Why are Recordable Blu-ray discs so expensive
This is a follow up on my first post back in October 2008 in which I tried to answer the burning question, “why are Blu-ray discs so expensive?”. Although I’m discussing recordable blu-ray blank discs some of the same forces are at work with BD-ROM discs, primarily licensing fees. Some recent changes to licensing fees of BD-ROM which will simplify the licensing and payment of royalties is expected to help lower the cost of production. One of the major expenses is new production equipment. Both BD-ROM and BD-R discs use a specialized system that is not like the CD and DVD production lines (which can be modified to produce CD or DVD) so there are capital expenses that work into the disc cost structure.
A big change in Blu-ray recordable media may be just around the bend. Taiyo Yuden just announced the release of a new LTH type recordable BD-R disc which is supposed to cost far less to manufacture as the new product can utilize the old production systems. The change is in the recording dye which is currently inorganic based with the new LTH product using organic dye. The big issue with LTH media is it is not compatible with current Blu-ray players or Blu-ray recorders. There is a possibility with firmware upgrades that the LTH Blu-ray media can be adapted to function in current Blu-ray technology. It is a big if and certainly does not add to the consumer confidence in Blu-ray.
Just what we need another format change. 