Who owns Blu-ray

[smegger56]

Hi all. I'm new here and i'm a supporter of the Blu-ray format. But, i havce some questions that searching the net has failed to answer for me, or isnt clear cut.

1. Who owns/developed Blu-ray?

I always thought that it was Sony who developed the technology, and that the BDA was formed so that the format would gain immense support and gain a huge foothold in the market place.

Now I know of the BDA, but, call me thick, i'm not sure how the BDA works. Do all the companies in the BDA hold rights to the format, or does Sony hold the rights and the BDA was formed to help market and spread the word for Blu-ray?

It's just I keep hearing how this is Sonys format and that, at the start, they ran the risk of it turning out like the betamax format, which always said to me that Blu-ray was an out and out Sony product.

Can anyone clear this up?

Thank you.

[jw]

quick rundown
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc

It gives you the history, support,development, etc.
I cant type that fast for all that explaining

[smegger56]

Originally Posted by jwbbud

quick rundown
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc

It gives you the history, support,development, etc.
I cant type that fast for all that explaining

Thanks, i know about that.

But it seems to not mention who is the majority shareholder in the BDA, if there is one. I'm quite stumped on the whole BDA if i'm honest.

Like, can the BDA do what they want with the format without Sony's permission? That kind of thing i'd like to know. I'm very curious like that

[gvortex7]

Most of the important patents belong to Sony. Also, BDA member companies have a say in what current and future features become a standard of Blu-ray technology and also approve any improvements/modifications to existing features as well.

[smegger56]

Originally Posted by gvortex7

Most of the important patents belong to Sony. Also, BDA member companies have a say in what current and future features become a standard of Blu-ray technology and also approve any improvements/modifications to existing features as well.

Right. Ok. So, does that still mean that the rest of the BDA can approve of the format being used by a company outside the BDA without the permission of Sony, or is it needed in all decisions like that?

[PLASMA-1080P-FULLHD]

Sony own the most share but Panasonic and other major CE company also hold the share as well.

[owa]

The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) is the industry consortium that develops and licenses Blu-ray Disc technology and is responsible for establishing format standards and promoting business opportunities for Blu-ray Disc. The BDA is divided into three levels of membership: the Board of Directors, the Contributors, and the General Members. [1]

The "Blu-ray Disc Founder" was founded in May 2002 by nine leading electronic companies: Matsushita, Pioneer, Philips, Thomson, LG Electronics, Hitachi, Sharp, Samsung, and Sony. Spearheaded by NP Infotech, on February 19th 2002 the companies announced [2] that they were the "Founders" of the Blu-ray Disc and later changed their name to the "Blu-ray Disc Association" on May 18, 2004 to allow more companies to join their development. Some examples of companies that signed in include Apple, TDK, Dell, Hewlett Packard, The Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros. and Universal Music Group. At the moment there are more than 250 members and supporters of the Association.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc_Association

[gvortex7]

Originally Posted by smegger56

Right. Ok. So, does that still mean that the rest of the BDA can approve of the format being used by a company outside the BDA without the permission of Sony, or is it needed in all decisions like that?

Basically, the BDA decides what new company gets to use Blu-ray technology and in what capacity.

[mgonzo2u]

Bottom line, we don't care if SONY is the owner.

Which is really what you are tippy toeing around.

Thank God for Sony for being behind this idea to keep M$ from exploiting the rest of us.

[smegger56]

I ask as the media seem to pin Blu-ray as STRICTLY a Sony only format.

Originally Posted by mgonzo2u

Bottom line, we don't care if SONY is the owner.

Which is really what you are tippy toeing around.

Thank God for Sony for being behind this idea to keep M$ from exploiting the rest of us.

Not tippy toeing. I came out point blank and asked if they where the owner. I'm am very curious as the media are making the format to be strictly Sony's

[PLASMA-1080P-FULLHD]

By the way, Matsushita is Panasonic. Panny is just one of the division curently own by Matsushita

[PLASMA-1080P-FULLHD]

Cause the PS 3 effect that led people think SONY is the evil behind blu-ray and force people to adopt a new format. Thats total misleading by their statement.People tend to reject something new with out a second lok of it. I think people in USA in general. Oh one more thing, How can Toshiba alone try to bring down the whole gang of BDA(included all the top CE company in thw world). What were they thinking man

[smegger56]

I am a proud Sony supporter. A proud owner of the Playstation consoles.

