Does anyone else find it funny that the Blu-Ray Disc Association is located at Universal Studios?

Read it again, that's Universal City not Universal Studios, lots of stuff is there.

First of all, I've been making Blu-Ray discs for about six months now and I haven't burned a coaster yet. Also, where do all these grossly inflated Blu-Ray blank media prices come from? I buy all my media at www.tapeandmedia.com 25GB BD-R for about $10.70 per disc in lots of 5, 50GB BD-R for about $27, Rewritable 25GB BD-RE for $15 and 50GB BD-RE for about $46.

http://www.tapeandmedia.com/blu-ray_disc.asp

John

John_Cline if you are replying to my comment about coasters, it was a joke -- "the sky is falling" converted to party humor, but it must have failed ;-)

Well, I must confess, even after studying the Blu-Ray Ass'n website, I'm still very much confused. I have the distinct impression that the language on the site was rather hastily translated into English from the original Japanese, so it's a little hard to decipher.

There are a variety of Blu-Ray Media, each with different content protection requirements. I'm assuming, that as a small video producer, I'll be burning onto BD-R media. There are two flavors of BD-R. Here's what the Blu-Ray Association has to say about copy protection for BD-R version 1:
http://www.blu-raydisc.info/content_prov/r1content_prot.php

and here's the chart for BD-R version 2:
http://www.blu-raydisc.info/content_prov/r2content_prot.php

For both versions, please note that although the MEDIA does not require AACS Copy Protection, standalone Blu-Ray players for "audiovisual" DO require AACS.

So, as a small, independent producer of documentaries, trying to self-distribute to a home video and educational market here are my three major questions:

1. Do I burn onto BD-R, Version 1 or Version 2 (or does it matter)?

2. When I use a "licensed replicator" (I can't find anything in the Blu-Ray material that is specifically called "replicators," only "media") to meet the terms of the Blu-Ray Logo Agreement, will I get socked for AACS copy protection fees for each title? Or will I just pay the normal duplication costs?

3. If I decide I don't care about using the Blu-Ray logo (like I don't use the DVD logo now), can I sell BD-R disks with no AACS copy protection, with no logo? If I do, will my audience be able to watch them on standalone Blu-Ray players?

I'm just looking for the cheapest legal way of getting HD video to the largest number of people, especially those people who aren't computer/techno geeks.

Bigrock said: Read it again, that's Universal City not Universal Studios, lots of stuff is there.

I know, except that Universal City *is* Universal Studios-- they occupy the exact same space (I worked at Universal for four years). I know there are other businesses located there, and that's what I found ironic: that the BR Association is there.

I just received an answer from the Blu-Ray Association to my most recent questions.

The good news is that it seems you CAN legally sell BD-R disks, without a Blu-Ray logo and without copy protection, if you are willing to take the risk. This seems roughly analogous to the current situation with DVDs.

Let's hope, that as was the case with DVD players, that manufacturers make BD players that will play BD-R disks without AACS. So, the key, it seems to me, is to make sure consumers insist on players that will play anything. It took a few years before DVD players would consistently play DVD-R disks, remember.

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Mr. Standing,

Let me try to answer one by one.

Q: I'm assuming, that as a small video producer, I'll most likely be
burning onto BD-R media. Is that correct?

A: Generally speaking as long as the number of copies you require is
less than a thousand, it makes more sense to burn your content in BD-R media
than BD-ROM media. However they can be playable only in BD Drive built-in PC
and many of BD Stand Alone movie players but NOT all. If you want your BD disc
to be playable on BD-ROM Movie player, I am afraid there isn't any
economically feasible way to manufacture BD-ROM and distribute.

Q: So, as a small, independent producer of documentaries, trying to
self-distribute to a home video and educational market here are my
three major questions:

Q: Do I burn onto BD-R, Version 1 or Version 2 (or does it matter)?

A: Not really.

Q: When I use a "licensed replicator" (I can't find anything in the Blu-Ray material that is specifically called "replicators," only "media") to meet the terms of the Blu-Ray Logo Agreement, will I have to pay AACS copy protection fees for each title? Or will I just pay the normal duplication costs? If I do have to pay for AACS copy protection, how much will
those fees cost me for duplicating less than 500 copies?

A: Yes "licensed replicators" has the same meaning as "media". They normally manufacture only BD-ROM but in very large q'ty, minimum order of 10k or more. So I don't think it's worth asking them.

Q: If I decide I don't care about using the Blu-Ray logo on my disks, can I sell BD-R disks with no AACS copy protection, with no logo? If I do, will my audience be able to watch those disks on standalone Blu-Ray players?

A: Yes you can distribute BD-R discs without AACS but they can be copied/ripped by anyone just like CD.

Blu-ray Disc Association
Kappei Morishita
License Officer
10 Universal City Plaza, T-100
Universal City CA 91608 USA
Fax: 1-818-763-9027
E-mail: agent@blu-raydisc.info