Blu-ray

April 26, 2006--Nero, leaders in digital media technology, unveil today the newest and most powerful version of the Nero 7 software suite to-date. An all-in-one solution for the management of data, audio, video, photo and TV content, Nero 7 is a comprehensive tool for today's digital home. Nero 7 now enables Blu-ray data recording and adds many new and updated applications such as Nero Search and Nero Home to empower users even more than before. Current Nero 7 customers will be able to receive a free online update at www.nero.com. Read more

April 2006 – TDK has announced that it has begun shipping 25GB recordable and rewritable Blu-ray Disc media to retailers nationwide. A pioneer of blue laser recording technology and founding member of the Blu-ray Disc Association, TDK is the first to market with bare Blu-ray Disc media. Retail pricing is set at $19.99 for a 25GB BD-R (recordable) and $24.99 for a 25GB BD-RE (rewritable). In addition, TDK will ship 50GB Blu-ray Disc media later this year with retail pricing set at $47.99 for a 50GB BD-R (recordable) and $59.99 for a 50GB BD-RE (rewritable). The revolutionary single-sided discs are bare, cartridge-free media. The 25GB products are single layer whereas the 50GB products have a dual layer recording material structure. TDK first shipped mass production samples in December 2005, and with the subsequent issuance of the relevant license, the company immediately commenced full force manufacturing. Read more

No matter how hard we try, catching up with the latest technology is a daunting task. Cell phones get smaller, computers get faster, and the quality of digital cameras keeps on improving. But digital cameras aren’t the only genre where picture quality keeps on improving. With the new era of HDTV, a new era in movie watching has begun as well: the Blu-ray era. Named for the blue laser that reads the discs, Blu-ray Discs are the latest generation in information storage and film viewing. Using a blue laser provides greater precision, so picture quality and storage space vastly increase when compared to traditional red lasers used with CDs and DVDs. New Blu-ray Discs will be recordable, rewritable, and compatible with HDTV.Read more

Pioneer's Elite Series Blue Ray Format DVD Recorder (model BDP-HD1) redefines the HDTV standard by introducing a digital recording device capable of delivering a video image and audio signal four times more vivid than today's traditional HD recording devices. Storage capability has been nearly doubled with a recordable capacity of nearly four hours of high definition video. The internal network features enable you to access your computer's entertainment contents directly from the hard drive. Pricing: $1800. Availability date: April 2006. www.pioneer.com

Jan. 5, 2006--Samsung Electronics formally kicks off the era of Blu-ray today, as it demonstrates its BD-P1000 Blu-ray disc (BD) player at CES. The new device will let consumers take full advantage of high-definition displays, playing content at native 720p or 1080i video resolutions. The player will ship in early Spring and shortly thereafter will become the first BD player from any manufacturer to be sold in the U.S. It is expected to retail for approximately $1,000.

Jan. 4, 2006--Pioneer Electronics (USA) today introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas one of the world's first Blu-ray Disc players, marking an innovation in home entertainment that allows consumers to experience the ultimate in high-definition home theater.

July 29, 2005--Twentieth Century Fox, a member of the Board of Directors of the Blu-ray Disc Association since October 2004, announced today that it will release content on the new high definition Blu-ray Disc format through its subsidiary Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment LLC. The company will begin releasing new films, TV programming and other titles from Fox's vast celebrated library of best-selling film and television programming when Blu-ray hardware launches in North America, Japan, and Europe.

Dec. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) and Buena Vista Home Entertainment (BVHE), its home video division, announced today their support of the Blu-ray Disc format. As part of its cooperation with Blu-ray, BVHE will begin releasing content non- exclusively in that format when Blu-ray hardware launches in the North America and Japan. The Company also announced that it will become a member of the Board of Directors of the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA).