Blu-ray Disc Association

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The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) is the industry consortium that develops and licenses Blu-ray Disc technology and is responsible for establishing format standards and promoting business opportunities for Blu-ray Disc. The BDA is divided into three levels of membership: the Board of Directors, the Contributors, and the General Members.[1]

The "Blu-ray Disc Founder group" was started in May 2002 by nine leading electronic companies: Sony, Matsushita, Pioneer, Philips, Thomson, LG Electronics, Hitachi, Sharp, and Samsung. Spearheaded by Sony Corporation, on February 19th 2002 the companies announced[2] that they were the "Founders" of the Blu-ray Disc and later changed their name to the "Blu-ray Disc Association" on May 18, 2004 to allow more companies to join their development. Some examples of companies that signed in include Apple, TDK, Dell, Hewlett Packard, The Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros. and Universal Music Group. As of December 2007, there are more than 250 members and supporters of the Association.

Contents

[edit] Members

[edit] Board of Directors

The Blu-ray Disc Association website describes the role of the Board of Directors as follows:[3]

"Companies participating in the Board of Directors are active participants of the format creation and key BDA activities. They are selected from the Contributors by election. The board sets an overall strategy and approves key issues. A board member can participate in all activities and attend all meetings. The Blu-ray Disc Founder companies will make up the initial Board of Directors. Annual fee: $ 50,000"

The current 18 board members (as of January 2008) are:[4]

[edit] Contributors

The role of contributors as described by the Blu-ray Disc Association Website:[5]

"Contributors are active participants of the format creation and other key BDA activities. They can be elected to become a member of the Board of Directors. A contributor can attend general meetings and seminars, and can participate in Technical Expert Groups (TEGs), regional Promotion Team activities, and most of the Compliance Committee (CC) activities. Membership requires execution of Contribution Agreement and must be approved by the Board of Directors. Annual fee: $ 20,000"

The 66 Contributors as of January 2008 are:[6]

[edit] Members

The Blu-ray Disc Association Website describes Members as follows:[7]

"General membership provides access to specific information from Committee discussions. A general member can attend general meetings and seminars. They can participate in specific Regional Promotion Team activities and specific CC activities. Annual fee: $3,000"

There are currently 94 members:

  • Acer Corporation
  • Alpine Electronics Inc.
  • Asahi Kasei Microsystems Co., Ltd.
  • Ashampoo GmbH & Co. KG
  • Bandai Visual Co. Ltd.
  • BASF AG
  • Basler Vision Technologies
  • BenQ Corporation
  • B.H.A. Corporation
  • Bose Corporation
  • B&W Group
  • The Cannery
  • Cheertek Inc.
  • Cinram Manufacturing Inc.
  • D&M Holdings, Inc.
  • Daewoo Electronics Corporation
  • Daikin Industries, Ltd.
  • Daxon Technology Inc.
  • Degussa
  • Eclipse Data Technologies
  • Elpida Memory, Inc.
  • ESS Technology Inc.
  • Expert Magnetics Corp.
  • Fujitsu Ten Ltd.
  • Funai Electric Co., Ltd.
  • GalleryPlayer Media Networks
  • GEAR Software
  • Hie Electronics, Inc.
  • Hoei Sangyo Co., Ltd.
  • IMAGICA Corp.
  • INFODISC Technology Co., Ltd.
  • Infomedia Inc.
  • Intersil Corporation
  • Kadokawa Holdings Inc.
  • Kaleidescape, Inc.
  • Kitano Co., Ltd.
  • Konica Minolta Opto Inc.
  • Laser Pacific Media Corp.
  • Lauda Co. Ltd.
  • Lead Data Inc.
  • LEADER ELECTRONICS CORP
  • Lenovo
  • Linn Products Ltd.
  • LINTEC Corporation
  • M2 Engineering AB
  • MainConcept AG
  • Mitsumi Electric Co., Ltd.
  • Must Technology Co., Ltd.
  • MX Entertainment
  • Netflix Inc.
  • NewTech Infosystems Inc. (NTI)
  • NEXAPM Systems Technology Inc.
  • Nichia Corporation
  • Nikkatsu Corporation
  • NTT Electronics Corporation
  • nVidia Corporation
  • OC Oerlikon Balzers AG
  • Omnibus Japan Inc.
  • Onkyo Corporation
  • Online Media Technologies Ltd.
  • Ono Sokki Co., Ltd.
  • OPT Corporation
  • Orbit Corp.
  • Origin Electric Co., Ltd.
  • Osmosys SA
  • Pinnacle Systems
  • PoINT Software & Systems GmbH
  • Pony Canyon Enterprise
  • PowerFile
  • Primera Technology, Inc.
  • Quanta Storage Inc.
  • Realtek Semiconductor Corp.
  • Rimage Corporation
  • Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.
  • Dr. Schwab Inspection Technology GmbH
  • Shinano Kenshi Co. Ltd.
  • Singulus Technologies
  • STEAG ETA-OPTIK GmbH
  • Sumitomo Bakelite
  • Tao Group Limited
  • Targray Technology International Inc.
  • TEAC Corporation
  • Teijin Chemicals Ltd.
  • THX Ltd.
  • Tsvetov Technologies
  • Toei Video Company Ltd.
  • Toho Company, Ltd.
  • Toppan Printing Co., Ltd.
  • TOPTICA Photonics AG
  • UmeDisc Ltd.
  • Vivendi Universal Games
  • Yamaha Corporation
  • Yokogawa Electric Corporation
  • 1K Studios, LLC

