Title: - BLUERAY TECHNOLOGY

Authors Name: VENKATA SURESH NISSANKI

Roll No: 07F91A05C5
Branch: Computer Science and Engineering.
Email –id: [email protected].

ABSTRACT: apex features incorporated, that ensures user security

The thrust for an advanced format of data storage and privacy and enables one to operate the disc in the
on optical disc led to revolutionary introduction of most efficient and convenient way ever imagined.
BLURAY DISC. This advances in the race against Fig: Showing Layers On Blu Ray Disc
its competitors DVD (Digital Video Disc) & AOD
(Advanced Optical Disc) in that it has high storage
capacity, advanced security and privacy features
and the A/V high quality O/P (generally video) of the
media files stored on it make’s it quite unique &
gives an edge over the others, letting BD to be widely
adaptable in every application possible.
Surprisingly, the necessity for a next generation disc
had begun in 1994 even before the advent of the
DVD in the market in 1996. The then scientists
predicted the limitations of the DVD format &
begun working on BD even before DVD's release.
This paper essentially is confined with the structure,
construction, reading issues & advantages of the
Blu-Ray Disc. To be effective, at every stage the disc
is compared with DVD
Contents of the paper
1) Introduction
2) Structure
3) Storage WHY BD?
4)Construction Early in 1997, a new technology emerged
5) Data Access that brought digital sound and video into homes all over
the world almost thrashing out the then conventional
6) Reading Issues CD's. It was called DVD, and it revolutionized the
7) File System movie industry. This format ruled the market for over a
span of 5 years, but now is facing some very tight
8) Utilities and Technological support challenges. Here are some reasons why there’s been a
rush to change from the current format of DVD:
9) Technological Aid 1. A) SIZE:
10) Pros & Cons A single-sided, standard DVD can hold 4.7
11) Conclusion GB (gigabytes) of information. That's about
the size of an average two-hour, standard-definition
movie with a few extra features. But a high-definition
movie, which has a much clearer image, takes up about
INTRODUCTION: five times more bandwidth and therefore requires a disc
The founding stones for the Blu Ray Disc with about five times more storage. As TV sets and
technology were laid in 2002 by the Blu Ray Disc movie studios make the move to high definition,
Association (BDA) in an attempt to overcome the consumers are going to need playback systems with a
drawbacks in DVD's. This attempt has almost reached lot more storage capacity, which a DVD cannot support.
the zenith & the world now is shortly about to use a disc Also, more space on a single disc invariably results in
of an incredible storage capacity & with almost all the higher disc size. This bulky size of the disc is neither
convincing nor convenient. layer. This makes the size of all the CD's DVD's & the
BD's constant. This packing of the data has many
1. B) SECURITY:
advantages which will be discussed in the later sections.
CSS is toast, thanks to some smart
3) STORAGE:
programmers in Europe and some foolish programmers
at the now-defunct Xing Technologies. The group that It should be noticed that whatever form of the
created the DeCSS software figured out how to break disc may be under consideration the data on the disc is
the encryption by reverse engineering Xing's DVD stored on a SPIRAL TRACK running from the centre of
decryption key, which wasn't properly protected. The the disc to the end of the diameter of the disc. This
end result is that DVDs can be copied as easily as music spiral starting from the centre of the disc gives the
CDs. The market hates the fact that the DVD format is flexibility for the disc to be smaller
now vulnerable and there's nothing they can do about it,
and are eager for a new format that is much more in size than that of the conventional 120 mm. On this
secure. spiral tracks exists
the BUMPS
1.C) QUALITY : which actually
The final reason for the change is video hold the data.
quality. DVD video is presented in 480p, or 480 lines These bumps lie
per screen, progressive scanned video. High Definition all along the spiral
TV (HDTV) is presented in 720p or 1080i. You won't track. These
notice any difference without a high definition bumps are often
television, but if you do have an HDTV set, the called pits.
improvement in quality is very noticeable. The quality Viewed from the
of the video o/p of the media files on a DVD or a CD is top of the disc
not up to the mark. these bumps look

