Blu-ray Disc Founders Conduct Seminars for Companies
In response to growing industry support for the Blu-ray Disc standard, the 13 members of the Blu-ray Disc Founders held information seminars in San Jose, California on July 28 and in Tokyo, Japan on August 3 to introduce the formation of the Blu-ray Disc Association ("BDA").
The new entity will establish format standards and promote and further develop business opportunities for Blu-ray Disc (BD) -- the next generation optical disc for storing high-definition movies, photos and other digital content.
More than 70 people representing 42 companies attended the first information seminar held in San Jose, and in Tokyo, 400 people from more than 200 companies attended the conference. Attendees came to the events to hear about how they can play a role in the format creation, technology contribution, and working level of BDA's operations.
The Blu-ray Disc Founders -- made up of leading computer, consumer electronics and storage media companies -- will be re-incorporated into the BDA and is currently developing the membership application processes and operating procedures. The BDA is about to open to companies wishing to participate in the future development of Blu-ray Disc and to help develop, promote and establish the BD format as an industry standard for high-definition optical storage.
Key topics discussed at the seminars were the growing market for High Definition TV that will offer new opportunities for content providers to create compelling interactive services for consumers and the acceleration and convergence of the consumer electronics and information technology markets.
"With the rapid growth in high-definition TV, high capacity optical disc technology promises to be an important step in heightening the consumer's viewing experience," said analyst Van Baker of Gartner G2. "The evolution of packaged media to now include Internet connectivity is exciting in that it will engage consumers in a completely different way."
Blu-ray Disc is suitable for a variety of applications including PC data storage and is the perfect storage medium to enable digital convergence bridging between PC applications and consumer electronics entertainment devices.
"We're going to be seeing more consumer electronics activities, such as watching movies and delivering content through the PC in the living room, as the lines between traditional consumer electronics hardware and personal computers are blurred," said Tom Pratt, Technology Strategist at Dell. "Blu-ray Disc takes a leading role as a bridge between the CE and PC worlds where the activities become more and more convergent."
The addition of new members is expected to foster greater competition in the development of new products, applications and business opportunities within BD. Applications will be available in early September 2004 and the first official meeting of the new BDA is planned this October 4th in Tokyo. For updated information on the application process, please visit www.blu-raydisc-official.org.
About the Blu-ray Disc Founders: The Blu-ray Disc Founders was formed in May 2002 to pursue broad acceptance of the Blu-ray Disc formats. Members are Dell Inc.; Hewlett Packard Company; Hitachi, Ltd.; LG Electronics Inc.; Mitsubishi Electric Corporation; Panasonic (Matsushita Electric); Pioneer Corporation; Royal Philips Electronics; Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.; Sharp Corporation; Sony Corporation; TDK Corporation; and Thomson. The Web site for the Blu-ray Disc Association is www.blu-raydisc-official.org.
Blu-ray Disc Founders
-- Dell Inc.
-- Hewlett Packard
-- Hitachi, Ltd.
-- LG Electronics Inc.
-- Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
-- Panasonic (Matsushita Electric)
-- Pioneer Corporation
-- Royal Philips Electronics
-- Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd
-- Sharp Corporation
-- Sony Corporation
-- TDK Corporation
-- Thomson
More than 70 people representing 42 companies attended the first information seminar held in San Jose, and in Tokyo, 400 people from more than 200 companies attended the conference. Attendees came to the events to hear about how they can play a role in the format creation, technology contribution, and working level of BDA's operations.
The Blu-ray Disc Founders -- made up of leading computer, consumer electronics and storage media companies -- will be re-incorporated into the BDA and is currently developing the membership application processes and operating procedures. The BDA is about to open to companies wishing to participate in the future development of Blu-ray Disc and to help develop, promote and establish the BD format as an industry standard for high-definition optical storage.
Key topics discussed at the seminars were the growing market for High Definition TV that will offer new opportunities for content providers to create compelling interactive services for consumers and the acceleration and convergence of the consumer electronics and information technology markets.
"With the rapid growth in high-definition TV, high capacity optical disc technology promises to be an important step in heightening the consumer's viewing experience," said analyst Van Baker of Gartner G2. "The evolution of packaged media to now include Internet connectivity is exciting in that it will engage consumers in a completely different way."
Blu-ray Disc is suitable for a variety of applications including PC data storage and is the perfect storage medium to enable digital convergence bridging between PC applications and consumer electronics entertainment devices.
"We're going to be seeing more consumer electronics activities, such as watching movies and delivering content through the PC in the living room, as the lines between traditional consumer electronics hardware and personal computers are blurred," said Tom Pratt, Technology Strategist at Dell. "Blu-ray Disc takes a leading role as a bridge between the CE and PC worlds where the activities become more and more convergent."
The addition of new members is expected to foster greater competition in the development of new products, applications and business opportunities within BD. Applications will be available in early September 2004 and the first official meeting of the new BDA is planned this October 4th in Tokyo. For updated information on the application process, please visit www.blu-raydisc-official.org.
About the Blu-ray Disc Founders: The Blu-ray Disc Founders was formed in May 2002 to pursue broad acceptance of the Blu-ray Disc formats. Members are Dell Inc.; Hewlett Packard Company; Hitachi, Ltd.; LG Electronics Inc.; Mitsubishi Electric Corporation; Panasonic (Matsushita Electric); Pioneer Corporation; Royal Philips Electronics; Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.; Sharp Corporation; Sony Corporation; TDK Corporation; and Thomson. The Web site for the Blu-ray Disc Association is www.blu-raydisc-official.org.
Blu-ray Disc Founders
-- Dell Inc.
-- Hewlett Packard
-- Hitachi, Ltd.
-- LG Electronics Inc.
-- Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
-- Panasonic (Matsushita Electric)
-- Pioneer Corporation
-- Royal Philips Electronics
-- Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd
-- Sharp Corporation
-- Sony Corporation
-- TDK Corporation
-- Thomson
