Blu-ray, also known as Blu-ray Disc (BD), is the name of a next-generation optical disc format jointly developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), a group of the world's leading consumer electronics, personal computer and media manufacturers (including Apple, Dell, Hitachi, HP, JVC, LG, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, TDK and Thomson). The format was developed to enable recording, rewriting and playback of high-definition video (HD), as well as storing large amounts of data. The format offers more than five times the storage capacity of traditional DVDs and can hold up to 25GB on a single-layer disc and 50GB on a dual-layer disc. This extra capacity combined with the use of advanced video and audio codecs will offer consumers an unprecedented HD experience.

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. Despite the different type of lasers used, Blu-ray products can easily be made backwards compatible with CDs and DVDs through the use of a BD/DVD/CD compatible optical pickup unit. The benefit of using a blue-violet laser (405nm) is that it has a shorter wavelength than a red laser (650nm), 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, so it's possible to fit more data on the disc even though it's the same size as a CD/DVD. This together with the change of numerical aperture to 0.85 is what enables Blu-ray Discs to hold 25GB/50GB.

Blu-ray is currently supported by more than 180 of the world's leading consumer electronics, personal computer, recording media, video game and music companies. The format also has broad support from the major movie studios as a successor to today's DVD format. In fact, seven of the eight major movie studios (Disney, Fox, Warner, Paramount, Sony, Lionsgate and MGM) are supporting the Blu-ray format and five of them (Disney, Fox, Sony, Lionsgate and MGM) are releasing their movies exclusively in the Blu-ray format. Many studios have also announced that they will begin releasing new feature films on Blu-ray Disc day-and-date with DVD, as well as a continuous slate of catalog titles every month.

We Are Marshall
House of 1000 Corpses
Nip/Tuck: The Complete Fourth Season
Delta Farce
Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds: Live at Radio City
Deliverance
TMNT
IMAX: Blue Planet
The Host
300
Out for Justice
Purple Rain
Music and Lyrics
The Cowboys
Rio Bravo
Blood Diamond
Letters from Iwo Jima
Battle of the Bulge
The Road Warrior
Discovery Atlas: Brazil Revealed (1080i  )
The Queen
Planet Earth: The Complete BBC Series
Dog Day Afternoon
A Scanner Darkly
National Geographic: Relentless Enemies
Enter the Dragon
March of the Penguins
The Dirty Dozen
Happy Feet
The Sopranos: Season Six, Part One
The Getaway (1972)
Bullitt
Nine Inch Nails Live: Beside You in Time
The Departed
Casanova
Beerfest
The Wicker Man (2006)
Scooby-Doo (2002)
GoodFellas
The Last Samurai
Lady in the Water
Flightplan
The Ant Bully
A Christmas Story
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
The Phantom of the Opera
Superman Returns
Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut
Superman: The Movie
Million Dollar Baby
ATL
Under Siege
The Searchers
Unforgiven
16 Blocks
Syriana
The Lake House
House of Wax (2005)
Swordfish
Lethal Weapon 2
Corpse Bride
Lethal Weapon
Firewall
Blazing Saddles