1.D) SOLUTION : Fig: Showing

Storing process
The industry is set for yet another revolution with the of memory On disc
introduction of Blu-ray Discs (BD). With their high like PIT.
storage capacity, Blu-ray discs can hold and playback
large quantities of high-definition video and audio, as 4) CONSTRUCTION:
well as photos, data and other digital content. Also .Fig:
incorporated are some advanced security and privacy
options and convenient accessibility features. A single
sided blu ray disc has the capacity to store information
of about 27 gigabytes, that’s about the size of 13 hr
standard definition movie or more than 2.5 hrs of a high
definition movie. While the double layered one can
store to about 54 gigabytes. This enormous storage
capability is considered to be the major plus point of the
blu ray disc to that of the conventional DVD’s in the
market right now.
BLU-RAY DISC:
Blu ray disc is the next generation digital
video disc. It has an edge over the traditional dvd's &
lesser used cd's that it has more storage capacity with
the size of the disc being constant. Also we'll discuss
now the other features of this disc which makes it quite
unique & gives it a chance to be well adapted in all
sorts of applications everywhere. Construction of Blu Ray Disc

2) STRUCTURE: The construction of the bumps (spiral track) is

explained here from a closer view of the disc. The view
The structure of the Blu-Ray disc is shown as is so close that the bumps can be seen clearly. Here
below. It differs from the traditional DVD that, in a each white hole represents a bump (pit). For
DVD the data is sandwiched between two 0.6mm clearunderstanding it is effectively compared with a
polycarbonate layers. While in the case of a BD the data DVD.
layer is placed on a 1.1mm polycarbonate layer. To
prevent the data on the top of the disc from getting From the figure above :
erased, the data layer is covered by a 0.1 mm protection The minimum pit length of a BD is 0.15 microns which
is more than twice as small as the pits on the DVD 1) Birefringence.
which is at minimum 0.4 microns. Also the track pitch
2) Disk tilt.
of the BD is 0.32 microns which is more than twice as
small as that of the DVD which is 0.74 microns. This Birefringence:
small pit & reduced track pitch enables the
In a DVD, the data is sandwiched between
accommodation of a data of about 25 gb on a single
two polycarbonate layers, each 0.6-mm thick. Having a
sided Blu-Ray disc which is almost 5 times that of a
polycarbonate layer on top of the data can cause a
single sided traditional DVD.
problem called birefringence, in which the substrate
5) DATA ACCESS: layer refracts the laser light into two separate beams. If
the beam is split too widely, the disc cannot be read.
Now a laser beam has to be chosen such that it reads
the data in the small sized pits.Unlike current DVDs, Disk Tilt:
which use a red laser to read and write data, Blu-ray If the DVD surface is not exactly flat, and is
discs uses a blue laser (technically blue-violet). A blue therefore not exactly perpendicular to the beam (laser),
laser has a shorter wavelength (405 nanometers) than a it can lead to a problem known as disc tilt, in which the
red laser (650 nanometers). The smaller beam focuses laser beam is distorted. This sometimes may lead to
more precisely, enabling it to read information recorded reading or writing into other undesired memory
in pits that are only 0.15 microns (µm) long.There
would immediately be a question as why not laser SOLUTION:
beams of even smaller wavelength be used to read the The Blu-ray disc overcomes DVD-reading
disc which encourages the reduction of pit size and the issues by placing the data on top of a 1.1-mm-thick
track pitch. But this practically isn’t possible. This is polycarbonate layer. Having the data on top prevents
because the building material of disc’s i.e. the plastic birefringence and therefore prevents readability
loose durability when lasers of wavelength shorter than problems. And, with the recording layer sitting closer to
600 nm are focused on them & some plastics the effect the objective lens of the reading mechanism, the
was as if they are sun burnt. A wavelength of 405 was problem of disc tilt is virtually eliminated.
found the least for plastic surfaces.
N.A=0.45 N.A=0.6 N.A=0.8
7) FILE SYSTEM :
780-nm infrared laser 650-nm red laser 405-nm Blue
The file system here has two important aspects
of consideration:

i) Data arrangement.
ii) Data retrieval.

i) DATA ARRANGEMENT:
The general file system used in Blu -Ray disc is
quite unique. It divides entire disk space into two parts.
a) Metadata & Database area
b) Real time Recordable area.

