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PS3 To Use Blu-Ray Technology

Daetrin writes "GameSpot has reported an announcement by Sony that the PlayStation 3 will use Blu-Ray technology, a next-generation optical disc format which 'can hold 25GB on a single layer and 50GB on the dual-layer discs', as many people have been speculating. What Sony hasn't said for sure is whether the PS3 will be backwards compatible with DVD movies and PS2 games. However, they indicated that they will reveal more details about the PlayStation 3 at a premiere in Japan on March 31st next year. (And, if nothing else, there will certainly be plenty of rumors before then.)"

27 of 410 comments (clear)

  1. Who needs 50 GB in a game?! by Zangief · · Score: 4, Funny

    When 640Kb should be enough for everyone?

    (Yeah I know I am mixing ram with disk size here, but it is a joke. Laugh)

    1. Re:Who needs 50 GB in a game?! by ackthpt · · Score: 5, Insightful
      When 640Kb should be enough for everyone? (Yeah I know I am mixing ram with disk size here, but it is a joke. Laugh)

      A joke? Seems the joke is we now have HD beyond our wildest dreams (only thinkable in the realm of sci-fi, lest you be mocked) 10 years ago. ("Wow, a 340 Meg HD, that's HUGE!") Yet, we seem to only have the same stuff as back then, just with higher definition. Heck, I don't think you can install Windows XP on less than a 5 GB drive. We once ran an entire information system and had student accounts on a system with 2 x 88 MB drives. Games which were elaborate and inventive (not to mention gripping) fit in 64K, now require a CD or DVD. Yeah, it's for the 5.1 sound and the massive graphics, I know, and compilers no longer optimize for size, so even code can be large.

      Just wait until everything is 3D...

      --

      A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    2. Re:Who needs 50 GB in a game?! by Bachus9000 · · Score: 3, Informative

      You can get it even smaller than that using Nlite. I've gotten an XP install down to as little as ~700MB (Knock about 250-300MB off that if you disable system file protection), although I'm not counting anything in the "Documents and Settings" directory in that total...

  2. Hmm 50 gigs by ParticleMan911 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Wow, those discs could hold thousands of DDR songs!

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    Are you a Chipotle Fan?
  3. Bluray by NitsujTPU · · Score: 5, Funny

    Oh, you'll be able to play your old movies and games, they'll just be a bit bluray.

  4. Sony wouldn't... by ackthpt · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Sony wouldn't do a proprietary thing, would they? Owning rights to all those movies and music are just tempting them to get back at the world for Betamax.

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    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    1. Re:Sony wouldn't... by doctor_no · · Score: 5, Informative

      Blu-ray isn't any less a proprietary format than HD-DVD. Nor is it a Sony format.

      Sony is only one of many companies that are involved with Blu-Ray, ppl mistake it for their format because they were the first to market the blu-ray. Here are the players:

      Hitachi, Ltd.
      LG Electronics Inc.
      Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
      Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
      Pioneer Corporation
      Royal Philips Electronics
      Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
      Sharp Corporation
      Sony Corporation
      TDK Corporation
      Thomson Multimedia
      Dell
      HP

      In fact, the only real backers for HD-DVD are:
      Microsoft
      Toshiba
      NEC

      And, arguably, HD-DVD is more proprietary than Blu-ray being that they require the player be able to play Miscrosoft's VC-9 codec, while Blu-ray is required to play only MPEG2.

    2. Re:Sony wouldn't... by shirai · · Score: 4, Insightful

      You make it sound like supporting only MPEG2
      is a good thing.

      This reduces the quality of the video coming out of Blu Ray or MPEG4 by a factor of 3. MPEG2 is not as good at compressing video with a given bit rate. In other words, the new codecs can hold 3x the quality or content in the same amount of space.

      But that is moot.

      Blu Ray is planning to adopt either MPEG4, WMV(VC-9) or both in July of this year. They've agreed that using an old codec is a bad idea. See the current August 2004 issue of Widescreen magazine for details.

      There is also a good interview with Microsoft on WMV. Whether you like Microsoft or not (and I'm guessing not for most), the Interview is informative.

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  5. Sony, Sone, Soni by Doesn't_Comment_Code · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... a next-generation optical disc format which 'can hold 25GB on a single layer


    What they didn't mention is that each disc is 3 meters in diameter.

    I understand this is also going to replace RFID tags as a theft deterent.

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    Slashdot Syndrome: the sudden, extreme urge to correct someone in order to validate one's self.
  6. DVD players are so cheap by duckpoopy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Does it really matter if it will play dvd movies?If you can afford a $300+ console, you can afford a $50- dvd player.

