Blu-ray News and Updates

Criteirion Announces February Releases

Posted November 13, 2026 07:13 PM by Webmaster

The Criterion Collection has announced its February batch of releases. They are: The Irishman (2019), Jay Kelly: (2025), Kung Fu Hustle (2004), Romería (2025), Ruggles of Red Gap (1935), The Sweet Hereafter (1997), Victor Sjöström's Hollywood Masterworks (1924-1928), and Mala Noche (1986).

Warner Archive Announces December Releases

Posted November 11, 2026 08:43 PM by Webmaster

Warner Archive has announced its December batch of releases. They are: Decoy (1946), The Informer (1935), Till the Clouds Roll By (1946), The Big Store (1941), Tea for Two (1950), Test Pilot (1938), Little Nellie Kelly (1940), The Abbott and Costello Cartoons: The Complete Collection (1967-1968), The Bounty Hunter (1954), and The Mask of Dimitrios (1944).

Severin: Three New Russ Meyer Films Heading to 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray

Posted November 10, 2026 10:46 PM by Webmaster

Severin Films has revealed that it will release three newly restored Russ Meyer films on 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray. They are: Common Law Cabin (1967), and Cherry, Harry & Raquel! (1969), Blacksnake (1973). All three releases are scheduled to arrive on the market in late February 2027.

The Devils 4K Blu-ray

Posted November 10, 2026 07:54 PM by Webmaster

Warner Bros. Clockwork will release on a Collector's Edition combo pack of Ken Russell's The Devils (1971), starring Oliver Reed, Vanessa Redgrave, Dudley Sutton, Max Adrian, and Gemma Jones. The release is scheduled to arrive on the market on April 20.

Heart of the Beast 4K Blu-ray

Posted November 9, 2026 06:57 PM by Webmaster

Paramount Home Media Distribution will release a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack of David Ayer's Heart of the Beast (2026), starring Brad Pitt, J.K. Simmons, Uber, Anna Lambe, and Justin Melnick. The release is scheduled to arrive on the market on January 26.

Blu-ray Sales: October 25-31: Masters of the Universe Not Frightened by Frankenstein

Posted November 9, 2026 03:22 PM by Sean Greenwood

For the week that ended on October 31st, Alliance Entertainment's Masters of the Universe (2026) remained atop the Blu-ray-only, overall packaged media and 4K UHD charts in its second week, fending off the Criterion Collection's new release of Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein (2025), which took second place. Third place on all charts went to The Frighteners, which was released on remastered Blu-ray and 4K UHD by Arrow Video this week.

This Week on Blu-ray: November 9-15

Posted November 8, 2026 07:48 PM by Sean Greenwood

For the week of November 9th, the Criterion Collection will release Blue Heron on Blu-ray, as well as Shoot the Piano Player and Marie Antoinette (2006) on Blu-ray and 4K UHD. Other new releases include The Apothecary Diaries: Season 2 from Crunchyroll, Call of the Night: Season 2 from Sentai Filmworks and Mad Bills to Pay from Oscilloscope Laboratories. Catalog titles include Blu-rays for Lock Up: Season 1, Volume 1 from ClassicFlix and Miranda from Cult Films, as well as 4K UHD releases for Planet of the Vampires from Radiance Films, Above the Law from Toy Robot Video, Four Rooms from Kino Lorber, Con Air from Walt Disney Home Entertainment, Memoirs of a Geisha from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, The Lovely Bones from Paramount Home Media Distribution and Paddington from Lionsgate Home Entertainment.

MGM Announces Fourth Quarter Blu-ray Releases

Posted September 2, 2006 12:00 AM by Marwin

MGM Home Entertainment today announced four new BD releases for the fourth quarter, which are demographically on target with for adopters and Playstation 3 purchasers. Slated for release on November 28, 2006 is Bryan Singer's acclaimed thriller Usual Suspects (day-and-date with a special edition DVD) and the compelling Nicholas Cage-starring action, war film, Windtalkers. On December 5, 2006 the company will release Sylvester Stallone's Academy Award winning, crowd-pleaser, Rocky (day-and-date with a special edition DVD), and the Chow Yun-Fat and Seann William Scott, comic, action thriller, Bulletproof Monk.

