Re:Frankly, I'd like to see blue laser discs come in a cartridge. DVD's tend to get scatched if not handled well(which is often), and those scrathes add up quickly. With a cartridge, you'll have something far more reliable than current DVD's/CD's, which if you ask the parents of kids, means a lot.;)
PS I'm willing to bet part of that 7GB difference is because the non-cartridged discs have more ECC information that the cartridged ones. The wavelength itself is probably the same
Re:If they want to make their movies copyproof then they ought to release a staggered-layer approach to reads. Movies should be recorded on two layers and the readers should require the read to happen simultaneously off both layers. In that way they make the BluDVD-R half speed of a commercial BluDVD, so that at best consumers can only play/record their own creations at substantially less quality.
Re:That is a good reason for making it thinner but the tilt and wooble can be compensated through different optical methods. It might be a little more expensive to put these into a drive but it would be cheaper in the long run. The price of cartidges and the appeal to the regular customer are just not right. The cartidge format for cdrs never took off and I am afftaid the same thing will happen again with the blue disks. It will be interesting to see who wins out in the next couple of years.
I am just waiting for dvd recorders and disks to get as cheap as cdrs are now. The dvd standard isn't even set yet and that is only hurting the acceptance of the media in the mainstream public. Most people don't know what the difference of right once and re-writable cdrs, not to mention the different dvd formats. The public wants plug and play.
Re:guy: Yeah, you're right. This is being rolled out for the HDTV standard. They need more storage capacity to be able to put 1080i movies on a disc, this is what will give them that storage capacity. I read a couple reports on CNET that both standards were planned to be released as early as late-2003, but we all know that plans change more often then they stay the same.
guy: I did some more research, and it looks like they only plan on keeping the protective layer 0.1mm thick, the backing layer (on single sided discs) will be 1.1mm to make it 1.2mm thick. I assumed (wrongly) that they would keep the backing and protective layers the same thickness. Despite this, the fact that the protective layer is so thin is what requires the cartridge. Here (http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press/200202/02-0219E/)'s a link to Sony's website where they list some info about it, you can see the cartridge mentioned towards the bottom, they even have the dimensions of the cartridge listed (129 x 131 x 7 mm).
The reasoning behind the thin protective layer is sound, because it helps prevent the laser from going too far off track or out of focus if the disc tilts or wobbles a little (you may remember from physics class that light bends when going through different materials; the whole explanation behind why a coin in water looks to be in a different spot than it really is). But the big problem of using that thin of a protective layer is even small scratches can be detrimental, which is why the cartridge is needed. The difference in dimension I'm assuming is also the reason why the initial cost of going to the Blu-ray standard is said to be significantly more than switching to the Toshiba-NEC standard (which uses the traditional dimensions for backing and protective layers).
Here (http://www.dvdforum.org/press-press.htm)'s also a link to the DVD Forum webpage where they mention that they haven't yet made a decision as to which standard to use. Also they say that the Blu-ray standard hasn't even been submitted to them for their consideration, which is why I said that it looks like the Blu-ray group is trying to go at it alone, creating yet another format split in the DVD arena.
Re:Blu-ray will use 0.1mm platters (for a total thickness of 0.2mm) for each disk. Because they're so thin they will need to be encased inside a cartridge (think DVD-RAM) otherwise they will break too easily. The standard will support dual layers and dual sides (just like todays DVDs) with the storage capacity of 27GB for a single layer single sided recordable disk.
If they go the cartridge route, then they will kill it. The cheaper a product is the faster it will get to market and making a casing around the disk will only add to the cost. Are you sure the disks will only by 0.2 mm think? They could just add a thicker backing and bring it up to a durable thickness like todays dvds.
Both groups have hinted at the possibility of releasing dual layer capable recordable drives and media but as far as I've read there hasn't been a formal proposal of this (does anyone know if there was a proposal and I missed it?).
It can be done by just refocusing the beam to different layers. The hard part would be the media but that can be overcome if it has not already. The movie industry might be trying to block the dual layer recordable dvds because it would allow direct copies of dvds to be made. The only true problem I can see is the cost of recordable dual layer disks not becoming that cheap. You would have to spin the polymers on the disk at least twice and the tolerances would be alot higher than todays cdrs and dvdrs.
To move to the new blue laser format will not be a huge undertaking since the only things you are changing are the laser diodes and some of the tracking mechanics. Once you have a set standard, then any company can punch out the parts and make it cheap. Its the intial setup costs that make the prices high to begin with. Look at dvds. The prices have started to come down and recordable dvd drives are now around $150 and still falling. The media has started to trickle down to less than a dollar and should be around the dime to quarter range by x-mas. I think it will take around two years to see dvds become the standard recording medium and 3-5 years before the blue lasers take hold.
Re:This is meant for HDTV because high definition is alot better quality than dvd thus taking up more space. You can't record programing on a dvd from HDTV with todays technology. Blue lazer technology is meant to cope with this. This is my guess right here I believe blue lazer will be out when most stations switch to HDTV. The government is forcing all stations to switch to HDTV by 2008 and most will be switched by 2004 2005.
So based on that make a good guess hehe.
Re:Ok and how long until we actually see this on the consumer market, and at what cost? It will probably take a few years for the price to drop just as with regular dvd burners, they started really high, and now are still fairly high at $300 but not as bad as they were.
Re:Already they want to replace DVD! Good lord that was fast. I understand that DVD was the wave of the future since VHS got a nice long run…but aren't they cutting off DVD when there is so much potential?
Heck, Friggin DVD Burners arn't at around 70-80 dollars yet! 
And if I HAD to pick I'd definitely go the second route- no chance I'm going to have a DVD-Ram
Re:Yeah and by the time blue lazer technology hits the markets we will all have dvd burners and blue ray will be the $600 item.
Re:Yes it is hard to keep up. Today's DVD burners are the perfect example. There's so much potential there, but the cost is keeping a lot of people from jumping into it.
The cost, I think, wouldn't be as much of a problem with the current DVD burners if they had only one standard instead of a split between the "plus" and "minus". This is why I listed the fact that the Blu-ray group is looking to go at it alone as a con. Because all that can do is increase prices for us as consumbers.
Re:Blue lazer technology will be cool. But don't you love how technology changes fast. Its hard to keep up unless you got the $$$.
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