Sony VAIO Blu-ray Disc Player User Manual

Blu-ray Disc
Guide
TM
VAIO® Blu-ray Disc Disclaimers, Notes, Warnings
NOTICE
© 2006 Sony Electronics Inc. Reproduction in whole or in part without written per­mission is prohibited. All rights reserved. This manual and the software described herein, in whole or in part, may not be reproduced, translated, or reduced to any machine readable form without prior written approval.
SONY ELECTRONICS INC. PROVIDES NO WARRANTY WITH REGARD TO THIS MANUAL, ANY SOFTWARE REFERENCED HEREIN, OR OTHER INFOR MATION CONTAINED HEREIN AND HEREBY EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PAR­TICULAR PURPOSE WITH REGARD TO THIS MANUAL, THE SOFTWARE, OR SUCH OTHER INFORMATION. IN NO EVENT SHALL SONY ELECTRONICS INC. BE LIABLE FOR ANY INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR SPECIAL DAM AGES, WHETHER BASED ON TORT, CONTRACT, OR OTHERWISE, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THIS MANUAL, THE SOFTWARE, OR OTHER INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN OR THE USE THEREOF.
SONY CANNOT WARRANT THAT THE FUNCTIONS DESCRIBED IN THIS GUIDE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE. SONY ALSO ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY, AND SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES TO, OR VIRUSES THA T MAY INFECT, YOUR COMPUTER EQUIPMENT, OR OTHER PROPERTY ON ACCOUNT OF YOUR ACCESS TO, USE OF, OR BROWSING IN ANY DESCRIBED WEB SITE, OR YOUR DOWNLOADING OF ANY MATERIALS, DATA, TEXT, IMAGES, VIDEO, OR AUDIO FROM ANY DESCRIBED WEB SITE. WEB SITE INFORMATION IS OBTAINED FROM VARIOUS SOURCES AND MAY BE INACCURATE. COPIES OF COPYRIGHTED INFORMATION MAY ONLY BE MADE FOR LEGALLY PERMISSIBLE PURPOSES.
Sony Electronics Inc. reserves the right to make any modification to this manual or the information contained herein at any time without notice. The software described herein is governed by the terms of a separate user license agreement.
This manual references software owned by Sony and licensed by third parties. Use of such software is subject to the terms and conditions of license agreements enclosed with the product that accompanies such software. Some of the software may not be transported or used outside the United States. Software specifications are subject to change without notice and may not necessarily be identical to current retail versions.
-
-
Sony, VAIO, the VAIO logo and like.no.other are trademarks or registered trade­marks of Sony Electronics.
Blu-ray Disc and Blu-ray Disc logo are trademarks of Blu-ray Disc Association. Microsoft, Windows, and the Windows logo are trademarks or registered trade-
marks of the Microsoft Corporation.
All other trademarks are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
Contents
What is Blu-ray Disc™ Media? .......................................................1
Benefits of Blu-ray Technology ..................................... ..................1
Simplicity .................................................................................... 2
Storage Capacity ........................................................................2
Compatibility ............................................................................... 3
Flexibility and Interactivity ...........................................................3
What do I need to experience Blu-ray technology? ........................4
TV / Monitor ................................................................................4
Audio ..........................................................................................4
Notes ..................................... ................................. ..............5
Blu-ray Disc Compatible Programs .................................................6
®
Roxio
Ulead
InterVideo
Frequently asked Questions ...... ... ... .... ... ......................................22
Footnotes ...................................................................................... 26
Easy Media Creator ............................................................ 7
Creating a Data Disc .......... ... ... ... ...............................................8
Easy Archive .............................................................................10
®
BD DiscRecorder for VAIO® ....................................... ...... 12
Before you begin ......................................................................13
Preferences ..................................... ................................ ...13
Project Settings ......................... .........................................14
Creating a new project ........................... ...................................14
Editing Video Files ....................................................................16
Burning to a BD disc .................................................................17
Appending an existing project .................................................. 17
Straight to Disc .........................................................................18
®
WinDVD® BD for VAIO® ...................................... ...... 20
Additional Information ........................ ................................21
Blu-ray Disc™ Guide

What is Blu-ray Disc™ Media?

