Sony's New Blu-spec Brings Blu-ray to CD Audio

[PS3 News]

Today Sony Music Entertainment Japan has unveiled a new Blu-spec CD format that promises higher quality audio by using Blu-ray technologies.

Sony will release 60 Blu-spec music CD's (mostly Classical and Jazz albums) on December 24, 2008. Sony also state they are hoping to encourage rival studios like EMI & Universal to support the format.

To quote: Blu-spec uses the blue lasers that would normally master Blu-ray movies to cut CDs more accurately than would be possible with red lasers.

In tandem with the use of polymer plastic for the discs themselves, the format should improve the quality of audio CDs while remaining compatible with existing CD players; the latter has been a weakness of Super Audio CD and other defunct sound formats.

The first Blu-spec discs are due to reach Japan on Christmas Eve and will focus mostly on classical and jazz music, including Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 and Miles Davis' Kind of Blue; 60 titles in all will be available from Sony.

The company is hoping to foster cross-label support from rivals such as EMI and Universal that have developed their own proprietary approaches to CDs. More PlayStation 3 News...

[zoned]

If they have blu spec on the cd packaging it is likely to confuse some people as they will think it requires a blu ray player.

The CDs will probably be priced stupidly high and not sell very well as a result.

[sorceror]

I guess they're just trying to reduce bit errors on read. CDs have error-correcting codes to help compensate for that, but I suppose you could avoid the occasional glitch this way.

Of course, absent scratches or stains, I can't see how it could make any difference...

[Bamber]

Does this mean that CDs burned on a BluRay burner are also better quality? Doubt it...

[Surfmonkey]

Does this mean that CDs burned on a BluRay burner are also better quality? Doubt it...

It could well work that way if you have the software to support it.