Sony VAIO Digital Studio computer User manual

Blu-ray Disc
Guide
TM

VAIO®Blu-ray Disc™Disclaimers, Notes, Warnings
NOTICE
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Contents
What is Blu-ray Disc™ Media? .......................................................1
Benefits of Blu-ray Technology .......................................................1
Simplicity ....................................................................................2
Storage Capacity ........................................................................2
Compatibility ...............................................................................3
Flexibility and Interactivity ...........................................................3
What do I need to experience Blu-ray technology? ........................4
TV / Monitor ................................................................................4
Audio ..........................................................................................4
Notes ....................................................................................5
Blu-ray Disc Compatible Programs .................................................6
Roxio®Easy Media Creator ............................................................7
Creating a Data Disc ..................................................................8
Easy Archive .............................................................................10
Ulead®BD DiscRecorder for VAIO®.............................................12
Before you begin ......................................................................13
Preferences ........................................................................13
Project Settings ..................................................................14
Creating a new project ..............................................................14
Editing Video Files ....................................................................16
Burning to a BD disc .................................................................17
Appending an existing project ..................................................17
Straight to Disc .........................................................................18
InterVideo®WinDVD®BD for VAIO®............................................20
Additional Information ........................................................21
Frequently asked Questions .........................................................22
Footnotes ......................................................................................26

1
Blu-ray Disc™Guide
What is Blu-ray Disc™Media?
Blu-ray Disc™ media (BD), is a revolutionary new media format
developed by a group of the world’s leading consumer electronics,
personal computer, and media manufacturers.
The Blu-ray format was developed to meet the entertainment and
storage demands of the “High Definition” era that the entire world
is rapidly moving to embrace. Blu-ray technology brings to market
a new high definition media, which can not only store high
definition video, but also high definition audio. In addition, Blu-ray
Disc media have the storage capacity for enormous amounts of
data.
Benefits of Blu-ray Technology
The benefits of Blu-ray technology include:
Simplicity Storage Capacity
Compatibility Flexibility / Interactivity
VAIO BluRay 3rd revision.fm Page 1 Tuesday, February 6, 2007 10:48 AM

2
Simplicity
Blu-ray technology makes the task of choosing which basic media
type to use easy with only three different formats to choose from.
They include:
•BD-R (Blu-ray Disc Recordable) - Recordable format for HD
video recording and PC data storage.
•BD-RE (Blu-ray Disc Re-writable) - Rewritable format for HD
video recording and PC data storage.
•BD-ROM (Blu ray Disc Read Only Memory) - Read only format
for HD movies, music, software, games, etc.
These discs are available with a storage capacity of 25 GB1(single
layer) and 50 GB1 (dual layer).
Storage Capacity
The chart below clearly demonstrates the enormous storage
capacity of a Blu-ray Disc when compared to CDs and DVDs.
Blu-ray Disc offers five times the capacity of DVDs without
compromising quality.
Note: Blu-ray Disc™ storage capacity totals are for high-definition
content.
Media
BD Dual Layer 50 GB
BD 25 GB
DVD Dual Layer 8.5 GB
DVD 4.7 GB
CD 700 MB
Storage Capacity1

3
What does this mean for me?
The limited capacity of DVDs results in video and audio files being
compressed to fit on a disc. This causes a quality reduction in the
picture and/or sound. The greater capacity of BD discs allows for
pristine picture quality and virtually full spectrum audio.
Compatibility
Blu-ray Disc™ offers a convergence of technology and
compatibility among a new generation of high definition movies,
video players, video recorders, personal computers, and gaming
systems.
And what about your current library of DVDs and CDs? The
Blu-ray Disc generation of home entertainment products will be
backward-compatible with your CDs, DVDs, and other optical disc
formats.
Flexibility and Interactivity
The technology built into each Blu-ray disc gives you, and industry
professionals creating high definition content, the tools to create a
viewing experience that up until now has not been possible for
home entertainment. For example:
• Multiple video layers can now be on the screen at the same
time. A presentation layer, customizable by a studio, allows the
content creator to place graphics on the screen on top of the
video or alongside it. Sitting on top of that layer is the Blu-ray
navigation layer that will allow you to interact with the menu
while the video is playing.
• Support for Java applications allows the video layer to be
re-sizable providing even greater flexibility. Imagine the
possibility of watching a movie and playing an interactive game
related to the movie—all at the same time.