Blu-ray Disc™ media (BD), is a revolutionary new media format developed by a group of the world’s leading consumer electron ics, personal computer, and media manufacturers.
The Blu-ray format was developed to meet the entertainment and storage demands of the “High Definition” er a that th e en tir e wor ld is rapidly moving to embrace. Blu-ray technology brings to market a new high definition media, which can not only store high definition video, but also high definition audio. In addition, Blu-ray Disc media have the storage capacity for enormous amounts of data.

Benefits of Blu-ray Technology

The benefits of Blu-ray technology include:
Simplicity Storage Capacity
Compatibility Flexibility / Interactivity
1

Simplicity

Blu-ray technology makes the task of choosing which basic media type to use easy with only three different formats to choose from. They include:
BD-R (Blu-ray Disc Recordable) - Recordable format for HD
video recording and PC data storage.
BD-RE (Blu-ray Disc Re-writable) - Rewritable format for HD
video recording and PC data storage.
BD-ROM (Blu ray Disc Read Only Memory) - Read only format
for HD movies, music, software, games, etc.
These discs are available with a storage capacity of 25 GB1 (single layer) and 50 GB
1
(dual layer).
Note: Blu-ray Disc™ storage capacity totals are for high-de finition
content.

Storage Capacity

The chart below clearly demonstrates the enormous storage capacity of a Blu-ray Disc when compared to CDs and DVDs.
Media
BD Dual Layer 50 GB BD 25 GB DVD Dual Layer 8.5 GB DVD 4.7 GB CD 700 MB
Storage Capacity
1
Blu-ray Disc offers five times the capacity of DVDs without compromising quality.
2
What does this mean for me?
The limited capacity of DVDs results in video and audio files being compressed to fit on a disc. This causes a quality reduction in the picture and/or sound. The greater capacity of BD discs allows for pristine picture quality and virtually full spectrum audio.

Compatibility

Blu-ray Disc™ offers a convergence of technology and compatibility among a new generation of high definition movies, video players, video recorders, personal computers, and gaming systems.
And what about your current library of DVDs and CDs? The Blu-ray Disc generation of home entertainment products will be backward-compatible with your CDs, DVDs, and other optical disc formats.

Flexibility and Interactivity

The technology built into each Blu-ray disc gives you, and industry professionals creating high definition content, the tools to create a viewing experience that up until now has not been possible for home entertainment. For example:
Multiple video layers can now be on the screen at the same
time. A presentation layer, customizable by a studio, allows the content creator to place graphics on the screen on top of the video or alongside it. Sitting on top of that layer is the Blu-ray navigation layer that will allow you to interact with the menu while the video is playing.
Support for Java applications allows the video layer to be
re-sizable providing even greater flexibility. Imagine the possibility of watching a movie and playing an interactive game related to the movie—all at the same time.
3

What do I need to experience Blu-ray technology?

To fully appreciate Blu-ray’s video and audio output capabilities2, you would need the following:
Note: Your VAIO® computer comes equipped with a HDMI™ or
DVI-D HDCP connection, depending on the model you purchased.

TV / Monitor

For the best experience and output to a HD TV or monitor (HDCP monitor), do the following:
Output to a high definition television/monitor using HDMI or
DVI-D3 connection.
Use a Blu-ray Disc player. (See the program “InterVideo®
WinDVD

Audio

For the best experience and output to an audio system, do the following:
Use a high-quality A/V receiver or sound decoder device with a
quality set of 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound speakers.
®
BD for VAIO®” included with your computer.)
Note: If your computer has HDMI output, use HDMI to your TV/
monitor as the sound source. Otherwise, use the S/PDIF output.
4

