}

Will it be the future of Blu Ray?

2009/05/17 Lakar Iraizoz, Oihane - Elhuyar Zientzia

Like the DVD, its diameter is 12 cm and its appearance is exactly the same. This is the Blu Ray disc, born with the intention of replacing the DVD that today dominates our houses. Like its antecedent, it is a video and audio support, although in this case it is designed to store high definition images and high density data.
To read the Blu Ray discs, as its name indicates, the blue laser is used. (Photo: D. D. Strap )

One of the main features of the disk is its ability to receive a lot of information. Expressed in figures: the DVD so far has a capacity of 9.4 gigabites and Blu Ray has 50 gigabites.

Why do they have the ability to receive more information? After all, both have the same aspect. In addition, it seems that the tools that read both types of discs use laser beams to read discs. However, the two disc readers use laser beams of different colors: To read the DVDs the red laser is used and to read the Blu Ray, as its name indicates, the blue laser. The indentation is in that laser color used by disk readers.

The wavelength of these two lasers is different: the red laser has a wavelength greater than the blue. The light moves by making a wavy movement. However, there are many types of light and each one “draws” different types of waves. Well, in the case of laser light, the waves made by the red laser are wider than those made by the blue laser.

Being the narrowest wave of the blue laser, it is able to read more information in the same space, so the Blu Ray discs can store more information than those of DVD. In addition, it provides images with much higher resolution.

Constant changes in constant changes

About 10-15 years ago we started to discard the VHS video system. (Photo: P. P. Joseph )

As technology advances constantly, every year this type of “revolutions” occurs. Not many years have passed, about 10-15, since we suffered another great change: We started to discard the VHS video system and we mounted DVD readers at home.

Instead of the big VHS tapes we had until then, we started to watch the favorite movies on discs the size of the music listening discs. In addition to their new appearance, the DVDs offered new features.

On the one hand, when the information stored in the discs was stored in digital format, there were no tapes; the readers read the information by laser. As was the case in conventional tapes, it was avoided to occasionally get stuck in the reader. On the other hand, DVDs offered a longer duration. The VHS tapes endured quite a lot the decline of the years, deteriorating and the image looked worse and worse. In addition, the new DVDs offered the possibility to choose the language in which to see the contents of the disk.

To be able to see the movies that have come down from the Internet, no need for a disk reader. ... (Photo: J. Rogers ).

Many experts believe that that time was a pretty big revolution. We don't know if the same thing will happen with the Blu Ray system, but many believe it won't. The reason most heard is that perhaps it has come too late into our hands.

Too late? Why? Because since its invention so far other systems have been developed and have spread rapidly among users. For example, a memory called flash, a system that uses USB sticks. It is possible (some believe that it is more than possible) that our customs go through that other way and that less and less disks are used and, therefore, readers of discs. There is no more to see how many movies go down the Internet...

Published in 7K.

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