Space, the Final Limitation: DVD is about to change...
05-22-02 | 12:43 PM
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Space, the Final Limitation: DVD is about to change...
As reported by DVDANGLE.com:
Never before in the history of home entertainment has there been a format as diverse or far reaching. When it comes to the amount of content included on a single disc, the only limitation is space. Right now, the largest storage capacity on DVD is roughly 17 GB. We've all heard about the advantages of the "next generation" blue laser DVD players, which use a narrower beam than the red laser being used in today's players. The downside is that's still a ways off before we can start taking advantage of it (and there's also the issue of having to upgrade your player).
Yesterday, a stunning announcement came out of the National Taiwan University in Taipei. They have developed a 5" disc (the same size as current CD's and DVD's) that can store 100 GB. What makes this announcement so prolific is the discs can be read by standard red lasers -- although a chip within your player would have to be upgraded. The technical details are overwhelming, but the gist of it is the areas of data (called pits and lands) can be packed closer together. This is done by removing the diffraction limit through the use of near-field optics.
The optical disc maker Ritek Corp. backed this research project and has stated the discs will become commercially available in 2004. The advantages of a disc that holds 100 GB of data is clear. What is not clear at this point is how well this product will catch on. The manufacturers have already agreed upon the standard for blue laser and, while it's still in development, the likelihood of a collective "left-turn" is low. It's also unclear if this new disc can be used by blue laser player (although it should given the information we have at this point). In any event, the next few years are going to see some amazing developments as the disc size limitations are shattered.
Never before in the history of home entertainment has there been a format as diverse or far reaching. When it comes to the amount of content included on a single disc, the only limitation is space. Right now, the largest storage capacity on DVD is roughly 17 GB. We've all heard about the advantages of the "next generation" blue laser DVD players, which use a narrower beam than the red laser being used in today's players. The downside is that's still a ways off before we can start taking advantage of it (and there's also the issue of having to upgrade your player).
Yesterday, a stunning announcement came out of the National Taiwan University in Taipei. They have developed a 5" disc (the same size as current CD's and DVD's) that can store 100 GB. What makes this announcement so prolific is the discs can be read by standard red lasers -- although a chip within your player would have to be upgraded. The technical details are overwhelming, but the gist of it is the areas of data (called pits and lands) can be packed closer together. This is done by removing the diffraction limit through the use of near-field optics.
The optical disc maker Ritek Corp. backed this research project and has stated the discs will become commercially available in 2004. The advantages of a disc that holds 100 GB of data is clear. What is not clear at this point is how well this product will catch on. The manufacturers have already agreed upon the standard for blue laser and, while it's still in development, the likelihood of a collective "left-turn" is low. It's also unclear if this new disc can be used by blue laser player (although it should given the information we have at this point). In any event, the next few years are going to see some amazing developments as the disc size limitations are shattered.