Notes

The content of certain Blu-ray Disc™ movies may require a
HDCP compliant monitor. If your TV/monitor has a HDMI™ connection, it should support the HDCP content protection functionality.
If you connect to your TV/monitor using DVI, check your
display’s user manual to see if it is HDCP compliant.
Analog connections such as Composite an d S-Video are able
to output BD content, but only at standard definition resolutions.
Higher capacity analog connections, such as VGA, are able to
output BD content, but may be limited to a lower quality if the disc manufacturer limits the video resolution for non-HDCP compliant displays.
To maximize picture quality of Blu-ray Disc recorded content on
compatible external displays, Sony recommends setting the display resolution to 1080p or 720p and disabling dual display mode.
When powering your VAIO notebook computer with a battery,
the power management features of the system can limit CPU and video functions, interrupt tasks with warning messages, or may cause the system to suspend or hibernate before tasks ar e completed. Therefore, Sony recommends that you use your AC adapter for demanding tasks like burning data to DVD or Blu­ray Disc media, playback of Blu-ray Disc recorded content, and high end graphic functions such as 3D rendering to maximize display quality and to avoid possible disruption of operations.
5

Blu-ray Disc Compatible Programs

Sony has included three Blu-ray Disc compatible sof tware programs to the VAIO
select VAIO personal computers. They are provided to give you the tools you need to experience Blu-ray Disc techno log y. The included programs are:
•Roxio® Easy Media Creator — Backup up large amounts of
data to recordable optical discs.
Ulead® BD DiscRecorder for VAIO — Capture, edit, and save
videos in BDAV format
InterVideo® WinDVD® BD for V AIO — Software BD player
combining all of the features of a standard BD player with advanced functionality
Note: Sony supports the lawful use of technology and does not
endorse or encourage the use of our products for purposes other than those permitted by copyright laws.
®
package of factory-installed software for
4
.
2
.
6

Roxio® Easy Media Creator

Roxio® Easy Media Creator is perfect for backing up large amounts of data to recordable optical discs. The version of Roxio Media Creator installed on your VAIO computer supports the cre ation of data discs using Blu-ray Disc™ technology.
You can also protect your important music, video, and data files by using the Easy Archive feature to transfer and store files on high-
4
capacity Blu-ray discs
.
-
7

Creating a Data Disc

Before you begin
If you plan to use a BD-R (write once) disc when creating a data disc, you should consider whether you want the disc left open (appendable) or closed (non appenda ble) at the end of a recording session.
T o leave the disc open, choose the option I would like to use
discs for more than one recording. Selecting this option
allows you to record multiple times to a single disc. However, fewer drives may be able to read the disc. Use this option if you expect to make many small recordings on high capacity discs, or if you do not need to share your discs.
To close the d is c, choose I only need to use discs for one
recording. Selecting this option allows you to record only one
time to a disc. However, a larger number of drives will be able to read the disc. Use this option if you typically fill your discs during a single recording session or wish to use the disc on more than one computer.
To create a data disc
1 Start Roxio® Easy Media Creator.
From the Windows® Taskbar, click the Start button. Point to All
Programs, Roxio, click Easy Media Creator, and then click Home.
2 From the Project Menu on the left side of the screen, click Data.
Then select Data Disc Project.
Note: To open a saved Data Disc project, go to the main menu
and select File, Open Saved Project, and locate the project file you would like to open. By default, saved projects are stored in your My Documents folder with a .sonic file name extension.
3 Click the Destination Selection combo box, located in the control
panel across the bottom of the screen, and select a recorder drive from the available list.
4 Insert a blank Blu-ray Disc™ media into the selected recorder
drive.
8
5 If desired, type a name for your disc in the Volume Label text box
located at the top of the project window.
Note: If your disc already contains files and they do not display in
the project window, you can add the files by clicking the Load
Disc button.
6 Add files to your disc by the following methods:
Click the Add Data button and from the Select files and
folders to add screen, locate and select the files/folders you
wish to add. If desired, rename the selected file/folder in the File Name text box, and then click the Add button.
Drag files and folders directly from a directory window and
drop them in the project window display area.
Project window display area notes
Click a column heading to sort the data in ascending or descending order.
Use the control box to manage or remove files and folders in the list.
7 From the Project Menu, click Tools | Disc Information. Review
the Inserted Disc information and make sure that the data in your current project will fit on the disc. If the data will not fit, select one
or more files and click the Remove button in the control box.
Note: Removing files/folders from a Data Disc project will not
remove the files/folders from your hard drive.
8 Click Save to save the file/folder list. Once saved, the list can be
easily accessed at a later time.
9 Click the Data Disc button to begin recording data to your disc.
A progress screen displays and will inform you when the project has completed.
10 Click the Done button to return to the project window . Remove the
disc from the drive and store in a safe place.
9

