Terms and Specs

 

The following is a detailed glossary of all specs used to describe features on Blu-ray disc players.

 

Blu-ray Disc Profile information:

• BD Profile 1.0 (Original Profile) -- Provides basic Java interactivity available in all Blu-ray players
• BD Profile 1.1 (BonusView / Final Standard Profile) -- Adds dual video and audio decoders for picture-in-picture support, and mandates additional memory requirements.  All players first certified after October 31, 2007 are supposed to support the new profile.
• BD Profile 2.0 (BD-Live) -- Builds upon the BD 1.1 specs by allowing internet based content to be delivered and integrated into the presentation.  This profile is optional, and support of it requires internet connectivity and additional storage for downloaded content.
• BD Profile 3.0 (BD Audio) -- A completely separate profile from all others which allows manufacturer's to create BD players designed to ONLY playback audio content from Blu-ray discs

High definition video support:

• All players support resolutions up to 1080p over HDMI outputs.  TVs with DVI inputs that are HDCP compliant can use this output using a HDMI-to-DVI adapter cable.
• 24 frame per second (1080p24) output is supported by some players that bypass the 3:2 pulldown processing of 24fps (movie) images over HDMI output.  Can only be used with TVs that support 1080p24 input.  Can potentially eliminate "shudder" effects when a camera pans across a frame if the television can properly display the signal.
• Most players support component video output at up to 1080i resolutions, though ICT (Image Constraint Token) restrictions could eventually be used on some discs that would limit output to "quarter-resolution" 540p.

Advanced audio support:

• Dolby Digital  -- All players support Dolby Digital audio at up to 640kbps.  For playback of more than 5.1 channels, Dobly Digital + can be used, at up to 1.7 Mbps.
• DTS -- DTS is supported by all Blu-ray players at up to 1.5 Mbps.
• Dolby TrueHD -- A lossless compressed audio format (based on MLP) that can support up to 7.1 discrete channels at 24 bit/96 kHz and 18 Mbps.  Support is left up to the player manufacturer.  Typically, players that supprt this format decode the signal to PCM sound and output via HDMI or multi-channel analog outputs.
• DTS-HD High resolution (DTS-HD) -- A lossy compressed audio format that can support up to 7.1 discrete channels at 24 bit/96 kHz and 6.0 Mbps.  Support is left up to the player manufacturer.  Typically, players that supprt this format decode the signal to PCM sound and output via HDMI or multi-channel analog outputs.  For players that do not support the full resolution DTS-HD HR, a 1.5 Mbps DTS core is decoded.
• DTS-HD Master Audio (DTS-HD MA) -- A lossless compressed audio format that can support up to 7.1 discrete channels at 24 bit/96 kHz.  Support is left up to the player manufacturer.  Typically ,players that supprt this format decode the signal to PCM sound, and output via HDMI or multi-channel analog outputs.  For players that do not support the full resolution DTS-HD MA, a 1.5 Mbps DTS core is decoded.
• PCM -- A full unencoded PCM audio track (up to 7.1 channel) can be included on Blu-ray discs and played back on any Blu-ray player via HDMI or multichannel analog audio outputs.

Disc type support:

• BD-ROM -- This is just another way to say commercial Blu-ray movie discs.  They play in all players.
• BD-R/RE -- These are writeable/rewriteable Blu-ray discs.  Some players support these discs, depending on if they were authored as BDAV or BDMV discs.
• BDMV -- Some players can play BDMV discs, which are BD-R or BD-RE discs mastered with a PC authoring program.  These discs can be every bit as advanced as BD-ROM discs.
• BDAV -- Some players can play BDAV discs, which are BD-R or BD-RE discs mastered using a very simple profile, that doesn't allow for Java or advanced menus.  Set top Blu-ray recorders (mainly in Japan) use this format.
• BD-R 2.0 / BD-RE 3.0 -- Upcoming spec for recording BDMV video onto discs which have a provision that allows AACS copy protection to be applied to the disc.  Currently, new player models must support these discs in order to also support BDMV on the older spec'ed media.
• AVCHD -- Some players can play DVD or mini-DVD discs recorded with high definition AVC video, recorded in the AVCHD format.  Camcorders are starting to come out that record in this format, and some PC editing software can master these discs.
• DVD -- All Blu-ray players can play DVD video discs.  Most also upscale discs to 1080p, 1080i, or 720p resolution.
• SACD -- Some players support the Super Audio CD format for high resolution audio playback of stereo and multichannel SACD discs.
• CD -- Most players can also play standard audio CDs.

Overall Standard Specs -- unless otherwise noted for a specific player, Blu-ray players support:

• Blu-ray disc (BD-ROM) playback at 1080p, 1080i, or 720p over HDMI output.
• Blu-ray disc (BD-ROM) playback at 1080i or 720p over component output.  This can be limited in the future on specific discs.
• DVD playback at 480p or 480i over HDMI or component output.
• DVD playback upscaled to 1080p, 1080i, or 720p over HDMI output.
• CD audio output over HDMI, optical or coax digital, or analog audio outputs.
• Dolby Digital and DTS sound outputs over optical or coax digital and HDMI outputs.
• Multichannel PCM sound output over HDMI or multichannel analog outputs.

Player Generations:

• Gen 1: June 2006 - January 2007; $1,000 - $1,500 original price; BD-J 1.0; some players don't support advanced audio codecs, 1080p24, playing CDs, etc.
• Gen 2: Feb 2007 - October 2007; $500 - $1,000 original price; BD-J 1.0; All players support at least Dolby TrueHD; some support Dolbe Digital + and DTS-HD as well; most support 1080p24; all will play CDs
• Gen 3: Starting October 31, 2007; BD Profile 1.1 mandatory, BD-Live (Profile 2.0) optional