Article by Christopher S. Norwood
The optical disk technology has by far reached its potential in today’s world. An optical disk is a medium used for data storage and an optical drive is what’s used to read these disks and also to write on them. The Blue ray disk is very much different from a normal DVD and consists of a ferromagnetic material that is sealed with a plastic coating. There are different kinds of optical disk drives and some of the famously known one’s are the Blue ray drives.
The Blue ray drives enable the reading and writing of data on to a Blue ray disk with storage capacities of 25GB to 50GB. Unlike other disks, the Blue ray disks are readable and writable on both sides. The way the Blue ray drives work is quite fascinating. The Blue ray drives have a laser inside it. The computer can actually read and write data on to a Blue ray disk because of this laser. During the whole disk reading process, a laser beam is projected on the disk. This reflects a light. The light can change depending on the magneto-optical Kerr effect.
The BDA, also known as the Blue ray Disk Association consist of some of the well known consumer electronic giants. According to them almost all Blue ray drives should be capable of reading the traditional type of DVD’s and CD’s. This is known as backward compatibility.
Although many consumers still use the standard DVD’s and CD’s to watch movies and listen to songs, the Blue ray disk format has gained more popularity over time. This is mainly because of its high storage capacity and outstanding performance. Who would want to purchase a traditional DVD that can store only up to 10GB instead of buying a Blue ray disk which can store between 25GB to 50GB?
During the early days there were a few manufacturers who released products such as Blue ray DVD players and Blue ray drives that played only DVD’s and not CD’s. But today, many companies have rectified this problem by improving the quality of their products. These days you will be able to purchase Blue ray drives and players that can read DVD’s as well as CD’s.
Having a high storage space compared to other disks is one of the biggest advantages the Blue ray disk has. Due to the increase of sales, manufacturers of desktop computers and laptops have incorporated Blue ray drives into them. Majority of the computer systems are shipped with the Blue ray drives installed in them. The Sony Playstation-3 also has a Blue ray drive that’s built-in.
Competition between DVD manufacturer’s and Blue ray drives have become very fierce as the Blue ray disk has more plus points than the DVD. After all who would want a DVD with low storage space when a Blue ray disk can be purchased with higher storage space and more features?
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