Easy Archive

The Easy Archive project lets you easily backup important files to a disc or hard drive. An Easy Archive project can be scheduled to run whenever it's convenient. Large archive projects are automatically spread across as many discs as you need.
To use Easy Archive
1 From the Project Menu on the left side of the scr een, click Backup.
Then click Easy Archive.
2 Select a destination drive. If the destination is a disc drive, insert a
blank or rewritable disc.
3 Carefully read the on-screen instructions and select the file
categories to archive.
Note: To schedule this project, click the Scheduler button and
select the desired archive frequency by choosing an option fro m the Schedu ling options drop-down list. Click the Save butto n and enter a project name and then click OK. The project name and scheduled run date displays in the Scheduler.
4 Click the Easy Archive button located in the Control Panel across
the bottom of the screen to run the project now.
5 Click the Done button to return to the project window.
10
Additional Information
Roxio® Easy Media Creator is designed to be used for both Blu-ray Disc™ and standard definition functionality such as CD burnin g, standard DVD burning, etc. For additional information about the Roxio Easy Media Creator features available to you, refer to the
Help file
5
.
To open the Help file
Do one of the following:
From the main menu, click Help.
Click the Help/Tutorial icon located on the Welcome banner.
Press the F1 key on your keyboard.
11

Ulead® BD DiscRecorder for VAIO®

With Ulead® BD DiscRecorder for VAIO® you can capture, edit, and save videos in the BDAV format for use with BD-RE or
BD-ROM4. Ulead BD DiscRecorder for VAIO allows you to do the following:
Capture videos and create a new BDAV project. A BD-R disc is supported only when creating a new project.
Append additional movie clips to an existing movie on your BD disc(s). A BD-RE disc is required when appending an existing BDAV project.
Capture videos and then burn them directly onto a disc in the Blu-ray Disc™ format
4
.
Note: After creating a Blu-ray Disc with Ulead BD DiscRecorder
for VAIO, you can view the results with InterVideo for V AIO
®
. Simply start InterVideo WinDVD BD for V AIO, insert the
®
WinDVD® BD
disc in the BD drive, and press the Play button.
12

Before you begin

Before you begin a new project, you should review the current Preferences and Project Settings. These settings can affect the properties and quality of your project results.

Preferences

The Preferences dialog box allows you to define or change program settings
To access Preferences
Click the Settings and Options icon located in the bottom left corner of the screen and select Preferences from the menu.
General Preferences
Resume all confirmation dialog boxes
Check Ulead® Web site every:
Overrides the “Do not show again” option and allows all confirmation dialog boxes to appear.
Specifies the frequency the program checks the Ulead Web site for new releases and updates.
TV system Select the type of your TV system (NTSC or
PAL/SECAM).
Working folder Enter or locate a folder for temporary files. Audio playback
mode
Audio export mode
Do not compress DV-AVI to MPEG
Determines how the audio streams of the video are played.
2
Determines how the audio streams of the video are exported.
Uses DV-AVI format to ensure the best quality in capturing and burning, instead of converting videos to MPEG2 format.
Note: Some set-top players may not play the
resulting disc when this option is selected.
13
Capture Preferences
Click OK to start DV capture
Stop tape once capturing stops

Project Settings

From the Project Settings dialog box, you can Change MPEG
Settings and customize your Video Save options, which include
General and Compression settings.
To access Project Settings
Click the Project Settings icon located in the lower left corner of the window.
Displays a confirmation message befor e performing the actual capturing process.
Automatically stops the connected capture device in your computer once the program stops capturing.