[edit] Timeline of major changes to membership

[edit] Timeline of major events and announcements involving members

  • On June 30, 2004 Panasonic, part of Matsushita Electric, a founder member of the Blu-ray Disc Association, became the second manufacturer after Sony to launch a Blu-ray Disc consumer product into the Japanese market. The DMR-E700BD recorder supported writing to existing DVD formats, and became one of the first units to read and write to dual-layer Blu-ray Discs with a maximum capacity of 50 gigabytes. The launch price of the recorder was $2780 USD.[11][12]
  • On December 8, 2004 The Walt Disney Company (and its home video division, Buena Vista Home Entertainment) announced its exclusive support for Blu-ray Disc.
  • On January 7, 2005 Vivendi Games and Electronic Arts announced their support for the Blu-ray Disc format.
  • On July 28, 2005 Verbatim Corporation, part of Mitsubishi Chemical Media, announced its support for Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD storage format development.[13]
  • On August 17, 2005 Lions Gate Home Entertainment announced it would release its content using the Blu-ray Disc format.
  • On September 7, 2005 Samsung confirmed their next generation of optical drives will support Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD discs.
  • On October 2, 2005 Paramount announced they would endorse Blu-ray Disc, while still supplying content on the rival HD DVD — in order to give consumers a choice.
  • On October 20, 2005 Warner Bros. announced they would release titles on the Blu-ray Disc format, in addition to HD DVD Video.[14][15]
  • On November 9, 2005 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer announced it would support Blu-ray Disc, and plans to have titles available when Blu-ray Disc is launched.[16]
  • On November 19, 2005, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment announced that they finished editing the first Blu-ray Disc, a full-length movie, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. The disc uses MPEG-2 compression at a resolution of 1920×1080 (it was not announced whether it will be 1080p or 1080i) and claims to use a menu interface that would succeed current DVD-Video interfaces.[17]
  • On January 4, 2006, at the Consumer Electronics Show Samsung and Philips announced their first Blu-ray Disc players for the U.S. market. Samsung announced the BD-P1000, retailing for $1000 USD and sporting HDMI output with backward support for DVD formats (DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+RW, and DVD+R), while Philips announced the BDP-9000. Philips also announced their all-in-one PC TripleWriter Blu-ray Disc drive and range of Blu-ray Disc media would arrive in 2nd quarter of 2006.[18][19]
  • On March 7, 2006 Sony announced it would be shipping rewritable single-layer 25 GB 2x speed Blu-ray Discs to Europe, with dual-layer discs arriving later in the year.[20]
  • On March 16, 2006 Sony announced a Blu-ray Disc player, the first VAIO desktop PC with a Blu-ray Disc recorder, and a Blu-ray Disc internal PC drive would be released in the summer of 2006. The VAIO PC would be shipped with a free 25 GB Blank BD-RE (rewritable) Blu-ray Disc worth $25 USD.[21]
  • On April 10, 2006 TDK announced in a press release that it began shipping 25 GB BD-R and BD-RE media (at prices of $19.99 USD and $24.99 USD respectively). TDK also announced that it would be releasing 50 GB BD-R and BD-RE media later this year (at prices of $47.99 USD and $59.99 respectively).[22]
  • On May 16, 2006 Sony announced its first VAIO notebook computer that will include a built-in Blu-ray Disc recorder with a 17" WUXGA display capable of displaying 1080p (at a price of $3499.99 USD). The VAIO shipped in June including software to play Blu-ray Disc movies and an HDMI-A input for other HD devices.[23]
  • On May 17, 2006 Pioneer shipped BDR-101A, a PC-based Blu-ray Disc recorder drive.[24]
