Burst cutting area

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The Burst Cutting Area (BCA), also called NBCA, is a small ring near the center of a DVD, HD DVD, or Blu-ray disc where a barcode can be written to store extra information such as IDs, manufacturing details, and serial numbers.

- How it’s created: It can be defined during mastering so all discs from that master share it, or it can be etched with a YAG laser into the disc’s aluminum layer to give some or all discs a unique BCA.
- Location and visibility: If present, the BCA is visible to the naked eye as a ring between about 22.3 mm and 23.5 mm from the disc center (inner radius ~22.3 mm ±0.4 mm, outer radius ~23.5 mm ±0.5 mm).
- Not the IFPI barcode: This is a separate mark from the standard IFPI barcode found on pre-recorded discs.
- Data capacity: The BCA can store 12 to 188 bytes, in steps of 16 bytes.
- Reading: It can be read with the same laser that reads data, but decoding needs special circuitry. Not all players support BCA reading; according to Mt. Fuji, DVD-ROM drives should.
- Security: Because writing a BCA requires special equipment, it can serve as a tamper-proof identifier for individual discs.
- Examples: DIVX used BCA to uniquely identify each disc; CPRM data is stored in the BCA on DVD-RAM or DVD-R/RW; Nintendo discs use BCA to deter copying and homebrew games; Blu-ray discs can store a Pre-recorded Media Serial Number (PMSN) in the BCA.