4
What do I need to experience Blu-ray
technology?
To fully appreciate Blu-ray’s video and audio output capabilities2,
you would need the following:
TV / Monitor
For the best experience and output to a HD TV or monitor (HDCP
monitor), do the following:
• Output to a high definition television/monitor using HDMI or
DVI-D3connection.
• Use a Blu-ray Disc player. (See the program “InterVideo®
WinDVD®BD for VAIO®” included with your computer.)
Audio
For the best experience and output to an audio system, do the
following:
• Use a high-quality A/V receiver or sound decoder device with a
quality set of 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound speakers.
Note: Your VAIO®computer comes equipped with a HDMI™ or
DVI-D HDCP connection, depending on the model you purchased.
Note: If your computer has HDMI output, use HDMI to your TV/
monitor as the sound source. Otherwise, use the S/PDIF output.

5
Notes
• The content of certain Blu-ray Disc™ movies may require a
HDCP compliant monitor. If your TV/monitor has a HDMI™
connection, it should support the HDCP content protection
functionality.
• If you connect to your TV/monitor using DVI, check your
display’s user manual to see if it is HDCP compliant.
• Analog connections such as Composite and S-Video are able
to output BD content, but only at standard definition resolutions.
• Higher capacity analog connections, such as VGA, are able to
output BD content, but may be limited to a lower quality if the
disc manufacturer limits the video resolution for non-HDCP
compliant displays.
• To maximize picture quality of Blu-ray Disc recorded content on
compatible external displays, Sony recommends setting the
display resolution to 1080p or 720p and disabling dual display
mode.
• When powering your VAIO notebook computer with a battery,
the power management features of the system can limit CPU
and video functions, interrupt tasks with warning messages, or
may cause the system to suspend or hibernate before tasks are
completed. Therefore, Sony recommends that you use your AC
adapter for demanding tasks like burning data to DVD or Blu-
ray Disc media, playback of Blu-ray Disc recorded content, and
high end graphic functions such as 3D rendering to maximize
display quality and to avoid possible disruption of operations.

6
Blu-ray Disc Compatible Programs
Sony has included three Blu-ray Disc compatible software
programs to the VAIO®package of factory-installed software for
select VAIO personal computers. They are provided to give you
the tools you need to experience Blu-ray Disc technology. The
included programs are:
•Roxio
®Easy Media Creator — Backup up large amounts of
data to recordable optical discs.
• Ulead®BD DiscRecorder for VAIO — Capture, edit, and save
videos in BDAV format4.
• InterVideo®WinDVD®BD for VAIO — Software BD player
combining all of the features of a standard BD player with
advanced functionality2.
Note: Sony supports the lawful use of technology and does not
endorse or encourage the use of our products for purposes other
than those permitted by copyright laws.

7
Roxio®Easy Media Creator
Roxio®Easy Media Creator is perfect for backing up large
amounts of data to recordable optical discs. The version of Roxio
Media Creator installed on your VAIO computer supports the cre-
ation of data discs using Blu-ray Disc™ technology.
You can also protect your important music, video, and data files by
using the Easy Archive feature to transfer and store files on high-
capacity Blu-ray discs4.

8
Creating a Data Disc
Before you begin
If you plan to use a BD-R (write once) disc when creating a data
disc, you should consider whether you want the disc left open
(appendable) or closed (non appendable) at the end of a recording
session.
•To leave the disc open, choose the option I would like to use
discs for more than one recording. Selecting this option
allows you to record multiple times to a single disc. However,
fewer drives may be able to read the disc. Use this option if you
expect to make many small recordings on high capacity discs,
or if you do not need to share your discs.
•To close the disc, choose I only need to use discs for one
recording. Selecting this option allows you to record only one
time to a disc. However, a larger number of drives will be able
to read the disc. Use this option if you typically fill your discs
during a single recording session or wish to use the disc on
more than one computer.
To create a data disc
1 Start Roxio®Easy Media Creator.
From the Windows®Taskbar, click the Start button. Point to All
Programs, Roxio, click Easy Media Creator, and then click
Home.
2 From the Project Menu on the left side of the screen, click Data.
Then select Data Disc Project.
3 Click the Destination Selection combo box, located in the control
panel across the bottom of the screen, and select a recorder drive
from the available list.
4 Insert a blank Blu-ray Disc™ media into the selected recorder
drive.
Note: To open a saved Data Disc project, go to the main menu
and select File, Open Saved Project, and locate the project file
you would like to open. By default, saved projects are stored in
your My Documents folder with a .sonic file name extension.