Fig: Showing Accessing capabilities on various discs

6) READING ISSUES ::
The till now regularly used DVD's & VCD's
face two basic problems regarding their physical
structure. They are:
b) The real time recordable area is the major part in
respect to size on the disc & it contains the real time
files used by the user. They vary from a/v streams to
s/w programs to documents. While the Metadata &
Database area holds the information that manages the
data in the real time recordable area. . This MD files
actually serves as a means of quick access to the folders
& enable the users to open (operate) multiple directories
at the same time & help during the system scan &
others. In addition to the MD area on the disc, in order
to provide robustness, a backup of the MD area files is
provided. The files recorded in the area for metadata
and database files can be read with a fewer number of
seeks, reducing the response time during Play List
editing and menu display, resulting in greatly improved
system response.
I. There exists different file systems
(derivative of the general one)for different
versions of the BD that are BD-ROM , BD-
Rewritable , BD-Recordable.
II. Blu-ray Rewritable discs are non-sequential
recording media, where read-modify-write and Fig: Showing operations on Blu Ray Disc
defect management operations are performed during this interval, the decoding/playback of
by drive unit, eliminating the need for the video/audio data must continue without interruption.
Virtual Allocation Table and Sparing Table in
the file system. To prevent interruption in video/audio playback while
reading data from the disc, the buffer memory must not
III. Blu-ray Recordable discs also include defect be emptied of data before readout from the next
management, eliminating the need for the expanse becomes possible. This requirement for
Sparing Table inthe file system. The defect continuous supply of data is necessary to insure
management system allows for the seamless playback. Therefore the minimum expanse
replacement of defective clusters as well as size is defined such that the buffer memory does not
enabling the logical overwriting of previously become empty when jumping from one expanse to
recorded user data. For Blu-ray Read-Only another on the disc.
discs, the requirements are simplified since
there is no need for read-modify-write,
overwriting or incremental recording of user
data.

ii) DATA RETRIEVAL (CONTINUOUS): 8) Utilities :

