Menturion

The gradual evolution of the optical disc technology saw the arrival of the DVDs. DVDs changed the entire entertainment experience. People could watch the latest blockbusters from the comfort of their homes with their latest high definition DVD players, with unmatched picture quality and audio output. DVDs are everywhere, so too are DVD players. You have the high definition DVD players with all sorts of features. The future lies with emerging technologies like Blu-ray and advanced optical discs.

Blu-ray Discs

Blu-ray, popularly known as BD or blue-ray discs, is a next-generation optical disc that has been developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA). The group consists of leading consumer electronics giants, PC and media manufacturers, like Philips, Samsung, Sony, Sharp, HP, Hitachi and Panasonic, to name a few. The format enables recording, rewriting and playback of high definition video (HD). One major advantage that the technology has over conventional DVDs is that it allows for more storage capacity. It can hold up to 25GB on a single layered disc and 50GB on a dual-layer disc. The technology also incorporates advanced video and audio codes for the ultimate high definition viewing experience. The name Blu-ray is used because the format uses a blue-violet laser, instead of a red laser as in the case of traditional DVDs.

Another major advantage with Blu-ray format lies in the fact that the entire technology is backwards compatible. You can now play your old CDs and DVDs through a BD/DVD/CD compatible unit. The blue-violet laser has a shorter wavelength than a red laser, which enables it to focus on a disc area with greater precision. The data is also packed on the surface of a disc more tightly. This explains the disc’s capability to store more data, even though it is of the same size as a traditional CD.

The technology is supported by some of the world’s leading manufacturers. In fact, many major movie studios have already announced titles with Blu-ray in them. Warner, Disney, Sony, MGM, and Paramount are among the leading studios who have embraced the format. Some of the famous titles include movies such as Desperado, Fantastic Four, Hero, Kill Bill, and Lethal Weapon. Sony has in fact come out with a mass produced model, which has already hit the market. Several other leading brands have also announced their intentions to launch models with the Blu-ray format.

The Blu-ray movie codes are different from that of DVD region codes. So you have North America, South America, Japan, and East Asia excluding China forming the Region 1, followed by Europe and Africa forming the Region 2. China, India, and Russia make up Region 3.

One major disadvantage with Blu-ray format is that many standard DVD players are unable to read the discs. This problem is being rectified in the form of backward compatible players though. The growth of Blu-ray discs is expected to drive the growth of the home theater segments to further unprecedented heights.

Advanced Optical Discs

Yet another technology, or format to be precise, which is giving the Blu-ray format a good run for its money, is the Advanced Optical Disc (AOD) format. It has been created by Toshiba in collaboration with NEC. Even though it is considered the main rival to the Blu-ray format, ironically, it is being supported by the DVD forum that includes nine members, who are ‘Blu-ray disc founders.’ While a single layered disc using this technology holds around 15 GB of data, a double layered disc would hold 30 GB of data. One can compress 20 GB of data in the recordable version.

This format too uses the blue laser, the difference being the higher compression of the video stream. One major advantage of the AOD format over the Blu-ray format is the fact that the AOD format will cost you less. Although not a great deal is known about the format as yet, if one were to go by the Toshiba-NEC team, then the players would be smaller than the ones using Blu-ray format.

Capable of playing high definition DVD, some models using the AOD format from Toshiba have already hit the markets. They are roughly priced around $500-$800. Details available on the progression of the technology are sketchy, however, during this point in time.

Industry Trends

Industry analysts believe that the Blu-ray format would hold sway over the masses in the near future. There are other related technologies which are also trying to break in, like the Holographic Versatile Disc (HVD) technology. This technology is still at a research stage and claims to have greatly increased storage capacity than both Blu-ray and HD DVD formats.

Researchers are also working on many other technologies. Some of them are claiming to be working on a technology with a storage capacity that is, believe it or not, 100 times that of a DVD. The technology involves making disks with a three-dimensional structure rather than the traditional two dimensional DVDs. With data storage and protection assuming importance, research on various lines is being carried out. Most of these research activities have the potential to revolutionize the home theater market.

With convergence of various features being the trend nowadays, there are several models of DVD players already available in the market, which have gaming options apart from playing DVDs. The increasing popularity of home theater systems is driving the research in this field.

Movie makers too are increasingly dependent on digital formats for both film making and projection. Digital video and audio outputs are considered far more superior to the existing traditional methods, and offer viewers an enhanced movie experience.

