# History of Blue Ray Technology

URL: https://buzzle.com/technology/history-of-blue-ray-technology
Category: Technology
Published: 2009-03-11T00:51:45
Updated: 2026-07-28T02:36:19
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The Blu-ray technology has changed the scene of computer storage media. Owing to their high-definition video and data storage capacities, blu-ray discs are widely popular today. To know about the history of Blu-ray technology, read on...

## What Is a Blu-ray Disc?

Blu-ray discs are an optical disc storage medium, which is mainly used for the storage of high-definition video and data. Although physically similar to CDs and DVDs, blu-ray discs are a huge leap forward, in terms of their storage format and memory capacity. Blu-ray technology involves the use of a blue laser to read and write data to a disc. The wavelength of a blue laser is substantially lesser that of the red laser used by the DVD format. This difference between the two formats, accounts to the difference between their storage capacities. A single-layer blu-ray disc can store 25GB data, while a two-layer blu-ray disc is able to store 50 GB data. Currently, the blu-ray disc format is supported by over 180 companies dealing in consumer electronics, computers, recording media, [video games](https://buzzle.com/technology/history-of-video-games)

and music. Let us delve into the history of this ‘brilliantly blue’ technology implemented by the blu-ray discs.

History of Blu-ray Technology

## Early Development and the Format War

By 1998, commercial HDTV sets had begun to appear in the market. However, there was no commonly-accepted way to record and play HD content. Also, there was no storage medium available for HD codecs. Although it was a well-known fact that using shorter wavelengths would enable a higher-density storage, no standardized storage format had been created till then. The invention of blue laser diodes by Shuji Nakamura, a professor at the University of California, proved as a major breakthrough for the invention of Blu-ray technology.

The Blu-ray Disc Association was founded in February 2002. It was a group of individuals from the fields of electronics, computers and motion pictures, which is credited with the development of the Blu-ray disc format. During the early years of the development of Blu-ray technology, the data recording layer used to be placed in close vicinity of the disc surface. Because of this feature, the blu-ray discs of those times were susceptible to scratches and contamination and hence had to be protected by cartridges. TDK came up with a hard coating polymer for blu-ray discs, thus eliminating the need of cartridges. Soon, Panasonic and Sony also developed hard-coating technologies.

Around the year 2002, the DVD Forum that looked after the development and distribution of DVD and HD-DVD formats, was divided over arguments about continuing the development of the blue laser technology. A month later, the DVD Forum announced that it would be creating its own blu-laser solution. While the sale of HD DVDs received a good start, that of Blu-ray discs began at a relatively lower pace. But the Blu-ray technology had emerged successful in it competition against other storage formats. Yes, in the battle of blu-ray discs v/s HD DVD, blu-ray did win and its victory was evident when blu-ray discs and blu-ray disc players began making huge sales.

## Blu-ray Discs Hit the Market

The first Blu-ray disc players were sold in mid-2006. The first Blu-ray disc titles were released soon after this, that was on June 20, 2006. Owing to the high storage capacity and efficiency in the storage of high-definition data, blu-ray discs continued to dominate the markets. The latest advancements in technology have led to the production of quad-layer blu-ray discs. Mini Blu-ray discs capable of storing 7.5 GB data, and BD5 and BD9 that support audio and video streams are some of the variants of Blu-ray discs. By the end of 2008, more than 1200 Blu-ray titles had been released in the United States.

The history of blu-ray technology definitely holds a promise of a bright future.