Creating a new project

When creating a new project, WinDVD® BD Recorder for VAIO® lets you capture videos from your DV and HDV camcorders, from previous video files stored on your hard drive, and from unprotected DVD video.
To capture videos from a video device
1 Connect your HDV or DV camcorder or other video device to your
computer. (For additional information on connecting to your computer, refer to your video device’s user guide.)
2 Start Ulead® BD DiscRecorder for VAIO®.
From the Windows® Taskbar, click the Start button. Then point to
All Programs, Ulead BD DiscRecorder, and click Ulead BD DiscRecorder.
3 Click New/Append Disc. 4 Select the New Project option, and click Next to continue. 5 Click the Capture Video icon.
14
6 From the Capture Vide o screen, select the capture device from the
Source drop-down list.
7 Select the Capture Mode. Choose from Fixed duration, Marked
duration, or Full DV tape.
8 Select the Video format.
For HDV camcorder , MPEG2 is the only option. For DV camcorder , choose between MPEG, AVI, and SD BDAV-High Quality.
9 Use the video controls to locate the starting point of the video you
want to capture. 10 Click the Capture Video icon to start capturing the video. 11 When complete, click OK to close the Capture Video window.
To add video files stored on your computer to your movie
1 Start Ulead BD DiscRecorder for VAIO.
From the Windows® Taskbar, click the Start button. Then point to
All Programs, Ulead BD DiscRecorder, and click Ulead BD
DiscRecorder.
2 Click New/Append Disc. 3 Select the New Project option, and click Next to continue. 4 Click the Add Video Files icon to open the Select Files window.
Use the Explorer tab to locate the video folders/files you want to
add to your project. Supported format s include MPEG-1, MPEG-2,
AVI, ASF, WMV, and WMV HD
4
.
Note: If your computer’s operating system is Microsoft® Windows®
XP Media Center, you will have access to a Recorded TV folder where you can select recorded TV programs to add to your project.
5 From the Explorer tab, click an individual video file or a fo lder. The
file(s) appear in the display area of the Select Files window. 6 From the Select Files window, click the video file you want to add
to the project or click the Select All button. Then click Open.
15
The selected files open in the program video clip list located at the
bottom of the window.
To import DVD videos (non-copyrighted only) into your movie
1 Start Ulead® BD DiscRecorder for VAIO®.
From the Windows® Taskbar, click the Start button. Then point to
All Programs, Ulead BD DiscRecorder, and click Ulead BD
DiscRecorder.
2 Click New/Append Disc. 3 Select the New Project option, and click Next to continue. 4 Click the Add Video Files icon to open the Select Files screen to
open the Browse for Folder window. 5 Choose one of these supported DVD movie folders for import:
VIDEO_TS or DVD_RTAV. The file(s) appear in the display area of
the Select Files screen. 6 Click the video file(s) you want to add to the project and then click
Import.
The selected files open in the program video clip list located at the
bottom of the window.

Editing Video Files

After you have imported your video files, you can ed it and view the
files before burning them to disc
®
to the Ulead
BD DiscRecorder for VAIO® help file.
To open the Help file
Press the F1 key on your keyboard.
Note: For additional video editing needs, Sony has included
®
Adobe
Premiere® Elements and DVGate Plus™ software to the VAIO package of factory-installed software for select VAIO personal computers.
4
. For additional information, refer
16

Burning to a BD disc

To burn a project to a BD disc
1 When you finish reviewing and editing the video files on the New/
Append Disc window , and are ready to bur n the video files to a BD disc, click Next to open the Preview and Finish window.
From here you can select to format a BD disc, if necessary, and then choose to assign burning options such as assigning a volume label, disc name, and a disc burner.
2 Once the BD disc has been formatted and the Burning Options
have been completed, click the Burn icon to burn your project to a BD disc
4
.