  • On June 15, 2006, Samsung announced the industry's first BD-P1000 player had begun shipping to U.S. retail stores for availability on June 25, 2006.[25]
  • On July 18, 2006 Verbatim Corporation announced that it was shipping its ScratchGuard coated BD-R and BD-RE Blu-ray Disc recordable and rewritable discs to stores in Europe, with discs priced between £20 and £24 (GBP).[26]
  • On August 16, 2006 Sony announced shipment of 50 GB dual-layer Blu-ray Disc recordable discs with a suggested retail price of $48.[27]
  • On January 4, 2008, Warner Bros. announces that it would abandon HD-DVD support by the end of May.
  • On January 5, 2008, New Line Cinema announced it would be following Warner's lead, backing Blu-ray exclusively.
  • On February 11, 2008, Netflix announced to phase out HD DVDs and begin to carry only Blu-ray Discs.`[28]
  • On February 19, 2008, Universal Studios announced it would be releasing movies on Blu-ray format.
  • On February 21, 2008, Paramount Pictures announced it would be releasing movies on Blu-ray format.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Membership Levels (About Us, Blu Ray Association) (2006). Retrieved on 2006-12-09.
  2. ^ Large Capacity Optical Disc Video Recording Format "Blu-ray Disc" Established (2007). Retrieved on 2007-02-05.
  3. ^ Membership Levels
  4. ^ Supporting Companies
  5. ^ blu-raydisc.com
  6. ^ blu-raydisc.com
  7. ^ [1]
  8. ^ Acer Joins BDA (2007). Retrieved on 2007-09-12.
  9. ^ IFA Underway in Berlin; Blu-ray Takes Center Stage (2007). Retrieved on 2007-09-02.
  10. ^ "Acer, China Huala Group join Blu-ray Disc camp". Retrieved on 2007-09-03. 
  11. ^ Matsushita unveils DVD recorder adopting Blu-ray Disc format+ (2006). Retrieved on 2006-08-25.
  12. ^ Panasonic Unveils Blu-ray Recorder (2006). Retrieved on 2006-08-25.
  13. ^ Verbatim Announces Development Plans for both BluRay and HD-DVD (2006). Retrieved on 2006-08-24.
  14. ^ Arnold, Thomas K. (2005). Another Victory for Blu-ray Camp. Retrieved on 2006-04-03.
  15. ^ Warner joins Blu-ray cabal, Toshiba reacts (2005). Retrieved on 2006-04-03.
  16. ^ MGM to Support Blu-ray Disc Format (2005). Retrieved on 2006-04-03.
  17. ^ Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Completes First Full-Length Blu-ray Disc (2005). Retrieved on 2006-04-03.
  18. ^ Samsung's BD-P1000: first U.S. Blu-Ray player (2006). Retrieved on 2006-08-24.
  19. ^ Philips introduces new Blu-ray Disc products and media – the ultimate consumer storage platform for high definition entertainment (2006). Retrieved on 2006-08-25.
  20. ^ Sony to ship blank Blu-ray Discs this month (2006). Retrieved on 2006-08-24.
  21. ^ Sony unveils Blu-ray player, Vaio PC (2006). Retrieved on 2006-08-24.
  22. ^ TDK Begins Shipping Its Highly Anticipated Blu-ray Disc 25 GB Recordable And Rewritable Media; Exclusive Material Formulations and Manufacturing Processes Deliver Bit-Perfect Recording and Playback (2006). Retrieved on 2006-04-10.
  23. ^ Sony announces first VAIO notebook computer to include built-in blu-ray burner. (2006). Retrieved on 2006-05-17.
  24. ^ Pioneer Ships PC-Based Blu-ray Disc Drives (2006). Retrieved on 2006-05-25.
  25. ^ SAMSUNG Launches Industry's First Blu-ray Disc Player To The U.S. Market (2006). Retrieved on 2006-08-24.
  26. ^ Verbatim to release BD-R, BD-RE media (2006). Retrieved on 2006-08-24.
  27. ^ SONY NOW SHIPPING 50 GB DUAL LAYER BLU-RAY DISC MEDIA IN THE U.S.. Sony. Retrieved on 2006-08-17.
  28. ^ Netflix, Citing a Clear Signal From the Industry, Will Carry High-Def DVDs Only in Blu-ray Format (2008). Retrieved on 2008-02-12.

[edit] External links

Blu-ray Portal
v • d • e
High definition media
Media formats
Promoter
Blu-ray Disc Association · HD DVD Promotion Group
Interactivity
Recordable formats
Comparison
Copy protection
AACS (both)  · HDCP (both)  · BD+ (BD)  · ROM-Mark (BD)
Blu-ray Disc players
HD DVD players