TDK Develops Blu-ray Media with 200GB Capacity

Posted September 1, 2006 12:00 AM by Marwin

TDK, a world leader in digital recording solutions, has reached a landmark in the development of recordable blue laser technology, achieving a groundbreaking capacity of 200GB. Bruce Youmans, TDK Vice President of Product Research & Development, said: "The ultra-ambitious technology roadmap for Blu-ray has now been confirmed as realistic, with landmarks such as this proving the long term value of the format against its rivals. TDK was the first to develop a prototype 100GB recordable Blu-ray Disc, and yet again, our landmark achievement in creating a 200GB disc is affirming the company's position as a true pioneer in advancing the capabilities of optical media."

Sun Microsystems Joins Blu-ray Disc Association Board of Directors

Posted August 31, 2006 12:00 AM by Marwin

The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) today announced that Sun Microsystems, the creator and leading advocate of Java technology, has joined the consortium's Board of Directors. "Sun's announcement today is another example of the tremendous support for Blu-ray Disc," said Victor Matsuda, Vice/President/Chair, Blu-ray Disc Association's Global Promotion Committee, Sony Corporation of America. "Sun has already played a key role in the powerful new interactive features that set Blu-ray apart, and we look forward to working with them as we bring this revolutionary new disc format to consumers." Sun joins the growing list of computing, consumer electronics, media, manufacturing, gaming and entertainment companies supporting the Blu-ray Disc platform.

Paramount Announces Its First and Second Wave of Blu-ray Releases

Posted August 21, 2006 12:00 AM by Marwin

Sony Now Shipping 50GB Dual-Layer Blu-ray Media

Posted August 16, 2006 12:00 AM by Marwin

Sony Electronics has begun U.S. shipments of 50GB dual-layer Blu-ray Disc recordable (write-once) media. The company also confirmed that it plans to start shipping 50GB dual-layer rewritable BD media later this year. "The arrival of 50GB Blu-ray Disc media is an important milestone in the evolution of this new format," said Mike Lucas, director of marketing for Sony Electronics' Media and Application Solutions Division. "The capacity represents more than four hours of HD quality video, at a 24Mbps transfer rate, allowing users to take full advantage of Sony's Blu-ray Disc burners and VAIO desktop and notebook computers."

Disney and Buena Vista Announce Upcoming Blu-ray Releases

Posted July 17, 2006 12:00 AM by Marwin

Buena Vista Home Entertainment (BVHE) president Bob Chapek today announced that BVHE will begin releasing titles beginning September 19, 2006 on the Blu-ray Disc format. Titles available on that date will include Walt Disney Pictures' Dinosaur and Eight Below; Miramax Films' Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and The Great Raid. These four titles mark the first wave of an ongoing release strategy from BVHE which will support the Blu-ray format. A second wave of releases will be available on October 17, 2006, including Walt Disney Pictures' Glory Road and Haunted Mansion; Touchstone Pictures' Dark Water and Gone in Sixty Seconds; and Dimension Films' The Brothers Grimm.

Warner Announces Its First Wave of Blu-ray Releases

Posted July 12, 2006 12:00 AM by Marwin

Warner Home Video (WHV), which distributes the largest film library of any studio, today announced that it will launch its first titles in the Blu-ray format on August 1, 2006. The first wave of Warner titles include two new releases, a catalog favorite and a title new to the high definition format: the critically acclaimed Oscar nominated drama Good Night and Good Luck starring David Strathairn and George Clooney; Academy Award winning, Training Day starring Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke; Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer's noir comedy caper Kiss Kiss Bang Bang; and Rob Reiner's clever romantic comedy starring Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Costner, Mark Ruffalo and Shirley MacLaine, Rumor Has It. Future waves of Blu-ray launch titles will be announced in the coming weeks.

Samsung Launches Industry's First Blu-ray Player

Posted June 15, 2006 12:00 AM by Marwin

Samsung today announced that the industry's first Blu-ray player has been shipped to retailers in the U.S. market for availability on June 25th. The Samsung BD-P1000 plays Blu-ray software titles at the highest resolution available via a native 1080p HDMI output for films digitally mastered in 1920×1080p. The BD-P1000 also up-converts conventional DVDs to 1080p through the HDMI digital interface so the picture quality of any traditional DVD will look noticeably more detailed when used with the disc player. The BD-P1000 is backwards compatible and plays both standard DVDs and CDs in addition to supporting all DVD formats including, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+RW, and DVD+R. Connectivity includes HDMI, Component, S-video and composite outputs. Supported audio formats include Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, DTS, MP3 and 192KHz LPCM. The BD-P1000 will be available in stores on June 25, 2006 at a MAP of $999.99.

