Nine major consumer electronics companies that have jointly established specifications for Blu-ray Disc, a next-generation, large-capacity, optical-disc video recording format for HDTV, will announce those specs on June 14.
The companies, which will be called the “Blu-ray Disc Founders,” according to the release, include Hitachi, LG Electronics, Matsushita, Pioneer, Royal Philips Electronics, Samsung, Sharp, Sony and Thomson Multimedia.
According to the group, the initial aim of the disclosure is to study specifications in time for the targeted start of licensing scheduled around the end of June for the development and manufacturing of products based on the format.
As mentioned in the group’s February press conference (TWICE, Feb. 25, 2002, p. 1), Blu-ray Disc enables recording, rewriting and playback of up to 27 gigabytes of data on a single-sided single-layer disc that is the same size as standard CDs and DVDs. A Blu-ray disc will record over 2 hours of digital high-definition video and more than 13 hours of standard TV broadcasts.
In addition the system will enable the recording of high-definition images from digital video cameras, while the random access capabilities of the disc will simplify and add greater flexibility to video editing.
The set of the specifications costs $5,000. Requests for the specifications should be made to Royal Philips Electronics Intellectual Property & Standards Business Support. The Web site is www.licensing.philips.com.
