Blu-ray set for market blitz after vendor thumbs up

The Blu-ray format of optical storage is set to gain widespread adoption in the business and consumer marketplaces following the approval of Version 1.0 of the BD-ROM physical-format specification by a group featuring many of the leading lights in the IT industry.

The Blu-ray Disc Founders, whose membership consists of industry heavyweights Dell, HP, Hitachi, LG, Mitsubishi Electric, Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, TDK, and Thomson, has made it available to disc manufacturers and other interested parties.

    The completion of the physical specification is an important step because it provides discmanufacturers with the information they need to prepare their BD-ROM disc production lines.

    "Blu-ray Disc (BD) is on schedule for companies to introduce BD-ROM players, drives and pre-recorded software to consumers beginning in late 2005," said Maureen Weber, general manager of HP's Optical Storage Solutions Business. "Given the strong support from consumer electronics, PC and media manufacturers for BD, a wide variety ofproducts is expected to eventually be available in every segment of the market."

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