Pioneer Ships BDR-101A Blu-ray Drive for PCs

Posted May 17, 2006 12:00 AM by Marwin

Pioneer Electronics is now shipping the Pioneer BDR-101A, the industry's first Blu-ray Disc (BD) computer drive, which will come bundled with Sonic Solutions Roxio Blu-ray Disc software and blank media by TDK. This first generation BDR-101A product is targeted towards professional users and technology enthusiasts who will be using the Blu-ray drive for advanced storage needs. "In order to serve our clients' needs at the highest level, we must anticipate their needs for uses of new media formats," said Randy Hudson, member of the DVD Association, and president and CEO of Broadness, a media service company providing A/V media services, digital cinema media services, and online video and audio media delivery solutions. "The professional DVD production community has always counted on Pioneer to deliver technologies, products and support that allows us to exceed our clients' expectations."

Sony Pictures Moves Back Blu-ray Releases to June

Posted May 3, 2006 12:00 AM by Marwin

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (SPHE) president Benjamin Feingold today said the studio's first batch of Blu-ray releases will be ready by May 23 as planned, but the release date will be moved back to June 20 in an effort to ensure a more coordinated launch. "The majority of our retail base and hardware partners have requested that we reconsider this date to better coincide with the first commercially available Blu-ray-compatible hardware." Feingold said. The decision to hold off shipping Blu-ray titles to retailers comes a month after Samsung announced its first Blu-ray player wouldn't arrive in stores until June 25. The eight Blu-ray titles scheduled for release on June 20 are 50 First Dates, The Fifth Element, Hitch, House of Flying Daggers, A Knight's Tale, The Last Waltz, Resident Evil Apocalypse and xXx.

TDK and Primera Announce Inkjet-Printable Blu-ray Media

Posted April 24, 2006 12:00 AM by Marwin

TDK and Primera today announced the introduction of the world's first inkjet printable Blu-ray media. The media is coated with a special inkjet-optimized surface that not only delivers extremely bright, high-resolution full color images and text, but also prevents warping. "Primera is pleased to partner with TDK to bring the first inkjet printable BD-R to market," said Mark D. Strobel, Primera Technology's vice president of sales and marketing. "TDK BD-R is the perfect solution for our customers who will be using high-capacity BD-R media for backup and archival, data storage, high-definition video and a host of other cutting-edge applications." TDK and Primera will introduce the inkjet-printable BD-R media in the third quarter of 2006. TDK also announced it has developed the world's first thermal printable Blu-ray media compatible with thermal disc publishing and duplication systems.

Panasonic to Launch Blu-ray Drives for PCs in Japan

Posted April 21, 2006 12:00 AM by Marwin

Panasonic today announced that the company will introduce a half-height internal Blu-ray Disc (BD) drive for desktop computers in Japan on June 10, 2006. The LF-MB121JD BD drive, which can read and write single-layer and dual-layer BDs, is also fully backwards compatible with DVD-ROM/DVD±R/DVD±RW/DVD-RAM as well as CD-ROM/CD-R/CD-RW. The drive will come bundled with a wide variety of software to help users easily backup and archive a large amount of data, edit video and audio and intuitively drag and drop data for DVD and CD burning. Panasonic also announced that it will make the half-height BD drive for desktop computers and slim-line slot and tray loading BD drives for notebook PCs available for OEM clients starting this month.

TDK Begins Shipping Blu-ray Recordable and Rewriteable Media

Posted April 10, 2006 12:00 AM by Marwin

TDK today announced that it has begun shipping 25GB BD-R/BD-RE (recordable/rewriteable) media to retailers nationwide, making it the first to market with bare Blu-ray media. Retail pricing is set at $19.99 for a 25GB BD-R and $24.99 for a 25GB BD-RE. In addition, TDK will ship 50GB Blu-ray media later this year with retail pricing set at $47.99 for a 50GB BD-R and $59.99 for a 50GB BD-RE. TDK's Blu-ray Disc roadmap also reveals plans to further extend the format's speed and capacity in the future, proving that Blu-ray is truly future-ready. TDK technologies have already enabled creating 100GB, quad-layer Blu-ray Disc prototypes and blazing 216Mbps (6x) speed. The company is currently in the process of developing the world's first 200GB Blu-ray Disc prototype.