When recording, deleting or editing operations are The file system for a general Blu-Ray disc is
performed repeatedly, small areas of empty space will mentioned just above. The information about the
occur across the disc. These small areas can be used to locations of different expanses of a single file is
record a new Real-Time file, which results in a single maintained in the Meta database region of the BD. The
Real-Time file composed of many small extents utilities of this unique format (file system) are found
scattered across the disc. A group of these extents, each maximum in the BD-R amongst the BD-R, BD-ROM,
of which is recorded on contiguous logical sectors, is and BD-RW formats. Those utilities are mentioned
called an Expanse. The Expanse is conceptually a below:
contiguous area to be read, and may include small areas
in which Real-Time data is not recorded.
i) Digital Broadcasting Direct Recording Function :
When a single Real-Time file is made up of several
expanses, the file is read by jumping from one expanse
to the next and reading the expanses in order. However,
when jumping from one expanse to another, the disc
rotation speed needs to be changed and the optical
pickup needs to be moved to a different radius on the
disc. Although data cannot be retrieved from the disc
 This recording function enables the recording and depends on the wavelength of the light and the
of not only digital broadcast image data without numerical aperture of the lens used to focus it. By
destroying the image quality, but also of data broadcast decreasing the wavelength, using a higher numerical
data and multi-channel sound data altogether. To this aperture (0.85, compared with 0.6 for DVD), higher
end, this format employs the MPEG-2TS (Transport quality, dual-lens system, and making the cover layer
Stream), used by digital broadcasts, as a stream type for thinner to avoid unwanted optical effects, the laser
recording. Received MPEG-2TS data is recorded on a beam can be focused much more tightly at the disk
disc as a Clip AV stream file. surface. This produces a smaller spot on the disc and
allows more information to be physically contained in
This is mainly enabled by the capability of the
the same area. In addition to the optical improvements,
Blu-Ray disc of outputting at the rate of 36 Mbps which
Blu-ray Discs feature improvements in data encoding,
is more than 3.5 times that of the DVD which is 10
allowing for even more data to be packed in. (See
Mbps. This high rate enables both the recording & the
compact disc for information on optical discs' physical
data broadcast.
structure.)
ii) Hard-coating technology
ii) Random Access High-speed Playback Function :
Because the Blu-ray standard places data so
To achieve a function that enables random close to the surface of the disc, early discs were
access to a desired scene in MPEG-2TS and high-speed susceptible to dust and scratches & fingerprints and had
playback, tables to obtain the record position of data to be enclosed in plastic caddies for protection. Such an
corresponding to a playback time requested by the user aggravation, the consortium worried, would hobble Blu-
are provided for each Clip AV stream file. The tables ray's adoption in the face of the rival HD DVD
are stored in the Clip Information File. standard; HD DVDs can be handled bare (caddy less)
like CDs and DVDs, making them familiar to
consumers as well as attractive to manufacturers and
iii) Editing and Marking Function: distributors who might be deterred by additional costs.

The Play List file is provided for removing unnecessary The solution to this problem arrived in January 2004
scenes without copying or transferring recorded data with the introduction of a clear polymer that gives Blu-
like tape media, and editing material recorded on the ray discs unprecedented scratch resistance. The coating,
disc without developed by TDK Corporation under the name
"Durabis," allows BD’s to be cleaned safely with only a
processing the original image. The Play List tissue—a procedure that can damage CDs, DVDs, and
file holds the playback order information necessary to (presumably) HD DVDs, which are manufactured by
designate what part of what Clip AV stream is played the same process as these older optical media. Bare
back. BD’s with the coating are reportedly able to withstand
iv) Contents Search Function: attack by a screwdriver.