9
5 If desired, type a name for your disc in the Volume Label text box
located at the top of the project window.
6 Add files to your disc by the following methods:
• Click the Add Data button and from the Select files and
folders to add screen, locate and select the files/folders you
wish to add. If desired, rename the selected file/folder in the
File Name text box, and then click the Add button.
•Drag files and folders directly from a directory window and
drop them in the project window display area.
Project window display area notes
• Click a column heading to sort the data in ascending or
descending order.
7 From the Project Menu, click Tools | Disc Information. Review
the Inserted Disc information and make sure that the data in your
current project will fit on the disc. If the data will not fit, select one
or more files and click the Remove button in the control box.
8 Click Save to save the file/folder list. Once saved, the list can be
easily accessed at a later time.
9 Click the Data Disc button to begin recording data to your disc.
A progress screen displays and will inform you when the project
has completed.
10 Click the Done button to return to the project window. Remove the
disc from the drive and store in a safe place.
Note: If your disc already contains files and they do not display in
the project window, you can add the files by clicking the Load
Disc button.
• Use the control box to
manage or remove files and
folders in the list.
Note: Removing files/folders from a Data Disc project will not
remove the files/folders from your hard drive.

10
Easy Archive
The Easy Archive project lets you easily backup important files to a
disc or hard drive. An Easy Archive project can be scheduled to
run whenever it's convenient. Large archive projects are
automatically spread across as many discs as you need.
To use Easy Archive
1 From the Project Menu onthe left side of the screen, click Backup.
Then click Easy Archive.
2 Select a destination drive. If the destination is a disc drive, insert a
blank or rewritable disc.
3 Carefully read the on-screen instructions and select the file
categories to archive.
4 Click the Easy Archive button located in the Control Panel across
the bottom of the screen to run the project now.
5 Click the Done button to return to the project window.
Note: To schedule this project, click the Scheduler button and
select the desired archive frequency by choosing an option from
the Scheduling options drop-down list. Click the Save button and
enter a project name and then click OK. The project name and
scheduled run date displays in the Scheduler.

11
Additional Information
Roxio®Easy Media Creator is designed to be used for both Blu-ray
Disc™ and standard definition functionality such as CD burning,
standard DVD burning, etc. For additional information about the
Roxio Easy Media Creator features available to you, refer to the
Help file5.
To open the Help file
Do one of the following:
• From the main menu, click Help.
•Click the Help/Tutorial icon located on the Welcome banner.
• Press the F1 key on your keyboard.

12
Ulead®BD DiscRecorder for VAIO®
With Ulead®BD DiscRecorder for VAIO®you can capture, edit,
and save videos in the BDAV format for use with BD-RE or
BD-ROM4.
Ulead BD DiscRecorder for VAIO allows you to do the following:
• Capture videos and create a new BDAV project. A BD-R disc is
supported only when creating a new project.
• Append additional movie clips to an existing movie on your BD
disc(s). A BD-RE disc is required when appending an existing
BDAV project.
• Capture videos and then burn them directly onto a disc in the
Blu-ray Disc™ format4.
Note: After creating a Blu-ray Disc with Ulead BD DiscRecorder
for VAIO, you can view the results with InterVideo®WinDVD®BD
for VAIO®. Simply start InterVideo WinDVD BD for VAIO, insert the
disc in the BD drive, and press the Play button.

13
Before you begin
Before you begin a new project, you should review the current
Preferences and Project Settings. These settings can affect the
properties and quality of your project results.
Preferences
The Preferences dialog box allows you to define or change
program settings
To access Preferences
Click the Settings and Options icon located in the bottom left
corner of the screen and select Preferences from the menu.
General Preferences
Resume all
confirmation
dialog boxes
Overrides the “Do not show again” option
and allows all confirmation dialog boxes to
appear.
Check Ulead®
Web site every: Specifies the frequency the program checks
the Ulead Web site for new releases and
updates.
TV system Select the type of your TV system (NTSC or
PAL/SECAM).
Working folder Enter or locate a folder for temporary files.
Audio playback
mode Determines how the audio streams of the
video are played.2
Audio export
mode Determines how the audio streams of the video are exported.
Do not
compress
DV-AVI to MPEG
Uses DV-AVI format to ensure the best
quality in capturing and burning, instead of
converting videos to MPEG2 format.
Note: Some set-top players may not play the
resulting disc when this option is selected.