Appending an existing project

The Append feature allows you to insert an existing BD disc and burn new programs to the disc
To append an existing BD disc
1 Start Ulead® BD DiscRecorder for VAIO®.
From the Windows® Taskbar, click the Start button. Then point to
All Programs, Ulead BD DiscRecorder, and click Ulead BD DiscRecorder.
4
.
2 Insert an existing BD disc in the BD drive on your computer. 3 Click New/Append Disc. 4 Select the Append option. Additional information appears on the
screen.
17
5 Make sure your BD drive appears (defaults) in the Select burner
text box.
6 Click Disc Information to view information about the BD disc
inserted in the BD drive. (Optional step)
7 Click Next to continue to the Program screen.
From the Program screen, you can open existing projects and capture/import new HDV or DV content for viewing and editing . When complete, click Next to go to the Preview and Finish screen.
8 Review the Burn Options. When complete, click Burn to add/
append the file(s) to your existing BD disc
4
.

Straight to Disc

BD DiscRecorder provides a fast and easy way to capture videos and then burn the content directly onto a BD-RE disc without saving it on the hard drive. BD DiscRecorder checks bo th th e burner and disc to make sure there are no problems with your output device and media.
Note: Ulead BD® DiscRecorder for VAIO® does not allow you to
create any type of a menu system when burning a disc. Each imported file is structured as a separate title on the disc instead of as a separate chapter.
To burn video files straight to disc
1 Connect your HDV or DV camcorder or other video device to your
computer. (For additional information on connecting to your computer, refer to your video device’s user guide.)
2 Start Ulead BD DiscRecorder for VAIO.
From the Windows® Taskbar, click the Start button. Then point to
All Programs, Ulead BD DiscRecorder, and click Ulead BD DiscRecorder.
3 Insert a BD-RE disc into the BD drive in your computer.
18
4 Click Straight to Disc, and then click Next.
Your HDV or DV device connected to your computer displays in the Source text box.
5 Select the Capture mode from the drop-down list. Options include:
Fixed duration, Marked duration, or Full DV tape.
6 Click the Show/Hide Options Panel for access to additional
settings. 7 Click Burning Options to enter the Volume label and Disc name. 8 Click Format Disc, if necessary. A BDAV disc must be formatted
for rewritable discs. 9 Click Burn to start the burning process4.
Additional Information
For additional information on these features, including
step-by-step instructions on their use, refer to the Ulead® BD
DiscRecorder Help file
5
or online user manual.
To access additional information
Help file — Press the F1 key on your keyboard.
User manual — From the Windows® Taskbar, click Start, then point to All Programs, Ulead BD DiscRecorder , and click then
User Manual.
19

InterVideo® WinDVD® BD for VAIO®

InterVideo® WinDVD® BD for V AIO® is an easy-to-use software BD player combining the features of a standard BD player with advanced functionality , such as time-stretching , zooming, panning,
and thumbnail bookmarks only possible on a software BD player The WinDVD BD for V AIO player support s playback of Blu-ray Disc
technology
2
. Play your BD discs in WinDVD BD for V AIO an d take
advantage of the advanced playback features that it offers.
3
.
T o play a Blu- ray movie disc tha t you created, use Int erVideo® WinDVD® BD for VAIO® 2.
Note: Windows® Media Center, Windows® Media Player, and
InterVideo for VAIO currently do not support the use of the Blu-ray Disc™ format. You must use InterVideo WinDVD BD for VAIO.
1 Insert the recorded Blu-ray disc into the optical disc drive of your
computer.
20
2 Start InterVideo WinDVD BD for VAIO from any of the following:
Windows® Taskbar
From the Windows Taskbar, click the Start button and point to
All Programs, InterVideo WinDVD, and then click InterVideo WinDVD BD for VA IO.
Media Center
a From the Windows Taskbar, click the Start button, and then
click Windows Media Center on the Start menu. Media Center opens.
b From the Media Center Start menu, select VAIO, and then
WinDVD BD. Media Center will minimize to allow WinDVD BD
for VAIO PC to run.
3 Once InterVideo WinDVD BD for VAIO starts, the recorded
Blu-ray disc plays automatically.
4 Use the transport controls of WinDVD BD for VAIO PC to navigate
through the various created titles of the recorded Blu-ray disc.

