Blu-Ray Technology - LaCie Slim Blu-ray User Manual

LaCie Slim Blu-ray •
User Manual

1.5. Blu-ray Technology

Blu-ray receives its name from the blue color of the laser that reads
and writes BD data. Standard CD and DVD writers and players have
red lasers. The blue laser is superior since it reads and writes smaller
areas of information, allowing much more data to fit on a disk than
red rays. Blu-ray also lasers also maintain superb HD picture quality.
The LaCie Blu-ray records onto:
✦ BD-R/BD-RE/DVD±R, single layer and dual layer
✦ DVD±RW/CD-R/CD-RW
The LaCie Blu-ray reads BD-ROM, DVD-ROM and CD-ROM.
Blu-ray Disc abbreviations
Blu-ray Disc can be shortened to "BD":
✦ BD-R is one-time writable Blu-ray media
✦ BD-RE is rewritable.
Both BD-R and BD-RE are available as single layer or dual layer.
Please note that "layer" does not indicate both sides of the BD. Data
is written on one side of a disc, no matter if it is dual layer or single
layer. Dual layer discs include a second physical layer to store up to
twice as much data.
Blu-ray Disc video capacities
As with DVD, this depends upon video bandwidth, the number of
audio tracks, and other authoring criteria. The choice of the codec
has great impact on playback time as well. For example, on a single
layer BD, two hours of HD Video is approximately equal to:
135 minutes of HD using MPEG2 compression plus two hours of
bonus material in standard definition quality;
OR
10 hours of broadcast-quality, standard definition video.
There are many different codecs that can increase or decrease the
amount of video and audio stored on a BD.
Manage Copies Across Home Networks
Watching or copying media stored on pre-recorded BD is almost al-
ways dependent upon the compatibility of playback devices. Provid-
ed that your devices support the level of copyright protection (usually
HDCP), you will be able to copy a Blu-ray disc content throughout
your home.
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Fig. 06
Disc durability
Blu-ray discs have a more advanced coating than previous disc for-
mats, making them much stronger and more resistant to scratches.
Due to its physical durability and larger capacity, BD is a great
choice for archiving.
Uses
Blu-ray discs are particularly suitable for:
✦ High Definition television recording
✦ High Definition video distribution
✦ High Definition camcorder archiving
✦ Mass data storage
✦ Backup of workstations (the media can even be stored in a
remote location)
✦ Transferring large files and entire projects from one computer
to another
✦ Database storage
Foreword
page 11