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    word.
    1. Re:DVD players are so cheap by techiemac · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Ahh... but there is something that needs to be considered here. The "internal justification" aspect of marketing. I assume (and it may be a bad assumption) that most of the PS2s & XBoxen that are out there are not used for any sort of DVD playback even though they have that feature.

      But when it comes to either justifying the price to your spouse, signifigant other, parents, self, dog, goldfish, etc, it helps to be able to say "Well I'm not just using it for games... We can use it as our DVD player as well"
      It tends to make the $300 price tag hurt a little less. So while the feature will likely never be used, it has a marketing aspect to it (plus you don't want the "other" guy to be able to one up you with features). Marketing often tends to be what sells technology, not the other way around (though it would be nice if things sold based on their technical merit).

  7. At what cost? $$ by curtisk · · Score: 4, Insightful
    ...to the consumer or is Sony just going to absorb it like most console makers do? Will this drive up the price per game? Also, since you are packing ALOT more data is the same space, wouldn't scratches and surface damage be even more crippling potentially?

    Also, Sony should make sure that they don't have all the "Disc read error" problems this time through.

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    Sehr geehrter Toilettenbenutzer!

    1. Re:At what cost? $$ by seinman · · Score: 5, Insightful

      "Also, since you are packing ALOT more data is the same space, wouldn't scratches and surface damage be even more crippling potentially?"

      Search Google for pictures of Blu-Ray discs. They come in little plastic cartridges, much like MiniDiscs and floppies. Unless you grossly mistreat them, you won't have problems with scratching.

      Is scratching even that big a problem now, on DVDs? Assuming you put them back in their cases when you're done, the things never seem to scratch. At least i've never had that problem.

    2. Re:At what cost? $$ by drinkypoo · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Blu-ray discs are CURRENTLY in caddies. However, they don't have to be. Someone or other (sorry I can't be more specific) has recently come up with a coating for blu-ray discs that is as scratch resistant as a CD (woop de doo) yet useful in conjunction with blue lasers. There is no guarantee that by the time consumer-level blu-ray discs become ubiquitous we will be using them in caddies. I hope we are, though. It's worth the price.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    3. Re:At what cost? $$ by curtisk · · Score: 3, Informative
      I hear ya...but..

      Will Blu-ray Discs require a cartridge?

      No, with the added support for "no-cartridge" usage to the Blu-ray Disc specification it currently looks like the cartridge will be optional, but we still haven't heard of any definitive decision about this issue. There is research going on to hard-coat the surface to protect the discs from dust and fingerprints without requiring a cartridge, which looks very promising. By making the cartridge optional manufacturers will be able to downsize drives for PC usage and lower their media production costs.

      Emphasis mine above...From their FAQ, laso if you look at some of the other media images there, they all don't have the cartridge shell on them.

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      Sehr geehrter Toilettenbenutzer!

  8. Sony HD standard just trumped. by bludstone · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Yup.

    Sony just punched the entire HD world in the face. Due to the popularity of the playstation, everyone will be able to play blue-ray disks. This will be the new video format that will have market penetration and therefor drive new MOVIE disk sales.

    You know all those dvds you have? (ive got about 300) You get to re-purchase all of those in HD on blue-ray.

    Huzzah!

    Although this means nothing if you dont have an HD-tv. Or, if you are a bargain hunter, youve got an awesome range of super-cheap dvds coming your way.

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    no .sig
  9. is there a speed increase in the blue ray stuff? by QuantumRiff · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I mean, can it grab more info in a given time span? Does it grab multiple layers or tracks in one rotation? Will it fill the data bus, and keep it full? Cause 50GB is a damn lot of loading otherwise. Seriously though, why do we constantly get disk drives that spin faster, why not just scan more tracks at once? I've keep hearing about bue ray from the perspective of data density, but not speed.

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  10. specs by stagl · · Score: 3, Interesting

    what's the read time on the bluray discs? the PS2 load times were atrocious enough. i don't want to feel like i'm back on my c64 where you had to go make a sandwich while waiting for your game to load.

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    R.I.P.
  11. Government restrictions? by RiotXIX · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Not meaning to be flamebait, but when a mass distributable personal-use portable media storage format like a plastic disc can hold something like 50 GB (10+ DVD movies), can't you envision some anti-piracy group (read MPAA in particular) stepping in and wanting to restrict it from consumer sale for being 'TOO' useful? Although I guess that's probably what they said about CDROMs and DVD ROMs...


    I'm still happy with DVD quality movies, thanks.

    --
    "You know you don't act like a scientist, you're more like a game show host." Dana Barret
  12. Uh, what? by oGMo · · Score: 5, Informative
    What Sony hasn't said for sure is whether the PS3 will be backwards compatible with DVD movies and PS2 games.

