Future DVDs could hold 100 times more
09-28-04, 07:57 PM
#1
DVD Talk Special Edition
Thread Starter
Future DVDs could hold 100 times more
DVDs could hold '100 times more' from BBC News - Technolgy
Future DVDs could hold 100 times more information than current discs.
Imperial College London researchers in the UK are developing a new way of storing data that could lead to discs capable of holding 1,000 gigabytes.
It means that every episode of The Simpsons could fit on a disc the size of a normal DVD.
Lecturer Dr Peter Torok revealed the technique called Multiplexed Optical Data Storage (Mods) at the Asia-Pacific Data Storage Conference 2004 in Taiwan.
472 hours of film
DVDs are one of the most successful consumer products in history. Most DVDs have two layers and can hold up to 8.5GB.
We came up with the idea for this disc some years ago, but did not have the means to prove whether it worked
Peter Torok, Imperial College
Work is already well advanced on the next generation.
One technology, HD-DVD (High Definition DVD), can hold up to 30GB, while a rival format called Blu-ray offers 50GB of storage.
The technique developed by the Imperial College team could offer much more on a disc.
The researchers believe their technique could be used to create a disc with four layers, each with 250GBs - the equivalent of 118 hours of video per layer.
A four-layer DVD could hold one terabyte (1,000Gbs) of data, enough for 472 hours of film, or every episode of The Simpsons ever made.
The Mods technique is laser-based like existing DVD and CD technology. A disc is made up of tiny grooves filled with pits that reflect the laser as a series of ones and zeroes.
Reflected light
Current discs carry one bit of data per pit. But the researchers say that by using angled ridges in the pits, they can alter the way light behaves.
The end result is a way of encoding and detecting up to 10 times more information from one pit.
"We came up with the idea for this disc some years ago," said Dr Torok, "but did not have the means to prove whether it worked.
"To do that we developed a precise method for calculating the properties of reflected light, partly due to the contribution of Peter Munro, a PhD student working with me on this project.
"We are using a mixture of numerical and analytical techniques that allow us to treat the scattering of light from the disc surface rigorously rather than just having to approximate it.
"The future for the mobile device market is likely to require small diameter discs storing much information. This is where a Mods disc could really fill a niche," he said.
It could be some time before the technology makes it way into the living room. The Imperial College team believe it could take five years to perfect their technique, with a commercial version available by 2010, depending on funding.
Future DVDs could hold 100 times more information than current discs.
Imperial College London researchers in the UK are developing a new way of storing data that could lead to discs capable of holding 1,000 gigabytes.
It means that every episode of The Simpsons could fit on a disc the size of a normal DVD.
Lecturer Dr Peter Torok revealed the technique called Multiplexed Optical Data Storage (Mods) at the Asia-Pacific Data Storage Conference 2004 in Taiwan.
472 hours of film
DVDs are one of the most successful consumer products in history. Most DVDs have two layers and can hold up to 8.5GB.
We came up with the idea for this disc some years ago, but did not have the means to prove whether it worked
Peter Torok, Imperial College
Work is already well advanced on the next generation.
One technology, HD-DVD (High Definition DVD), can hold up to 30GB, while a rival format called Blu-ray offers 50GB of storage.
The technique developed by the Imperial College team could offer much more on a disc.
The researchers believe their technique could be used to create a disc with four layers, each with 250GBs - the equivalent of 118 hours of video per layer.
A four-layer DVD could hold one terabyte (1,000Gbs) of data, enough for 472 hours of film, or every episode of The Simpsons ever made.
The Mods technique is laser-based like existing DVD and CD technology. A disc is made up of tiny grooves filled with pits that reflect the laser as a series of ones and zeroes.
Reflected light
Current discs carry one bit of data per pit. But the researchers say that by using angled ridges in the pits, they can alter the way light behaves.
The end result is a way of encoding and detecting up to 10 times more information from one pit.
"We came up with the idea for this disc some years ago," said Dr Torok, "but did not have the means to prove whether it worked.
"To do that we developed a precise method for calculating the properties of reflected light, partly due to the contribution of Peter Munro, a PhD student working with me on this project.
"We are using a mixture of numerical and analytical techniques that allow us to treat the scattering of light from the disc surface rigorously rather than just having to approximate it.