Samsung Delays Blu-ray Player Launch Until June

Posted April 3, 2006 12:00 AM by Marwin

Samsung is rescheduling the US launch of their Blu-ray player from May 23 to June 25 in order to complete compatibility testing with several Blu-ray test discs that will become available from product manufacturers and content providers in late April. According to the company, the hardware development for Samsung's BD-P1000 Blu-ray player is complete and ready for mass production in Suwon, South Korea once these compatibility tests are passed. Samsung also announced that the player now supports 1080p output via HDMI as well as upconversion of DVDs to 1080p. Additionaly, the built-in memory card interface has been upgraded to support Mini-SD and Memory Stick Pro Duo formats. Samsung added that these new features will not change the expected $999 street price.

Panasonic Announces Pricing and Availability of Blu-ray Player

Posted March 28, 2006 12:00 AM by Marwin

Panasonic today announced the upcoming availability of the company's first Blu-ray player, the DMP-BD10, available this September. The player supports 1080p output via HDMI, as well as playback of DVDs and CDs. "With the DMP-BD10, Panasonic proves its commitment to providing the best high-definition entertainment experience for the home," said Reid Sullivan, vice president, merchandising, Panasonic's entertainment group. "Our goal is to focus on the total solution for an uncompromised high-definition experience." The introduction of the DMP-BD10 is timed to coincide with Panasonic's release of its first 1080p Plasma TVs this fall, which can make full use of Blu-ray's high-definition entertainment capabilities. Pricing in the United States on the DMP-BD10 has not been finalized, but will be less than $1,500.

Sony Announces Pricing and Availability of Blu-ray Products

Posted March 16, 2006 12:00 AM by Marwin

Sony today debuted its first Blu-ray Disc (BD) products in the U.S., along with details on suggested pricing and availability for some of the new offerings. These next generation devices include a stand-alone Blu-ray player, VAIO desktop and notebook computers, an aftermarket internal computer drive, and recordable/rewritable media. The BDP-S1 Blu-ray player is targeted to ship in July for about $1,000. The VAIO PC with Blu-ray Disc will be available for about $2,300. Both the VAIO RC desktop and notebook with a Blu-ray drive will be available by early summer. Additionally, pre-orders for the BDP-S1 player will be available through SonyStyle.com and Sony Style retail stores, beginning on March 17. The player will also be available for pre-order at the same time through authorized internet dealers.

PlayStation 3 Launches Worldwide in Early November 2006

Posted March 15, 2006 12:00 AM by Marwin

Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) announced today that it would launch PlayStation 3 (PS3) in early November 2006 in Japan, North America and Europe simultaneously. With a monthly production capacity of one million units, SCEI will push forward a powerful product launch to spread the platform rapidly throughout the world, together with a strong and attractive lineup of PS3 game titles. PS3 incorporates the final specifications of Blu-ray Disc (BD), and with the overwhelming computing power of PS3, it enables playback of Blu-ray software at a high bit rate. Users can also connect PS3 to high-speed broadband network through Gigabit Ethernet and comfortably enjoy a wide-range of rich and exciting content and services over the network.

Lionsgate Announces Titles for Blu-ray Launch

Posted February 28, 2006 12:00 AM by Marwin

Lionsgate, the leading independent filmed entertainment company, today announced plans to release 10 titles on the next-generation high-definition Blu-ray Disc (BD) to coincide with the arrival of the first commercially offered BD players in stores. The first wave, available at retail on May 23, will include Crash and Lord of War, priced at a $39.99 SRP, and The Punisher, Saw and Terminator 2: Judgment Day, marked at a $29.99 SRP. The second wave with five additional titles will follow shortly thereafter with a June/July date still to be determined. These BD titles include Reservoir Dogs, Total Recall, Stargate and Frank Herbert's Dune priced at $29.99, while The Devil's Rejects will be available at a $39.99 SRP.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Targets May Launch

Posted February 27, 2006 12:00 AM by Marwin

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (SPHE) today announced that they are targeting May 23 to deliver the first wave of Blu-ray Disc (BD) titles at retail. Delivery will coincide with the launch that day of the first commercially available BD player from Samsung, which will be followed shortly by BD players from Pioneer and Sony along with a BD compatible VAIO PC from Sony. The first BD titles from SPHE and MGM will include: 50 First Dates, The Fifth Element, Hitch, House of Flying Daggers, A Knight's Tale, The Last Waltz, Resident Evil Apocalypse and xXx. BD titles streeting June 13 include: Kung Fu Hustle, Legends of the Fall, Robocop, Stealth, Species, SWAT and Terminator. Underworld Evolution will debut in early Summer day-and-date with the DVD.