    Uh, Yes, they have. Where have you been?

    Geez, this is like last year news, and a simple google search revealed all of these links.

    --

    Don't think of it as a flame---it's more like an argument that does 3d6 fire damage

  13. Re:can't u put both lasers in the box? by LBArrettAnderson · · Score: 4, Informative

    go to the blu-ray link. it states in plain english that it can also read CDs and DVDs.

  14. PS3 will be PS2/ DVD compatible by doctor_no · · Score: 4, Informative

    When the PS2 came out with DVD support, Sony didn't make the PS2 incompatible with PSone games and CD just because they decided to support DVDs. There is not reason to believe back-wards compatibility would be dropped from the PS3 likewise.

    In fact. Sony has developed a laser head that can read/write Bluray/DVD+/-rw/CD-RW.
    http://www.sony.net/SonyIn fo/News/Press/200405/04- 026E/

    Ken Kutargi himself already confirmed backwards compatibility.
    http://www.ps3insider.com/modules. php?name=News&fi le=article&sid=64

  15. An interesting question comes up... by vudufixit · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Games are getting increasingly expensive to create. A game that could fill a Blu-Ray disc would undoubtedly require an unprecedented, possibly bank-breaking budget for the artists and programmers.

  16. Re:I'm such a nitpicky ass... by Westley · · Score: 3, Informative

    I don't think so.

    PS3 plays PS2 games: PS3 is backwards compatible.

    PS2 plays PS3 games: PS2 is forward compatible.

    See http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gc i283965,00.html

    Of course, if you have an authoritative link which shows the rest of the world being wrong, I'd be very happy to see it :)

    In terms of just the word "compatible", I'd say that the PS3 is compatible with PS2 games.

  17. Backwards Compatibility by Xian97 · · Score: 3, Informative

    What Sony hasn't said for sure is whether the PS3 will be backwards compatible with DVD movies and PS2 games.

    I remember them saying almost a year ago that PS2 games would be backwards compatible

    http://www.theregister.com/2003/09/02/ps3_will_pla y_ps2_psone/

    Sony Computer Entertainment boss Ken Kutaragi has confirmed that the PlayStation 3 will feature backwards compatibility with the PS2 and PSone, ensuring continued support for older software formats in the new hardware.

  18. Sony DVD-compatable Blu-Ray (link) by javaxman · · Score: 4, Informative
    Sony does have a press release where they talk about a 3-wavelength optical head for support of CD, DVD, and Blu-ray disks.

    Of course, it doesn't support HD-DVD.

    Since the PS3 is already stated to support PS1 and PS2 games, it *must* support CD and DVD, so you don't *have* to re-purchase your DVDs in Blu-ray, just your HD-DVDs. Of course, if you're an HD addict and just can't stand those "low-res" DVDs, then yea, you need to buy *either* HD-DVD or Blu-ray, but Sony just helped you decide which one, in that case.

    If you've already bought HD-DVD stuff, you *know* you're bleeding edge, and Sony just cut you...

  19. Re:can't u put both lasers in the box? by pla · · Score: 5, Informative

    I don't see the point in putting a traditional infra-red laser when this obviously superior laser can read all.

    Okay, time for the day's lesson, "Color transmittance and reflectance"...

    For a pressed aluminum disc, you could use any currently-available wavelength of LZD you wanted, it will reflect them all very very well.

    For a burned disc, you don't have just a pitted aluminum layer that either reflects or disperses the light from the drive. You have a dye that, due to the action of a particular frequency laser shining on it, has turned more-or-less permanantly opaque (or transparent) to certain frequencies of light.

    The particular frequencies the dye will block or let pass vary enormously on the particular dye used, as well as the power and frequency of the laser used for writing data.

    So, while we finally have a fairly standard set of DVD and CD dyes that work with each other, that all changes when you add in another frequency laser. Suddenly we'll find ourselves back to the early days of CD-Rs, where some drives could read some brands, and others couldn't.

    So what do I see as the problem here? Sure, Sony can claim that their spiffy new drive will read "DVDs" and "CDs"... By which they mean pressed, commercially-manufactured DVDs and CDs. Don't hold your breath for that to also mean compatibility with either your particular drive and/or your favorite brand of media to burn to.

    And rewritables? Don't feel too surprised when we learn that sticking a rewritable into a Blu-Ray just to try to read it has the unintended side-effect of erasing it.


    Now, if I felt like going into conspiracy-theorist mode here, I would suggest that breaking compatibility with home-burned media seems like a very nice perk to all the Big Boys, who would love to put the CD- and DVD-burner genie back in the bottle...

    But I won't go there. Not today. ;-)