Blu-Ray format specs finalized

Recently, the Blu-ray Disc Association announced that the format specification for its new standard has been completed, and it is now ready to begin licensing. Both the Blu-ray Disc single and dual layer
specifications have been approved.

Pioneer unveiled the
first Blu-ray disc player at the Consumer electronics show in Las Vegas. It is designed to deliver 1920p x 1080p output, which is the highest of the three high-definition signals. Also, Philips unveiled its all-in-one disc burner called the TripleWriter (which supports both BD-R and B-RE, with both single
layer and dual-layer recording capabilities). The TripleWriter will be available in the second half of 2006.

Movies expected to be out soon in Blu-ray format
include "Four Brothers," "Sahara," "The Italian Job," "Tomb Raider" and
"Mission Impossible," as well as "Mission Impossible 2" and "Mission
Impossible 3."

The storage space on a single-layered Blu-Ray Disc is 25GB, and 50GB for the dual-layered disc.

Screenshot: Panasonic Blu-Ray player