AACS Made Available for Interim Licensing

Posted February 21, 2006 12:00 AM by Marwin

AACS LA today announced the immediate availability of AACS (Advanced Access Content System) under interim licensing agreements. "While next generation HD players are in final assembly, and movies are being mastered, the AACS architects are ensuring consumers can enjoy the HD picture, sound and robust portability potential of AACS without any further delays," said Richard Doherty, Research Director for the Envisioneering Group. "Much more than just HD movies, AACS delivers new consumer interactivity, portability and feature enhancement after purchase on a scale like no other consumer digital entertainment system can." The final license agreement for AACS is expected to be announced in the coming months. In the meantime, companies in the consumer electronics, IT and entertainment industries are now able to develop devices and solutions based on the published specs and compliance rules.

Sony Announces Pricing for Blu-ray Movies

Posted February 8, 2006 12:00 AM by Marwin

Sony Pictures on Tuesday became the first major studio to put a price tag on Blu-ray movies when they become available in US stores this year. Catalog Blu-ray Disc (BD) titles will wholesale for $17.95, about the same as DVDs when that format hit the market in 1997. New-release BD movies will wholesale for $23.45, a premium of 15%-20% over what suppliers were charging for new theatrical DVDs. The higher pricing structure for new Blu-ray releases is meant to accommodate the sell-through and rental markets, said Benjamin Feingold, president of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. He added that Sony will not attach any suggested list prices to its BD movies, at least not at this time. "From the retail perspective, this is going to be a hot product, and retailers will no doubt determine their own margin structure," he said. "We believe in a free market." Blu-ray movies likely will start showing up in stores by early summer.

Primera Announces Bravo XR-Blu Disc Publisher

Posted February 6, 2006 12:00 AM by Marwin

Primera, the world's leading developer and manufacturer of automated CD/DVD duplication and printing equipment, today announced its Bravo XR-Blu Disc Publisher. Bravo XR-Blu is the world's first automated burn and print device to feature a new high-capacity Blu-ray recorder and media. The initial release of the Bravo XR-Blu utilizes single-layer discs to store up to 25GB of data. An upgrade will be available shortly after launch that will allow dual-layer media, which stores up to 50GB of data per disc. Since up to 50 discs can be loaded into the Bravo XR-Blu at a time, this gives a total native capacity of up to 2.5TB (terabytes) of data that can be published in a single session. The Bravo XR-Blu, which will be exhibited at CeBIT 2006, is expected to begin shipping in April 2006 and will sell for $5995.

CES 2006 Report and New Photos

Posted January 18, 2006 12:00 AM by Webmaster

Digital Playground to Support Blu-ray Disc Format

Posted January 12, 2006 12:00 AM by Marwin

The adult film maker Digital Playground, which claims to control 40 percent of the US adult DVD market and is reported to have sales of $12.6bn in 2005, today told Adult Video News (AVN) that they've decided to support the Blu-ray format and release BD movies as soon as hardware becomes available. "We feel that of the two formats, it's the one that's more future-proofed," said Digital Playground's president and founder, who identifies himself as Joone. "We'll probably start with Pirates and Island Fever 3, because those are top sellers and they're already available in high-def." Digital Playground has been preparing for the shift to HD for two and a half years now by shooting all of its films in HD and currently has a library of over 50 movies ready to be released in HD with five new movies added every month.

Blu-ray Disc Format Specifications Completed

Posted January 5, 2006 12:00 AM by Marwin

The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) today announced that the format specification is complete and that licensing is ready to begin for BD-ROM, BD-R and BD-RE. The completion of the specification now enables content providers and manufacturers to begin the process of producing Blu-ray products for a wide variety of uses. "We are very pleased to announce this very important milestone for the Blu-ray Disc format," said Victor Matsuda, global chairman, Blu-ray Disc Association Promotions Committee. "The completion of these specifications is an important step in establishing Blu-ray Disc as the premiere next-generation optical disc format and provides manufacturers with the information they need to launch products beginning this Spring."

