Blu-ray hits 20 years old, and it isn't dead yet — optical disc format was introduced to the public at CES 2006

(Image credit: Verbatim Blu-ray media on Amazon)

20 years ago today, the CES in Las Vegas was buzzing with talk of Blu-ray technology, players, and media. Several years in the making, Blu-rays arrived with considerable industry backing, with “seven out of the eight major movie studios announced movie titles for the launch,” reports Blu-ray.com. This successor to the DVD offered improved density and thus capacity vs earlier optical formats, largely thanks to the development of blue‑violet laser diodes – hence the name.

Blu-ray discs boosted single layer media capacity to 25GB, vs 4.7GB for DVDs, using a new 405nm blue‑violet laser combined with more advanced materials. The shorter wavelength enabled a higher numerical aperture for more pits per sq mm. This was complemented by a tighter track pitch and a thinner (but harder) protection layer to boost capacity tenfold (comparing single-layer media).

Moreover, Blu-ray’s base speed was significantly boosted, with the older DVD standard offering 11 Mbps, but the new format raising the bar to 36 Mbps. Better quality video was also delivered thanks to Blu-ray’s adoption of the AVC (H.264) codec. It retained MPEG-2 compatibility, but AVC facilitated more efficient HD video file playback at manageable bitrates.

The Blu-ray vs HD DVD format war

Blu-ray’s success wasn’t inevitable, as a rival faction of electronics companies and movie studios would ignite a high‑profile format war. Much like the VHS vs Betamax videotape format war, there could only be one winner, and Sony was on the winning side this time, being one of the biggest backers of Blu-ray. Console gamers of the late noughties became well aware of this format war, as it would also divide the PlayStation and Xbox camps.

Blu-ray's superior capacity, default console integration, copy protection, and broader studio support would mean that this format war was quite brief, with Toshiba conceding in early 2008.

Blu-rays today

Since its introduction, Blu-ray has been iterated and improved with 4K Blu-ray packing HEVC, HDR and more features into the format starting about a decade ago.

Its bitrates are still considerably better than the best mainstream streaming quality available, so it remains a cherished format among home cinema enthusiasts. Thus, Blu-ray media still clings onto some relevance in 2026, with collectors and bandwidth‑limited regions keeping the format alive. It is also still available as the physical media distribution format for some modern consoles.

Its days look numbered, though, if we look at various industry trends. Console makers are pulling away from physical media, including Blu-ray distribution, for example. Also, we saw news of Sony ending recordable Blu-ray production in 2025, and LG ending production of Blu-ray players in late 2024. Changes like this put several sturdy nails in this optical disc format’s coffin.

It seems like an age since PCs last came with Blu-ray (or any optical) disc apparatus built-in. That excludes Japan, for some reason, where we recently noticed optical drive demand surged (inc Blu-ray compatible) coinciding with the end of support for Windows 10.

We frequently report on new data storage solutions, some using optical media. It will be interesting to see if we ever get another wave of consumer optical storage hardware using this kind of physical media.

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Mark Tyson is a news editor at Tom's Hardware. He enjoys covering the full breadth of PC tech; from business and semiconductor design to products approaching the edge of reason.

18 Comments Comment from the forums

thisisaname

Not been replaced not because consumers do not want better but because media companies do not want to replace it with better. They do not want use to have physical media only digital.

Edit use to us, Ogotai
Reply
Ogotai

thisisaname said:
They do not want use to have physical media only digital.
huh ? should " use " be " us " ?

yet some prefer physical media... even record sales have been increasing... i have looked at records, and i cant justify the $10-20+ price gap between records and cds.. if given the option, id grab the cd, even though the record version does sound a little better...
Reply
Gururu

Reminded me to test my Blu-Ray...yep still works.
Reply
bit_user

IMO, the article probably should've also mentioned Java. Before Android, Blu-ray was probably the most widespread Java-based platform.

Just watched a blu-ray disc, yesterday. Discs are still being pressed for new titles, and often are the only way to see bonus content or get certain language audio & subtitles. Sometimes, I'm amazed at the like ~20 different languages of subtitles on certain studio releases!

They're also the only way to see 3D content, at home. I just bought a 3D copy of Avatar 2, to watch before seeing the 3rd film in the theater. Since my old 3D-capable TV died, I had to buy a projector for watching it.