Additional Information

For additional information about the features of WinDVD® BD for
®
VAIO
, including step-by-instructions on their use, please refer to
the help file
5
.
To open the Help file
Do one of the following:
Click the Help icon located in the upper right corner of the screen.
Press the F1 key on your keyboard.
Right click anywhere on the WinDVD BD for VAIO screen and select Help
from the popup menu.
21

Frequently asked Questions

Question What are the Blu-ray Disc™ formats? Answer BD-ROM—Read only format for HD movies,
music, software, games, etc. BD-R—Recordable format for video
recording and PC data storage. BD-RE—Recordable format for video
recording and PC data storage.
Question What kind of data can be stored on a
Blu-ray disc.
Answer Any form of data available on a personal
computer can be stored to a Blu-ray Disc, including text documents, images, video files, and audio files. Using the appropriate software or operating support tools, a Blu-ray Disc can offer the functionality of a large removable hard disk drive.
Question Can I record video to a Blu-ray Disc using a
personal computer?
Answer Yes. With a BD compatible computer and
the appropriate software, such as Ulead BD DiscRecorder for VAIO (included in your factory-installed software package), you can edit standard and high definition video (for example from a camcorder) and then record it to Blu-ray Disc media.
22
Question How much data can I fit on Blu-ray Disc™
media?
Answer
A single layer disc can hold 25 GB1. A dual layer disc can hold 50 GB1.
Blu-ray Disc includes support for multi-layer discs, which should allow for storage up to
100 GB
1
- 200 GB1 of data in the future.
Question How much video can I fit on a Blu-ray Disc? Answer Up to 9 hours of high definition (HD) video
on a 50 GB
1
disc.
Up to 23 hours of standard definition (SD) video on a 50 GB
1
disc.
Question Will Blu-ray discs require a cartridge? Answer No, the development of low cost hard-
coating technologies has made the cartridges obsolete. Blu-ray will instead rely on a hard-coating for protection.
Question Will Blu-ray players be backwards
compatible with DVD?
Answer Yes, several leading consumer electronics
companies are marketing products that can read/write CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray discs using a BD/DVD/CD compatible optical drive.
23
Question What video codecs will Blu-ray support? Answer MPEG-2 - enhanced for HD, also used for
playback of DVDs and HD recordings. MPEG-4 AVC - part of the MPEG-4
standard also known as H.264 (High Profile and Main Profile)
2
.
SMPTE VC-1 - standard based on Microsoft technology
®
Windows® Media Video (WMV)
2
.
Please note that this simply means that Blu-ray players will have to support playback of these video codecs, it will be up to the movie studios to decide which video codec(s) they use for their releases.
24
Question What audio codecs will Blu-ray support? Answer Linear PCM (PLPCM) - offers up to 8
channels of uncompressed audio. Dolby® Digital (DD) - format used for DVDs,
offers 5.1 channel surround sound. Dolby Digital Plus (DD+) - extension of DD,
offers increased bitrates and 7.1 channel surround sound.
Dolby TrueHD - extension of ML P Lossless, offers lossless encoding of up to 8 channels of audio.
DTS Digital Surround - format used for DVDs, offers 5.1 surround sound.
DTS-HD - extension of DTS, offers increased bitrates and up to 8 channels of audio.
Please note that this simply means that Blu-ray players will have to support playback of these audio codecs, it will be up to the movie studios to decide which audio codec(s) they use for their releases.
25
Blu-ray Disc™ Guide

Footnotes

1 One GB equals approximately one billion bytes, a
portion of which may be used for disc management functions
2 As with other optical media devices, circumstances
may limit compatibility or prevent Blu-ray disc play back. VAIO computers may not support movie playback on packaged media recorded in AVC or VC1 formats at high bit rates. VAIO desktop systems require a compatible high-definition display for high definition playback. Playback of AACS protected media may require an HDCP compliant output and HDCP compliant display.
3 Requires HDTV with HDMI connector and equivalent
display capability. Image quality may vary
4 Video recording to Blu-ray Disc media is done by
MPEG2 format only.
-
5 Does not contain all documentation contained in the
retail version. Such documentation is available online.
26
© 2006 Sony Electronics, Inc. Printed in USA
3-099-190-01 *309919001*
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