Movie Studios Announce First Wave of Blu-ray Movies

Posted January 5, 2006 12:00 AM by Webmaster

Seven of the eight major movie studios today announced titles for the Blu-ray launch, including Warner, Paramount, Fox, Disney, Sony, MGM and Lions Gate. The launch line-up will consist of over 100 titles and include recent hits as well as classics such as Batman Begins, Desperado, Fantastic Four, Fifth Element, Hero, Ice Age, Kill Bill, Lethal Weapon, Mission Impossible, Ocean's Twelve, Pirates of the Caribbean, Reservoir Dogs, Robocop, and The Matrix. Many studios have also announced that they will begin releasing new feature films on Blu-ray Disc day-and-date with DVD, as well as a continuous slate of catalog titles every month. For a complete list of the announced titles, check out our new Blu-ray movies section.

Pioneer to Launch Blu-ray Drive in First Quarter of 2006

Posted December 27, 2005 12:00 AM by Marwin

Pioneer today announced the BDR-101A, one of the industry's first Blu-ray Disc computer drives. The drive will primarily be targeted to professional users and serious enthusiasts, generally the first to adopt new technology. In particular, content creators will depend on Blu-ray Disc writers to test and evaluate high definition consumer Blu-ray Disc titles during the authoring process before replication. The half-height BD/DVD writer supports recording of BD-R/BD-RE at 2x speed, DVD±R at 8x speed and DVD±RW at 4x speed. The drive also reads BD-ROM discs at 2x speed and DVD-ROM discs at 12x speed. The drive, which will come equipped with a data recording application to transfer digital files to Blu-ray Discs, is expected to begin shipping in the first quarter of 2006.

TDK Prepares for Mass Production of Blu-ray Discs

Posted December 13, 2005 12:00 AM by Marwin

TDK has commenced shipments of mass-production samples of 25GB and 50GB BD-R/BD-RE Blu-ray discs, which make use of TDK's originally developed hard coating technology DURABIS 2. The hard coating achieves a recording surface with extremely high resistance to scratches and dirt (particularly fingerprint smudges), thus enabling anxiety-free use of a cartridge-less disc. TDK is confident that the BD-R and BD-RE, freed from the confines of a cartridge, will offer their large capacities with greater facility, thus greatly expanding the potential of optical recording. Mass production at TDK's Chikumagawa Techno Factory, which specializes in optical discs, will commence upon issue of licensing for the bare disc.

Pioneer and Sigma Designs to Work on Full-Featured Blu-ray Player

Posted December 12, 2005 12:00 AM by Marwin

Sigma Designs today announced it will work with Pioneer Corporation on the joint development of a full-featured Blu-ray DVD player using Sigma Designs' SMP8630 family of media processors. "Pioneer intends to be the first company to offer a high-quality, Blu-ray DVD player that contains all the key features expected from a consumer product under our brand name," said Russ Johnston, senior vice president of marketing and product planning for the home entertainment division of Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. "Sigma's SMP8630 family of chipsets provides a virtual system-on-chip solution for the hardware portion, enabling us to focus on software development and value-added features that extend beyond basic operation." Pioneer plans to introduce the new Blu-ray DVD player in the first half of 2006.

Panasonic Starts Pilot Production of 50GB Blu-ray Discs

Posted December 5, 2005 12:00 AM by Marwin

Panasonic has modified its existing pilot production line for single-layer Blu-ray Discs, called BD-ROM, so that it is able to replicate dual-layer BD-ROM discs with 50GB of storage capacity. The doubling of BD-ROM disc storage capacity is enabled by spin coating technologies developed by Panasonic that create two recorded layers on a single side of a Blu-ray Disc. In the process, readily available inexpensive UV curable resins are used in the creation of the space layer, cover layer and hard-coat, resulting in a reduction in disc replication costs. "Working closely with the movie studios and our replication partners, Panasonic was able to foresee the need for greater disc capacity to give consumers a much richer user experience," said Eisuke Tsuyuzaki, director of Strategy & Alliances, Panasonic Hollywood Lab. Panasonic expects to provide sample dual-layer BD-ROM discs to the industry for testing by the end of this month.