"The future for the mobile device market is likely to require small diameter discs storing much information. This is where a Mods disc could really fill a niche," he said.
It could be some time before the technology makes it way into the living room. The Imperial College team believe it could take five years to perfect their technique, with a commercial version available by 2010, depending on funding.
09-28-04, 09:11 PM
#5
Premium Member
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: Grazing in a field somewhere...
Posts: 23,622
Received 694 Likes
on
464 Posts
Next they will be saying computers could have more than 640Kb of RAM, and floppy discs will shrink in size from 8" in the future. No way!
(I would like to read more on their idea, though.)
(I would like to read more on their idea, though.)
09-28-04, 10:45 PM
#6
DVD Talk Hero
Great for data storage and the IT field, useless for commercial marketing (at its full capacity).
How much will a single disc with every episode of the Simpsons on it be? $500? One wrong move and *crack*, there goes half a G.
How much will a single disc with every episode of the Simpsons on it be? $500? One wrong move and *crack*, there goes half a G.
09-29-04, 12:28 AM
#7
DVD Talk Special Edition
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Raleigh, NC
Posts: 1,739
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
^ Good point. I doubt anyone would release that much material on a single disc regardless because they would realize that most people would balk at the idea of a single disc costing that much. I think people would more likely pay $500 for a 15-disc set of the entire series before they would pay that much for 1-disc of the entire series, even if it is the same amount of content.
I know Id love it for data storage...would be easy as pie to backup the harddrive
.
I know Id love it for data storage...would be easy as pie to backup the harddrive
.
09-29-04, 10:10 AM
#9
Member
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 179
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
But the researchers say that by using angled ridges in the pits, they can alter the way light behaves. The end result is a way of encoding and detecting up to 10 times more information from one pit.
09-29-04, 05:42 PM
#13
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Originally posted by ENDContra
^ Good point. I doubt anyone would release that much material on a single disc regardless because they would realize that most people would balk at the idea of a single disc costing that much. I think people would more likely pay $500 for a 15-disc set of the entire series before they would pay that much for 1-disc of the entire series, even if it is the same amount of content.
I know Id love it for data storage...would be easy as pie to backup the harddrive.
^ Good point. I doubt anyone would release that much material on a single disc regardless because they would realize that most people would balk at the idea of a single disc costing that much. I think people would more likely pay $500 for a 15-disc set of the entire series before they would pay that much for 1-disc of the entire series, even if it is the same amount of content.
I know Id love it for data storage...would be easy as pie to backup the harddrive
.
I have not bought one season of the Simpson's, but if I could buy all of them for $100.00, I would pick it up in a second.
Electronic prices are always falling, this may help the prices to come down even further.
09-29-04, 08:42 PM
#15
DVD Talk Special Edition
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: The Archives, Indiana
Posts: 1,758
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
We can't get J6P to get rid of his VCR........but the powers that be think he's going to hop and skip through one new disc format after another.
09-29-04, 10:43 PM
#16
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Sitting on a beach, earning 20%
Posts: 9,917
Likes: 0
Received 3 Likes
on
3 Posts
Originally posted by nightmaster
We can't get J6P to get rid of his VCR........but the powers that be think he's going to hop and skip through one new disc format after another.
We can't get J6P to get rid of his VCR........but the powers that be think he's going to hop and skip through one new disc format after another.
09-30-04, 02:37 AM
#17
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Old Europe
Posts: 627
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Future DVDs could hold 100 times more
Then it wouldn't be a DVD would it.
That BBC site is well known for talking complete shit. They issue these missives and make them look like news. They just copy/paste news releases from manufacturers.
Then it wouldn't be a DVD would it.
That BBC site is well known for talking complete shit. They issue these missives and make them look like news. They just copy/paste news releases from manufacturers.
09-30-04, 07:08 AM
#18
Member
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: R2
Posts: 238
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
There's more here:
source=
http://www.electronicsweekly.co.uk/a...earch=&nPage=1
From Electronics Weekly
Imperial eyes Tbyte optical discs
Imperial College researchers have invented a way to multiply optical disc storage capacity, using angled pits to side-step wavelength limits.
"According to our results, we can optimistically estimate that we will be able to store about one terabyte per disk in total using our new method," claimed the inventor, Dr Peter Török .
