Pioneer shows Blu-ray disc with 400GB storage!

[Dave]

16-layers -- that's how many layers it takes to the hit the center of a 400GB Blu-ray disc, pops. That's 25GB per layer just like those dual-layer 50GB discs available for retail. Best of all, the technique used by Pioneer is expected to be backward compatible with existing Blu-ray gear since the specs and lenses required for pickup are identical. The prototype is read-only for the moment but R&D's on it so let's give them some time to work it out.

http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?hl...D_-k4zoE7g4GIw

[allstar780]

Engadget.com Reports

16-layers -- that's how many layers it takes to the hit the center of a 400GB Blu-ray disc, pops. That's 25GB per layer just like those dual-layer 50GB discs available for retail. Best of all, the technique used by Pioneer is expected to be backward compatible with existing Blu-ray gear since the specs and lenses required for pickup are identical. The prototype is read-only for the moment but R&D's on it so let's give them some time to work it out.

Update: Now that the English press release is out, it's less clear whether the new media -- whenever it might come to market -- will work in older players or not. While "it is possible to maintain compatibility between the new 16-layer optical disc and the BD discs," players would seemingly require a modified optical pick-up mechanism to see the data.

Read Link

[Petra_Kalbrain]

Very cool... although very impractical!

[allstar780]

well if you think about it... in the near future (10 years maybe) we won't be using optical media as much as we are now... but it will be very cheap and it would make a decent backup medium

[lgans316]

http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/07/p...sc-hits-400gb/

16-layers -- that's how many layers it takes to the hit the center of a 400GB Blu-ray disc, pops. That's 25GB per layer just like those dual-layer 50GB discs available for retail. Best of all, the technique used by Pioneer is expected to be backward compatible with existing Blu-ray gear since the specs and lenses required for pickup are identical. The prototype is read-only for the moment but R&D's on it so let's give them some time to work it out.

Update: Now that the English press release is out, it's less clear whether the new media -- whenever it might come to market -- will work in existing Blu-ray players or not. While "it is possible to maintain compatibility between the new 16-layer optical disc and the BD discs," players would seemingly require a modified optical pick-up mechanism to see the data. We'll learn more on July 13th when Pioneer discusses the breakthrough in detail.

Press Release (Japanese Only)

http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/av/do...07/pioneer.htm
http://pioneer.jp/press/2008/0707-1.html

16 layer disc is quite cool, but what about performance reliability in this case? How long the data can be stored on them?

[Dave]

Originally Posted by Petra_Kalbrain

Very cool... but very impractical!

Why?

Do you know how much this thing (even if impractical for some) will drive the prices of the "practical" 50/100GB media?

It good from whatever angle you look at it.

[Daredevil666]

That's excellent. My guess we will have within 10 years not a lot of stand alone movies blu-rays anymore, except for new movies, but packs of movies on one Blu-Ray (ie you bundle this Eastwood stinker with the one that sells as a bonus).

[Bullseye]

Originally Posted by Petra_Kalbrain

Like I said in the other thread on this topic:

Very cool... but very impractical!

it would be practical if it contained all three LoTR films etc.

[Malosch78]

Wow ... one whole season of Heros or Lost on one dics

[ZMan]

Like Bullseye said...all three LoTRs or even all six Star Wars!!

[dialog_gvf]

Originally Posted by Bullseye

it would be practical if it contained all three LoTR films etc.

There is also the practicality of:

- Whether replicating a 16 layer disc is possible
- Yield and cost (would have to be similar to eight BD-50)
- Whether sufficient demand would exist to get replication equipment to market.

With everyone of these multi-layer announcements there is also the general confusion between the replication (BD-ROM) and recordable (BD-R/RE) domains.

Just because this lab experiment is read-only, that doesn't mean the goal is a replicated BD-ROM disc.

Gary

[WickyWoo]

You will never see these at retail in any form, just like BD-200, and whatever else they come up with.

These discs are being made for industrial/scientific applications and carry no hardcoat

Even today, on a much higher tolerance medium, and 7-8 years after launch, DVD-18 has unacceptible levels of defect. That's 4 layers total. Can you picture what the failure rate would be for 16 on a low tolerance medium like Blu?

[aramis109]

Originally Posted by dvdvision

That's excellent. My guess we will have within 10 years not a lot of stand alone movies blu-rays anymore, except for new movies, but packs of movies on one Blu-Ray (ie you bundle this Eastwood stinker with the one that sells as a bonus).

My guess is that by then digital distribution will have won out. The infrastructure and storage capabilities will probably be up to par by then to do the equivalent of a BD now.

...much as I hate that idea.

[tron3]

Heck, I say just give us 75 or 100 GB for the time being. Better safe than sorry, right?

Who knows what happens in a few years after our players get old and the tolerances are slightly off.

[Musashi]

Originally Posted by WickyWoo

These discs are being made for industrial/scientific applications and carry no hardcoat

Weren't discs similar to blu-ray used for business purposes in past years? I know that corporations have very different ways of storing data from mass consumer media.

[WickyWoo]

Weren't discs similar to blu-ray used for business purposes in past years? I know that corporations have very different ways of storing data from mass consumer media.

It's possible. As far as I know most places are still backing up on very large tape drives, though that may be changing. Something like this, to me would seem to have the most use as a database of some kind

[JadedRaverLA]

Originally Posted by WickyWoo

You will never see these at retail in any form, just like BD-200, and whatever else they come up with.

Very true... but people here like to dream I guess. Replicating discs with more than two layers is incredibly difficult. Getting 16 perfect layers of a medium with a tolerance as low as Blu-ray? Next to impossible to do in mass quantity.

Originally Posted by Musashi

Weren't discs similar to blu-ray used for business purposes in past years? I know that corporations have very different ways of storing data from mass consumer media.

Yes. UDO and PDD were both pre-Blu-ray formats that are based on very similar technology for various industrial and broadcast applications. If the implication, though, was that such 16-layer media will start out in that realm and then move to the consumer realm... well, I highly doubt it. If there's another home video optical disc format after Blu-ray... it will likely use an even finer laser and even smaller datapits to cram more data per layer and allow for an increase in bitrate at the same time. That said, unless 4k or 8k actually takes off somehow (go NHK!), there really isn't much need for a higher-res format.

[Beta Man]

I keep hearing the same thing "oh I could get every season of M*A*S*H on one disc!!!!!!"

yeah.... but the consumer isn't going to pay $200 for that ONE disc, so they'll turn it into a box set with 10 discs anyway.

[m_tyson]

The Sony XDCAM has used BD-like optical storage for about half a decade now.

Originally Posted by Musashi

Weren't discs similar to blu-ray used for business purposes in past years? I know that corporations have very different ways of storing data from mass consumer media.