In each thumbnail related file, thumbnails of Durabis is a brand name for a clear polymer
the Play List file and bookmarked scenes are stored. coating developed by the TDK Corporation. One of its
This enables the search for recorded contents and principal applications at first will be for scratch-
bookmarks by viewing thumbnail images. resistance in Blu-ray and other optical disks. It is
claimed to be tough enough to resist screwdriver
The last 3 utilities mainly depend on the Meta damage and make scratched optical disks (CD and
database information of the real time data stored on the DVDs) a thing of the past.
centre of the disc & the backup of which is stored at the
end of the disc diameter. The table representing the In order to meet Blu-ray's specifications, TDK's coating
position of the data corresponding to the playback time had to be less than 0.1 mm thick, be hard enough to
is shown in the figure below. This same list is used for resist considerable damage and yet be transparent
the searching & playing the selected part of the media enough to be easily read. This process essentially spin-
(play list). coats two layers onto discs. One is for protection
9) TECHNOLOGICAL AID : against scratches and the other protects against stains
and oils.
i) Laser and optics
iii) Codec’s
Blu-ray systems use a "blue" (technically blue-
violet) laser operating at a wavelength of 405 nm to The BD-ROM format specifies at least three
read and write data. Conventional DVDs and CDs use video codec’s: MPEG-2, the standard used for DVDs;
red and infrared lasers at 650 nm and 780 nm MPEG-4's H.264/AVC codec; and VC-1, a codec based
respectively. on Microsoft's Windows Media 9. The first of these
only allows for about two hours of high-definition
The blue-violet laser's shorter wavelength content on a single-layer BD-ROM, but the addition of
makes it possible to store more information on a 12 cm the two more advanced codec’s allows up to four hours
CD/DVD sized disc. The minimum "spot size" on per layer.
which a laser can be focused is limited by diffraction,
 For audio, BD-ROM supports linear then on were crack able.
(uncompressed) PCM, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital
The Blu-ray Disc Association also agreed to
Plus, DTS, DTS-HD, and Dolby Lossless (a lossless
add digital watermarking technology to the discs. Under
compression format also known as MLP).
the name "ROM-Mark," this technology will be built
In order to remain backwards compatible, BD- into all ROM-producing devices, and prevent content
RE (and by extension BD-R) will by and large support from being reproduced in the event that a watermark is
the MPEG2 codec. For users recording digital television detected. Through licensing, the BDA believes that it
broadcasts, the Blu-ray's baseline data rate of 36Mbit can eliminate the possibility of mass producing BD-
will be more than adequate to record high definition ROMs without authorization.
broadcasts. Support for new codec’s will evolve as new
codec’s are encapsulated by broadcasters into their 10.
MPEG2 transport streams and consumer set top boxes A) PROS :
capable of decoding them are rolled out.
() High disc space at almost same cost price
() Security
IV) Java one trade show
() reverse compatibility
At the 2005 Java One trade show, it was announced
that Sun Microsystems' Java cross-platform software () high speed data transfer (36Mbps)
environment would be included in all Blu-ray players as () online modifications
a mandatory part of the standard. Java will be used to
implement interactive menus on Blu-ray discs, as B) CONS :
opposed to the method used on DVD video discs, which () High cost of the disc reader
uses pre-rendered MPEG segments and selectable
subtitle pictures and is considerably more primitive. () less data space than AOD (HD-DVD 30 Giga
Java creator James Gosling, at the conference, bytes)
suggested that the inclusion of a Java virtual machine as
well as network connectivity in BD devices will allow
updates to Blu-ray discs via the Internet, adding content 11) CONCLUSION :
such as additional subtitle languages and promotional It would definitely take a considerable time
features that are not included on the disc at pressing for the Blu-Ray disc to hit the market & completely
time. This Java Version will be called BD-J and will be takeovers the DVD share hold. Because of the low level
a subset of the GEM (Globally Executable MHP) compatibility (BD readers able to read both the DVD’s
standard. GEM is the world-wide version of the and the CD’s), the task might become a little simpler.
Multimedia Home Platform standard. But, the high cost of the reader might hinder its quick
v) Compatibility development. Anyways soon or later this mass storage
optical device is going to replace the DVD & let the
While it is not compulsory for manufacturers, user experience a world high quality & disc space
the Blu-ray Disc Association recommends that Blu-ray (Quality & Quantity ensured) with high level of security
drives should be capable of reading DVDs, ensuring and privacy ensured.
backward compatibility.
SUPPORT :
JVC has developed a three layer technology
that allows putting both standard-definition DVD data The rapid strides and the success level of BD is
and HD data on a BD/DVD combo disc. If successfully contributed by major organizations such as SONY ,
commercialized, this would enable the consumer to WARNER BROTHRS & many others that have joined
purchase a disc which could be played on current DVD the BDA (Blu Ray Disc Association) in bringing it into
players, and reveal its HD version when played on a the market such that it satisfies all the needs of the
new BD player. users.
vi) Security
Blu-ray has an experimental security 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. 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 Fig: SONY PLAY STATION
 TRIVIA :
The spelling BLU isn’t any spelling mistake.
It indicates that a blue colored laser beam is used in this
disc technology. But, under the constraint that no
regularly used words should be trademarked this disc is
named BLU RAY DISC instead of BLUE RAY DISK.
Fig: SAMSUNG PLAYER

REFERENCES:
1) blu-raydisc.com (official site for blu-ray disc)
2) bitpipe.org (referred to the white paper by
john.paulinghton)
3) wikipedia.com (general information source 1)
4) tgdaily.com (referred to a 4 news reports by
WARNER BROS and SONY)
5) howstuffworks.com (general information
source 2)