But, because the media doomed 'sonys new format being the new betamax', i am very interested to know the indepths of the BDA and Blu-ray. And how strong is Sony's influence.

[mgonzo2u]

Originally Posted by smegger56

I ask as the media seem to pin Blu-ray as STRICTLY a Sony only format.



Not tippy toeing. I came out point blank and asked if they where the owner. I'm am very curious as the media are making the format to be strictly Sony's

Read up on what FUD is.

The "media" or the bought off FUD machine as we know it as was spreading anything they could to keep people from seeing the truth.

Liars and cheaters never prosper (for long).

[jorg]

Originally Posted by smegger56

I am a proud Sony supporter. A proud owner of the Playstation consoles.

But, because the media doomed 'sonys new format being the new betamax', i am very interested to know the indepths of the BDA and Blu-ray. And how strong is Sony's influence.

knwo that ic an answer your question i will ahve to fully anaswer lol
ka so sony started making blu-ray in 2001 then latter on pannisonic joined in and develops alot of the mastering equtment phillips helped sony in the begging develope the disc.

the bda is made up of over 170 of the worlds largest and most importent companies from a wide rang of industries with in the bda there are the bda directors(i think it is 18 companys) this bord of directors is made up of important companis in the format and the developers of the format
the main members are

he current 18 board members (as of December 2007) are:[5]

* Apple Inc.
* Dell
* Hewlett Packard
* Hitachi
* LG Electronics
* Mitsubishi Electric
* Panasonic (Matsushita Electric)
* Pioneer Corporation
* Royal Philips Electronics
* Samsung Electronics
* Sharp Corporation
* Sony Corporation
* Sun Microsystems
* TDK Corporation
* Thomson
* Twentieth Century Fox
* Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group / Buena Vista Home Entertainment
* Warner Home Video Inc. (Exclusively as of January 4 2008)

these are the contributers

Contributors

The role of contributors as described by the Blu-ray Disc Association Website[1]:

"Contributors are active participants of the format creation and other key BDA activities. They can be elected to become a member of the Board of Directors. A contributor can attend general meetings and seminars, and can participate in Technical Expert Groups (TEGs), regional Promotion Team activities, and most of the Compliance Committee (CC) activities. Membership requires execution of Contribution Agreement and must be approved by the Board of Directors. Annual fee: $ 20,000"

The 65 Contributors as of December 2006 are [2]:

* Adobe Systems
* Almedio Inc.
* Alticast
* Aplix Corporation
* ArcSoft, Inc.
* ATI Technologies Inc.
* Atmel Corporation
* AudioDev AB
* Broadcom Corporation
* Canon Inc.
* CMC Magnetics Corporation
* Coding Technologies GmbH
* Cryptography Research Inc.
* CyberLink Corp.
* DATARIUS Technologies GmbH
* DCA Inc.
* Deluxe Media Services Inc.
* Dolby Laboratories Inc.
* DTS, Inc.
* Electronic Arts Inc.
* Esmertec
* Fuji Photo Film Co. Ltd.
* Fujitsu Ltd.
* Gibson Guitar Corp.
* Horizon Semiconductors
* Imation Corp.
* InterVideo Inc.
* Kenwood Corporation
* Lionsgate Entertainment
* LITE-ON IT Corporation
* LSI Logic
* MediaTek Inc.
* Meridian Audio Ltd.
* Metta Technology
* Mitsubishi Kagaku Media Co.Ltd.
* Mitsui Chemicals Inc.
* Moser Baer India Limited
* NEC Electronics Corporation
* Nero AG
* Optodisc Technology Corporation
* Paramount Pictures/Viacom (exclusively supporting HD-DVD as of August 20th, 2007)
* Pixela Corporation
* Prodisc Technology Inc.
* Pulstec Industrial Co., Ltd.
* Ricoh Co., Ltd.
* RITEK Corporation
* ShibaSoku Co. Ltd.
* Sigma Designs Inc.
* Sonic Solutions
* Sonopress
* Sony BMG Music Entertainment
* Sony Pictures Entertainment (Columbia Pictures, Tristar Pictures Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer).,
* STMicroelectronics
* Sunext
* Taiyo Yuden Co., Ltd.,
* Texas Instruments, Inc.
* Universal Music Group
* Victor Company of Japan, Ltd.
* Visionare Corporation
* Zentek Technology Japan, Inc.
* ZOOtech Ltd.
* Zoran Corporation

