First Hybrid Blu-ray Planned for Release

Japanese optical disc manufacturer Infinity has announced the first Blu-ray release which makes use of a hybrid Blu-ray/DVD release. Due to hit store shelves on February 18th, 'Code Blue' will feature four hybrid discs, which feature a single Blu-ray layer (25GB) and two DVD layers (9GB) on the same side of the disc. The disc has been approved by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), but has not been certified by the DVD Forum due to compatibility issues with some DVD players. The company tested the disc on 64 different players - including PC drives as well as standalone DVD and Blu-ray Disc players - and saw 100% compatibility, so the issue seems to be rare. Infinity has also developed a 50GB version which they are now in the process of getting certified by the BDA. It will be interesting to see if the technology gets adopted for any major Hollywood releases in the future.
Source: Electronista | Permalink	Relevant for:

nicholas01  » Dec 19, 2008
Wow, if this catches on, it seems like it would only help increase the rate of blu-ray adoption! I would think some people who want the 'dvd' version, but are anticipating on buying a blu-ray player in the near future would pick up a disc like this.

RustyK94  » Dec 19, 2008
I will buy one of these if they come out in the west. Just for laughs like.

coolmilo  » Dec 19, 2008
I hope this never sees the light of day. My friends who were HD DVD owners said the HD DVD/DVD disks were horrible...and more expensive. Studios need to focus on increasing quality and forget about gimmicks like hybrid disks, digibooks, etc.

DrinkMore  » Dec 19, 2008
This is terrible. Why would you continue to support a dying format? Can you imagine where we would be if we were STILL including a VHS copy now? Lol. Hopefully this fails.

Blu Titan  » Dec 19, 2008
Sorry but this report reads like a lot of GARBAGE. No need for this "invention". Thumbs way down.

dobyblue  » Dec 19, 2008
Ha, ha - I knew this was only a matter of time...and only Blu-ray was going to be able to do it as a hybrid instead of a stupid flipper disc.

desmond  » Dec 19, 2008
Digital copy is cheaper w/o any reliability issues.

Blu Titan  » Dec 19, 2008
Does anyone remember all of the problems with the HD DUD combo discs?...this "new" disc is doomed to bring unecessary problems. EPIC FAIL!

Rhoq  » Dec 19, 2008

These are different than the HD DVD combo discs (which had HD DVD on one side and SD DVD on the other). These are like the HD DVD "Twin Format" discs, which were single sided and contained both HD and SD DVD layers. Only a handful were released for HD DVD and they were reportedly to be much more reliable than combo discs. The downside was the Twin Format HD DVD could only handle 3 layers which usually meant a single (15GB) layer for HD and dual layers for DVD (9GB).

Sonny  » Dec 19, 2008
ALL FLIPPER/HYBRID DISC'S ARE TRASH!!!!! This is a crappy idea.....

RedIsNotBlue  » Dec 19, 2008
Ummm are people not reading this?? It isn't a flipper disc its all on one side.

Sonny  » Dec 19, 2008
"Blu" should know better....

CptGreedle  » Dec 19, 2008

This has the potential to help boost Blu-ray sales, or hurt them. Just like with HD DVD, people will not want to just go out and buy a hybrid disc for more money if they only want DVD. And if it does have compatibility issues with one format or the other, it is less likely people will want to spend ore money on it. Another issue is, right now we need the movie prices to drop. But I am sure this new technology will raise them instead. I am sure there is a place for this if it is used right. People who own one Blu-ray player but several DVD players might be willing to get this, but it can not cost more than the standard Blu-ray. In contrast, I think the digital copy is a better choice. Sonny, this is on one side, not 2. It does not flip.

neo_reloaded  » Dec 19, 2008

dobyblue: In response to your "I knew this was only a matter of time...and only Blu-ray was going to be able to do it as a hybrid instead of a stupid flipper disc." There were HD DVD hybrid discs as well - both HD DVD and DVD on the same side, with artwork on the other side like a normal disc. They were used for the Freedom discs in the US, and I believe other discs in Japan as well. There were no reported problems with these. All the problems were with the flipper "combo" discs - flipper discs are always trouble, all the way back to DVD-18s. I'm not particularly enthused by these new hybrid discs just because I don't see the need - but I'm not worried because a) I doubt any major studios will use them, or really any non-anime companies, and b) at least they're not flippers.

RustyK94  » Dec 19, 2008
Having a DVD copy on the Blu-Ray disc has it's advantages. For example if you want to put a movie on for the kids in the car you can still take your Blu-Ray disc and have the DVD copy which is on the disc play in the DVD player. I think maybe in the future a DVD copy on a Blu-Ray disc will be come common and will just be another handy feature.

Meeklo  » Dec 19, 2008
If you want to incorporate a DVD, then it should be packaged like how Disney did the BD of Sleeping Beauty, with the SD attached to the cover. And the price was still the same as a new BD.

Beta-guy  » Dec 19, 2008
I hope this goes away FAST, didn't we learn from the mistakes of HD DVD?

RustyK94  » Dec 19, 2008	Show comment Hide comment
Does it not seem more convenient to have a DVD copy on the Blu-Ray disc. By 2012 there will be 100GB and larger Blu-Ray discs on the market. How difficult can it be to have a DVD copy of a movie on the same disc plus you get the added bonus of not having the DVD disc which is far more easily scratched.

aramis109  » Dec 19, 2008
The problem with this is the potential to take up room that could better be used on a higher bitrate encode for the audio and video. There's also the question of compatibility. Personally... I don't like it.

Sonny  » Dec 19, 2008
I don't think it's a good idea to inject somthing new that could cause playback issues...

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