Blu-ray is an optical disc format which is set to rival HD-DVD (http://www.the-hdtv-tuner.com/high-definition-dvd.html) in the race to be the de-facto standard storage medium for HDTV. The HD-DVD vs Blu-ray battle resembles that between Betamax and VHS and DVD+RW and DVD-RW.
Currently, the major Hollywood film studios are split evenly in their support fro Blu-ray and HD-DVD, but most of the electronics industry is currently in the Blu-ray camp. The key difference between Blu-ray disc players and recorders and current optical disc technology is that Blu-ray, as its name suggests, uses a blue-violet laser to read and write data rather than a red one. Blue light has a shorter wavelength than red light, and according to the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), which is made up of, amongst others, Sony, Philips, Panasonic, and Pioneer, this means that the laser spot can be focussed with greater precision.About OnLive OnLive is the pioneer of instant cloud gaming, delivering real-time interactive experiences and rich media through the Internet. With groundbreaking video compression technology, OnLive harnesses cloud computing to provide the power and intelligence needed to instantly deliver the latest, premium game titles to any HDTV via the OnLive Game System or nearly any PC and Mac via a small browser download. The OnLive Viewer app is available for the iPad and full gameplay is coming to both iPad and Android tablets. OnLive is currently available in North America, and will be available in the UK and expanding into Europe later this year. OnLive technology is backed by hundreds of patents and patents pending. The company is headquartered in Palo Alto, California. OnLive investors include Warner Bros., Autodesk, Maverick Capital, AT&T, British Telecommunications (BT), The Belgacom Group and HTC. More information is available at www.onlive.com .
The BDA says that although blue laser discs and players are already shipping in Japan, they won�t ship in the US until the end of 2005 at the very earliest. It is likely that players will be very expensive initially, compared to DVD players. In Japan, they cost the equivalent of $2000. However, as with all new technology, prices will quickly fall - particularly as Blu-ray will be competing with HD-DVD for that space under your TV.
Author: Kenny Hemphill
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