Blu-ray, also known as Blu-ray Disc (R) (BD), is the name of a next-generation optical disc format developed by the Blu-ray Disc (R) Association (BDA), and is supported by more than 170 of the world's leading personal computer and media manufacturers, video game and music companies, major movie studios, as well as consumer electronics manufacturers, led by Samsung's introduction of its first-to-market player, the BD-P1000. The format was developed to enable recording, rewriting and playback of High-Definition video (HD), as well as storing large amounts of data.

While current optical disc technologies such as DVD, DVD+/-R, DVD+/-RW, and DVD-RAM rely on a red laser to read and write data, the new format uses a blue-violet laser instead, hence the name Blu-ray. The benefit of using a blue-violet laser is that it utilizes a shorter wavelength than a red laser, which makes it possible to focus the laser spot with even greater precision. This allows data to be packed more tightly and stored in less space, making it possible to fit more than six times the storage capacity of traditional DVDs even though it's the same size as a CD/DVD. In addition, this extra capacity combined with the use of advanced video and audio codecs offer consumers an unprecedented HD experience.

Blu-ray players, led by Samsung's BD-P1000, are expected to replace traditional DVD players in the future. This is because today's DVD players do not support the recording of HDTV programming. Blu-ray recorders combined with hard drives offer a very flexible alternative for those that want to record HDTV. While HD-DVRs already allow consumers to record HDTV, the amount of HDTV programming that can be recorded and archived is limited by the size of the hard drive. Blu-ray recorders solve this problem by allowing consumers to record the video to Blu-ray Discs (R) and then free up valuable and limited hard drive space. The Blu-ray recorders will also offer many compelling new features not possible with a traditional VCR:

-Random access - instantly jump to any place on the disc
-Searching - quickly browse and preview recorded programs in real-time
-Create playlists - change the order of recorded programs and edit recorded video
-Simultaneous recording and playback of video (enables Time slip/Chasing playback)
-Automatically find an empty space to avoid recording over programs
-Improved picture - ability to record high-definition television (HDTV)
-Improved sound - ability to record surround sound (Dolby Digital, DTS, etc)

While a Blu-ray Disc (R) is the preferred viewing method of choice for content, the Blu-ray Disc (R) Association (BDA) expects every Blu-ray Disc (R) device to be backward compatible with DVDs. Today's Blu-ray players are equipped to read and write traditional CDs and DVDs, and Blu-ray Discs (R) using a BD/DVD/CD compatible optical head. In fact, most of the Blu-ray players coming out will support up-scaling of DVDs to 1080p/1080i, so a consumer's existing DVD collection will look more superior than before.