My Oppo UHD player is still alive and kicking, too. I've got three BD-R drives, including one capable of burning 100 GB discs (not that I think they're worth the $). For that matter, I also haven't switched to M-Disc, even though two of my burners support it.
Reply
bit_user

Ogotai said:
yet some prefer physical media... even record sales have been increasing... i have looked at records, and i cant justify the $10-20+ price gap between records and cds.. if given the option, id grab the cd, even though the record version does sound a little better...
I bought a few CDs, over the past year. I have never owned a record player and don't expect that to change. Also, never owned anything tube-based.

Vinyl is an inferior format, in just about every way. Distortion added by the EQ curve has been credited for any perceived difference in sound, which is an effect that a producer should be able to simulate on digital formats, if that's what they really want. I could also believe some vinyl albums are mixed a little differently than CDs or streaming.

I find it hilarious that cassette tapes even had a minor revival! That's just pure nostalgia. Nothing particularly good about them.
Reply
Ogotai

bit_user said:
Vinyl is an inferior format, in just about every way
ive heard quite a few prefer vinyl, cause it sounds " warmer " than digital media.. like cds. i listed to shania's come on over on cd, and record, while similar.. i found the vinyl does sound a little different.. but needing 4 records for the one album, vs on cd.. a reason to stick with the cd :-)
Reply
usertests

Moreover, Blu-ray’s base speed was significantly boosted, with the older DVD standard offering 11 Mbps, but the new format raising the bar to 36 Mbps. Better quality video was also delivered thanks to Blu-ray’s adoption of the AVC (H.264) codec. It retained MPEG-2 compatibility, but AVC facilitated more efficient HD video file playback at manageable bitrates.
Its bitrates are still considerably better than the best mainstream streaming quality available, so it remains a cherished format among home cinema enthusiasts.
And of course, there were 50 GB dual-layer discs, and later UHD Blu-ray as its own format with H.265 and up to 100 GB discs.

Blu-ray rips continue to be the source of some of the best quality video available, since streaming video is often compressed more.
Reply
Findecanor

bit_user said:
Vinyl is an inferior format, in just about every way.
IMHO the best things with vinyl have nothing to do with sound quality or ease of use.

The discs came in large cardboard sleeves, that encouraged the artists to create elaborate cover art.
The experience of looking at the sleeve, or even inside an album , was sometimes just as important as listening to the music. You got a feeling of what the artist/s looked like, and sometimes the lyrics were printed there.
Also, some discs were picture discs, with art not just on the centre label but on the disc itself.

When CD's came along, you got a small front and a small back of the case, and everything else was stuffed into a flimsy leaflet stuck in-between plastic tabs, and which often got ripped.

And don't underestimate the user experience of having physical media. The human animal was made to live in a physical universe: whenever we think about things on the computer we do so by imagining physical objects. We enjoy touching things.
Reply
bit_user

Findecanor said:
Also, some discs were picture discs, with art not just on the centre label but on the disc itself.
CDs have an entire side that can be covered with paint.

Findecanor said:
When CD's came along, you got a small front and a small back of the case, and everything else was stuffed into a flimsy leaflet stuck in-between plastic tabs, and which often got ripped.
Oh, I have plenty of CDs that had fancy packaging and not the ordinary jewel box!

CDs originally came in big, cardboard boxes that were more than twice as tall as the actual jewel case. I guess this was to deter theft or maybe so they didn't sit low in bins designed to hold 12" records. When I was a kid, I'd cut out some of the graphics and logos from these and tape them on my binders.

Here are some examples:
https://www.reddit.com/r/nostalgia/comments/17vvqac/when_cds_came_in_long_boxes/
In case you're unfamiliar with them, they had the jewel box inside of the top half. So, they had the same width and thickness as the jewel box. The bottom half was usually just empty.

Edit: here's a bunch more:
https://longbox.tumblr.com/
Oh, and if you think CDs were bad for album art, have you seen cassette tape cases? CDs were definitely a step up from those! In fact, I wouldn't be at all surprised if the "clear plastic case with printed artwork" format actually got its start with cassette tapes.

Findecanor said:
And don't underestimate the user experience of having physical media. The human animal was made to live in a physical universe: whenever we think about things on the computer we do so by imagining physical objects. We enjoy touching things.
I think that's why some Millennials and Gen Z gravitated towards vinyl. I get it. I'm just saying it's not a great format.
Reply
bit_user

usertests said:
And of course, there were 50 GB dual-layer discs, and later UHD Blu-ray as its own format with H.265 and up to 100 GB discs.
UHD supports the same 25 GB and 50 GB media as the original blu-ray standard. It's mainly the codecs that changed with the UHD standard.

Edit: the wikipedia article states that UHD blu-ray physical media is different in the 66 GB and 100 GB capacities than BDXL. So, I guess that part was new.
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