14
Capture Preferences
Project Settings
From the Project Settings dialog box, you can Change MPEG
Settings and customize your Video Save options, which include
General and Compression settings.
To access Project Settings
•Click the Project Settings icon located in the lower left corner
of the window.
Creating a new project
When creating a new project, WinDVD®BD Recorder for VAIO®
lets you capture videos from your DV and HDV camcorders, from
previous video files stored on your hard drive, and from
unprotected DVD video.
To capture videos from a video device
1 Connect your HDV or DV camcorder or other video device to your
computer. (For additional information on connecting to your
computer, refer to your video device’s user guide.)
2 Start Ulead®BD DiscRecorder for VAIO®.
From the Windows®Taskbar, click the Start button. Then point to
All Programs, Ulead BD DiscRecorder, and click Ulead BD
DiscRecorder.
3 Click New/Append Disc.
4 Select the New Project option, and click Next to continue.
5 Click the Capture Video icon.
Click OK to start
DV capture Displays a confirmation message before performing the actual capturing process.
Stop tape once
capturing stops Automatically stops the connected capture device in your computer once the program
stops capturing.

15
6 From the Capture Video screen, select the capture device from the
Source drop-down list.
7 Select the Capture Mode. Choose from Fixed duration, Marked
duration, or Full DV tape.
8 Select the Video format.
For HDV camcorder, MPEG2 is the only option. For DV camcorder,
choose between MPEG, AVI, and SD BDAV-High Quality.
9 Use the video controls to locate the starting point of the video you
want to capture.
10 Click the Capture Video icon to start capturing the video.
11 When complete, click OK to close the Capture Video window.
To add video files stored on your computer to your movie
1 Start Ulead BD DiscRecorder for VAIO.
From the Windows®Taskbar, click the Start button. Then point to
All Programs, Ulead BD DiscRecorder, and click Ulead BD
DiscRecorder.
2 Click New/Append Disc.
3 Select the New Project option, and click Next to continue.
4 Click the Add Video Files icon to open the Select Files window.
Use the Explorer tab to locate the video folders/files you want to
add to your project. Supported formats include MPEG-1, MPEG-2,
AVI, ASF, WMV, and WMV HD4.
5 From the Explorer tab, click an individual video file or a folder. The
file(s) appear in the display area of the Select Files window.
6 From the Select Files window, click the video file you want to add
to the project or click the Select All button. Then click Open.
Note: If your computer’s operating system is Microsoft®Windows®
XP Media Center, you will have access to a Recorded TV folder
where you can select recorded TV programs to add to your
project.

16
The selected files open in the program video clip list located at the
bottom of the window.
To import DVD videos (non-copyrighted only) into your movie
1 Start Ulead®BD DiscRecorder for VAIO®.
From the Windows®Taskbar, click the Start button. Then point to
All Programs, Ulead BD DiscRecorder, and click Ulead BD
DiscRecorder.
2 Click New/Append Disc.
3 Select the New Project option, and click Next to continue.
4 Click the Add Video Files icon to open the Select Files screen to
open the Browse for Folder window.
5 Choose one of these supported DVD movie folders for import:
VIDEO_TS or DVD_RTAV. The file(s) appear in the display area of
the Select Files screen.
6 Click the video file(s) you want to add to the project and then click
Import.
The selected files open in the program video clip list located at the
bottom of the window.
Editing Video Files
After you have imported your video files, you can edit and view the
files before burning them to disc4. For additional information, refer
to the Ulead ®BD DiscRecorder for VAIO®help file.
To open the Help file
Press the F1 key on your keyboard.
Note: For additional video editing needs, Sony has included
Adobe®Premiere®Elements and DVGate Plus™ software to the
VAIO package of factory-installed software for select VAIO
personal computers.