Conventional CDs and DVDs store data in a series of circular surface features, usually called pits.
To store more data, pit size has been reduced by using shorter wavelength lasers. CDs use 780nm lasers and DVDs employ either 635 or 650nm sources.
Philips is proposing to go to 405nm for its BluRay standard and other competing 'next-generation' DVD standards are similar.
This progression cannot continue. "You can reduce the wavelength and increase the numerical aperture of lenses in optical data storage, but there is a limit," said Peter Munroe, mathematical modeller on the project. "Optical glass fails to be transparent below 333nm, so there is little incentive to go beyond the 405nm."
Instead, Török proposes to add polarisation information to the pits, calling his system MODS - for multiplexed optical data storage.
"We can use linearly-polarised light, then look at the ratio of polarisation in two axes in the return," said Munroe. "Most of the decoding is done in optics, all you need is two detectors, instead of one, and a division. There is no difficult signal processing."
There are many methods available to create asymmetry in the pits and Török has yet to fined the best, currently introducing what he describes as 'steps' inside the pits.
Working with the University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland, and Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, experiments with asymmetric pits have shown it is possible to pick out 332 different orientations - more than 8-bits of resolution.
Imperial eyes Tbyte optical discs
Imperial College researchers have invented a way to multiply optical disc storage capacity, using angled pits to side-step wavelength limits.
"According to our results, we can optimistically estimate that we will be able to store about one terabyte per disk in total using our new method," claimed the inventor, Dr Peter Török .
Conventional CDs and DVDs store data in a series of circular surface features, usually called pits.
To store more data, pit size has been reduced by using shorter wavelength lasers. CDs use 780nm lasers and DVDs employ either 635 or 650nm sources.
Philips is proposing to go to 405nm for its BluRay standard and other competing 'next-generation' DVD standards are similar.
This progression cannot continue. "You can reduce the wavelength and increase the numerical aperture of lenses in optical data storage, but there is a limit," said Peter Munroe, mathematical modeller on the project. "Optical glass fails to be transparent below 333nm, so there is little incentive to go beyond the 405nm."
Instead, Török proposes to add polarisation information to the pits, calling his system MODS - for multiplexed optical data storage.
"We can use linearly-polarised light, then look at the ratio of polarisation in two axes in the return," said Munroe. "Most of the decoding is done in optics, all you need is two detectors, instead of one, and a division. There is no difficult signal processing."
There are many methods available to create asymmetry in the pits and Török has yet to fined the best, currently introducing what he describes as 'steps' inside the pits.
Working with the University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland, and Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, experiments with asymmetric pits have shown it is possible to pick out 332 different orientations - more than 8-bits of resolution.
http://www.electronicsweekly.co.uk/a...earch=&nPage=1
09-30-04, 11:52 AM
#21
DVD Talk Special Edition
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: The Archives, Indiana
Posts: 1,758
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally posted by DonnachaOne
Why not? He does with video games...
Why not? He does with video games...
Last edited by nightmaster; 09-30-04 at 11:58 AM.
09-30-04, 11:57 AM
#22
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 789
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I'm with those questioning the value of something like this. Existing technology has already eclipsed the abiliity of my aging eyes and ears. I believe that pictures and sound can be further improved, but to those of us watching the age of 40 fade off in the rear view mirror this is of little value. What I would really like to see is a $500 plasma monitor.....
09-30-04, 12:00 PM
#23
DVD Talk Special Edition
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: The Archives, Indiana
Posts: 1,758
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally posted by viking99
I'm with those questioning the value of something like this. Existing technology has already eclipsed the abiliity of my aging eyes and ears. I believe that pictures and sound can be further improved, but to those of us watching the age of 40 fade off in the rear view mirror this is of little value. What I would really like to see is a $500 plasma monitor.....
I'm with those questioning the value of something like this. Existing technology has already eclipsed the abiliity of my aging eyes and ears. I believe that pictures and sound can be further improved, but to those of us watching the age of 40 fade off in the rear view mirror this is of little value. What I would really like to see is a $500 plasma monitor.....
Good point, viking. Why am I going to spend umpteen thousand dollars on something that will at best be of negligable difference to my viewing eyes?