and these are the members

Members

The Blu-ray Disc Association Website[3] describes Members as follows:

"General membership provides access to specific information from Committee discussions. A general member can attend general meetings and seminars. They can participate in specific Regional Promotion Team activities and specific CC activities. Annual fee: $3,000"

There are currently 94 members:

* Acer Corporation
* Alpine Electronics Inc.
* Asahi Kasei Microsystems Co., Ltd.
* Ashampoo GmbH & Co. KG
* Bandai Visual Co. Ltd.
* BASF AG
* Basler Vision Technologies
* BenQ Corporation
* B.H.A. Corporation
* Bose Corporation
* B&W Group
* The Cannery
* Cheertek Inc.
* Cinram Manufacturing Inc.
* D&M Holdings, Inc.
* Daewoo Electronics Corporation
* Daikin Industries, Ltd.
* Daxon Technology Inc.
* Degussa
* Eclipse Data Technologies
* Elpida Memory, Inc.
* ESS Technology Inc.
* Expert Magnetics Corp.
* Fujitsu Ten Ltd.
* Funai Electric Co., Ltd.
* GalleryPlayer Media Networks
* GEAR Software
* Hie Electronics, Inc.
* Hoei Sangyo Co., Ltd.
* IMAGICA Corp.
* INFODISC Technology Co., Ltd.
* Infomedia Inc.
* Intersil Corporation
* Kadokawa Holdings Inc.
* Kaleidescape, Inc.
* Kitano Co., Ltd.
* Konica Minolta Opto Inc.
* Laser Pacific Media Corp.
* Lauda Co. Ltd.
* Lead Data Inc.
* LEADER ELECTRONICS CORP
* Lenovo
* Linn Products Ltd.
* LINTEC Corporation
* M2 Engineering AB
* MainConcept AG
* Mitsumi Electric Co., Ltd.
* Must Technology Co., Ltd.
* MX Entertainment
* Netflix Inc.
* NewTech Infosystems Inc. (NTI)
* NEXAPM Systems Technology Inc.
* Nichia Corporation
* Nikkatsu Corporation
* NTT Electronics Corporation
* nVidia Corporation
* OC Oerlikon Balzers AG
* Omnibus Japan Inc.
* Onkyo Corporation
* Online Media Technologies Ltd.
* Ono Sokki Co., Ltd.
* OPT Corporation
* Orbit Corp.
* Origin Electric Co., Ltd.
* Osmosys SA
* Pinnacle Systems
* PoINT Software & Systems GmbH
* Pony Canyon Enterprise
* PowerFile
* Primera Technology, Inc.
* Quanta Storage Inc.
* Realtek Semiconductor Corp.
* Rimage Corporation
* Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.
* Dr. Schwab Inspection Technology GmbH
* Shinano Kenshi Co. Ltd.
* Singulus Technologies
* STEAG ETA-OPTIK GmbH
* Sumitomo Bakelite
* Tao Group Limited
* Targray Technology International Inc.
* TEAC Corporation
* Teijin Chemicals Ltd.
* THX Ltd.
* Tsvetov Technologies
* Toei Video Company Ltd.
* Toho Company, Ltd.
* Toppan Printing Co., Ltd.
* TOPTICA Photonics AG
* UmeDisc Ltd.
* Vivendi Universal Games
* Yamaha Corporation
* Yokogawa Electric Corporation
* 1K Studios, LLC

the bord of mebers make the decions but the contributors have a say in what they wnat whihc the bord takes int consideration then the othere members are kinda just there so they can make future products and if wanan speak up can link