ready to deliver HD content on an optical disc in five to ten years time period and further dug his hole by suggesting that his company would “rather the content not be on a disc” at all. Of course, he wasn’t truly stating that HD DVD and Blu-ray discs would be obsolete in under a decade, as he explained that digital downloads were simply the wave of the future. Further said that Microsoft is not backing HD DVD Game in near future and threw in one last cheap shot by saying that “Blu-ray had not delivered the interactive content like HD DVD”.