Where to get REGION FREE DVD players/recorders. To prevent the latest movies from reaching countries where a film has not reached theaters yet, Hollywood studios imposed a block. This regional coding is a digital flag on the disc that tells the DVD player where a particular DVD comes from. This is supposed to prevent the disc from being used by an incompatible player in another country. A normal DVD player can only play discs designated for the player’s own particular region. However, a codefree DVD player is a capable of playing DVD discs from anywhere around the world. A codefree DVD player can play DVD discs from all 6 regions and both standards, PAL and NTSC. That’s every DVD movie on earth! PAL-NTSC 110-220 volts DVD/VCR Combos for use worldwide. CODEFREE DVD / PAL-NTSC VCR combos and MULTISTANDARD VCRs will play 100% all known DVD discs including FRENCH DVDs. You can buy region free and region free converting DVD players and region free DVD recorders from http://www.mindlogic.com in California. They give you a LIFETIME Warranty and ship worldwide. Tel.800-514-2984 or tel. 925-686-9945

I’m not exactly a high-profile guy.

You know, I pretty much like my job, I pay my bills well enough, and enjoy staying pretty close to the house on the weekends. But I’m not really the guy who everybody gathers around at parties, you know what I mean? In fact, if there was a party, I might get invited alright, but probably would end up just not going.

Hi, I’m Jim, and I’m an internet addict. I’m a search junkie. You know what I mean?; Search Google Images for the name “Bob” and you will get a look at every dude named “Bob” on the Western Hemisphere. (Which is, incidentally, where all the Bobs have ended up, apparently…) Search the word “foot” sometime, for example. But be CAREFUL!! You should know that image searches often bring up medical sites, and my brother (or sis) there are some G-NARLY “foot” disorders out there… So I’ve warned you. It’s out of my hands now…

So anyway, in my obsessive funk at 1:00 a.m. when I should have been tucked warmly in with my wife, I run across this guy who calls himself The Rich Jerk. Jerks are kindof like train wrecks, you know what I mean? Or like car accidents on the interstate. You don’t want to look, you know it’s just going to slow down traffic, but for some stupid reason, you just have to at least GLANCE, you know? Or at least dang near break your kneck trying not to. So anyhow, I start reading, an d he’s absolutely right; he certainly does come off as a jerk, big time, but man, I started reading up, and this guy’s definitely a jerk, but he’s doing something on the low end (you know, like small business) that big companies have been doing on the internet for a few years now, and he wrote an ebook about it. I did Youknowwhat-Way back in the day, so I got a snoot full in a hurry. Didn’t do jack for me. I’m a pretty hard worker too, but it just wasn’t do-able for me. But this whole thing with the internet has apparently made it so easy to buy stuff over the net that people (businesses)pay a little bit for each of those little “click-throughs”. The Jerk (Sorry, The RICH Jerk…)made a TON of change when he figured out how to be one of the people who owns one of those really inexpensive little banners that people “click-through” (sorry for all the “quotes”)to buy that stuff. It’s like you don’t have to even be the one selling, you just have the little link that sends people, who are ALREADY looking for whatever it is they end up clicking on ANYWAY!

So I did it.

I know. “Hoser!”, you say.

Yeah. Fine. But I’m telling you, it’s not only legit, it’s a freakin’ pretty dang big deal. It took me about a day of figuring out what some of the terminology meant, I wasn’t raised with computers like most kids are now, and there are still some things I have to get my head around, but I’ve been getting some checks from Clickbank, and I’m telling you, I may be able to do it exclusively if this keeps doing what it’s been doing, and more impertantly than anything else to me, I think my wife can quit working soon. I’m not kidding, man.

Ok, yeah, you have to have a computer, and you have to learn some new stuff about the internet but frankly, I thought it was all pretty interesting stuff anyway, and at least I’m not trying to sell soap or having all my friends over to try to sell them something so they never speak to me again.

My checks are great and all, and I can see them getting bigger like very fast, but you should see this guy’s. He has actual copies of his statements on the site so you can see them. And they’re not from selling the ebook. I’m sure he’ll make a lot from that too, but most of the stuff he tells you has NOTHING to do with it. There are ten things that he tells you about, and they’re all so SOLID, man. Like he says in his characteristically “jerklike” way, you’d almost have to be stupid not to be able to at least make a little of extra money, and when this guys says a little, well, his “little” and my “little” are two different things. Were, anyway.

I’m kinda glad I didn’t get this kind of thing in my twenties, frankly. I wasn’t totally irresponsible or anything, I was in the military so I would have only gotten in so much trouble, but I’ve had to work pretty hard most of my life. Think it’s done me a lot of good, frankly. But it’s pretty dad-gum cool to go get a new scope for my boy’s rifle now if I feel like it, you know?

And no, I’m not going to start throwing money at him now that I’m making extra money. But maybe there’ll be a few bucks left over for him and whatever family he has when I finally keel-over, you know?

If you’re interested, here’s how you find the guy:

Click here: The Rich Jerk

Now, I wasn’t kidding. The guy really is a jerk, so keep that in mind if you check out the site. Oh, I don’t know if he really is, I tend to think people like that are just probably tired of trying to be nice when so much of life would just work a whole lot better if people actually just got to the POINT, you know?

Dang sure got my attention.