9. New Phenomenon - Blu-ray DVD

Technology and the media being used
Blu-ray DVDs are relatively new on the market and their popularity is set to increase. It was developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association, which is a group of the world’s leading consumer electronics, PC and media manufacturers, which includes the likes of Dell, Apple, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Sony and LG. The Blu-ray format enables the recording, rewriting and playback of high-definition or HD video, again a new technology. Blu-ray offers more than five times the storage capacity of DVDs and can hold up to 25GB on a single-layer disc and up to 50GB on a dual-layer disc.

The name Blu-ray comes from the blue-violet laser, which replaces the tradition red laser used to read and write data. The blue-violet laser has a shorter wavelength than the red laser, allowing it to focus the laser spot with great precision, meaning more can be stored on the disc as it takes up less space.

Blu-ray is set to replace normal DVDs when the use of high definition kicks off in the media industry. Blu-ray provides a higher quality program, which in turn provides the audience with a better viewing experience.

Audience
The target audience of Blu-ray are people who are interested in films and technology, as well as quality of experience. I don't feel there is an age or gender limit of Blu-ray because it is the product/film which determines the audience, the technology is limitless in terms of that. But it is limited by the audience wanting to buy the latest thing and update their possibly already vast DVD collection to something more expensive, although with a better quality of experience.

The audience benefits from Blu-ray due to the higher definition and better quality of the experience they receive in comparison to regular DVDs. Blu-ray discs are mainly targeted at people who enjoy films because they are being offered a better quality of film and therefore more enjoyment from the experience because the sound and picture are clearer. Due to the capacity of Blu-ray discs any bonus features could be fitted onto the same disc as the DVD and series of programs from the television such as the Office, can be fitted onto less discs, taking up less space than tradition DVDs.

Institutions
The film institution are set to benefit majorly from the introduction of Blu-ray, with a better quality disc being released of classic films people are likely to purchase them all again to take advantage of the better quality and also to update their collection, just as people did from VHS to DVD. With a better quality being offered people are also more likely to purchase Blu-ray because the viewing experience is so much more enjoyable than before. Seven of the eight major movie studios (Disney, Fox, Warner, Paramount, Sony, Lionsgate and MGM) are releasing films in Blu-ray format and all except Paramount set to release their movies exclusively in Blu-ray format.

Key concepts
The key concepts of Blu-ray are quality because the quality of the product is greatly improved with this technology and miniaturisation because the discs can hold more data than DVDs.