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Home / Washington Business - January/February 2008 / Made in Washington: Blue Ray Technologies LLC: Leading the way in entertainment technology |
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Made in Washington: Blue Ray Technologies LLC: Leading the way in entertainment technology |
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Written On: January/February 2008 |
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Written By: by Daniel Brunell |
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The next time you're shopping for your favorite movies, check the back of the box. It might just say "Made in Washington." One of Washington's newest manufacturers is Blue Ray Technologies, whose new Spokane plant is the first independent Blu-ray disc production facility in the United States. With a startup cost of $12 million, the plant is a serious investment in both Spokane and the future of media. When completed, the plant will run 24 hours a day, seven days a week and will employee more than 120 employees.
With the advent of high-definition television, the film industry found that people were not satisfied with the quality of the picture. The clarity of games and movies didn't match the quality of television programs that were shot in high definition. Looking for a solution, many industry scientists looked toward using lasers with shorter wavelengths that would yield optical storage of higher density. When Shuji Nakamura invented practical blue-laser diodes, it was a sensation within the electronics industry. To take advantage of this, companies like Panasonic, Sony, Pioneer and Philips worked to develop the new format that became Blu-ray.
The Blu-ray disc itself doesn't look spectacular compared to a DVD disc, but its performance is. A standard DVD can store up to 8.5 gigabytes of digital information. A Blu-ray disc can hold up to 50 gigabytes. Unlike the DVD and HD-DVD standards, Blu-ray has room in its technology to grow in capacity. Some projections say that future Blu-ray discs may be able to store up to 500 gigabytes of data on a single disc. This additional space allows more information to be processed, resulting in sharper pictures, fuller sound, and more features in a movie. The technology also enables a more secure format that is harder to pirate than a standard DVD. This led many in Hollywood, including Steven Spielberg, to put their weight behind the Blu-ray format.
Blu-ray launched in 2006
Blu-ray is already on the road to success. Since both the HD-DVD and Blu-ray formats launched in the spring of 2006, an estimated 4.98 million high-definition discs have been sold — more than 60 percent of them in the Blu-ray format. Though Blu-ray sales are still dwarfed by standard DVDs, Blu-ray is catching up rapidly.
Motion pictures aren't the only area where Blu-ray is making a splash. It is now entering the video game market via the Sony PlayStation 3 and is being offered as a format for recorded music and re-writeable Blu-ray discs for your computer. In the near future, Blu-ray could replace both CDs and DVDs as the standard format for all pre-recorded music, video and motion picture entertainment as well as data storage and backup.
That's why Erick Hansen launched Blue Ray Technologies in 2006 to provide cutting-edge Blu-ray, DVD and CD replication and package assembly services for the computer software, music and motion picture industries. Hansen, one of the pioneers in the development of DVDs, founded the first DVD company in the United States in 1995 and the first independent DVD manufacturing facility in the world in 1997. Hansen is also an expert in many aspects of DVD technology, including digital delivery systems, anti-piracy and anti-theft. He has been involved with the research and development of Blu-ray technology since 1999.
Spokane's low costs lure Blue Ray
But why did Hansen choose Spokane — a city whose only cinematic triumph is that it was the childhood home of film director David Lynch — for his new facility? "One of our investors recommended that we look up here, saying that there was a lot potential and opportunity for us," said James Schumacher, vice president of operations for Blue Ray Technologies. "The cost of living in Spokane is a fraction of what it is down in southern California. Also, we were looking for a historical building to purchase. The cost of buying a building here is also a fraction of the cost it is in California. These cost savings allow us to remain cost-competitive with foreign markets."
Another reason for their move to Spokane was the environment itself. "We all fell in love with Spokane," said Susan Jenkins, vice president of administration and public affairs with Blue Ray Technologies. "We loved the river and all the things that people around here are used to and take for granted. Environmentally, this is such an incredible area. Since we are an environmentally aware company, this was important to us. One thing that Erick always stresses is that we need to work with the earth, not against it."
One example of this environmental awareness is Blue Ray's building. Instead of a new structure, Hansen bought the historic Commercial Building in downtown Spokane. In order to keep a green footprint, they recycled as much of the old building as possible, including the floors and windows. They also added green technologies, like as plants on the roof to insulate the interior from heat, rainwater-collecting capabilities, reuse of hot water to warm the building, and other energy-saving solutions.
AWB is first organization Blue Ray joined
At a time when so many of the products we use every day come from overseas, one of Blue Ray Technologies' major goals is keeping the manufacture of the Blu-ray disc in the United States. "One of the major focuses of our company is to keep American technology in America," said Jenkins. "Erick always says 'let's change the world.' Let's create an environment that is pro-jobs and do what we can to help our environment." That's why they joined AWB. "We are a company that genuinely cares about this state, and we want to be a part of an organization that can collaboratively work to move forward in a lot of areas," said Jenkins. "AWB was the first organization we joined when we came to Washington."
Blue Ray Technologies plans to be here for the long haul. As part of their commitment, the company was instrumental in founding the Pacific Northwest Media Center.
"The aim of this new organization is the collaboration among anyone in media, including film, digital media, film libraries — anyone," said Jenkins. What Hansen and Blue Ray Technologies want to do is not only manufacture here, but also develop a vibrant film scene to bring together the art of filmmaking with the pride of American manufacturing and media technology. Plans are already being made for a Spokane-based film festival. "We want to become an asset to the community. We think we can do some amazing things here."
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