ChrisKnudsen

Man, that sounds great. Then I could rid of my 5 externals of 250 GB each of music if I could easily fit it on a 25TB Disc and I would have so much space. Imagine 25TB of music. Christ, that would make my head explode. I could start an ultimate archive. I am going to have a wet dream tonight.

Qui Gon Jim

Not necessarily. Think of the quality of an uncompressed data stream or the quality of the audio possible with such large capacity.

Mopower

I can't even find enough songs I like to fill a DVD-R. Shit man do you just buy every CD that comes out to add to your collection or what?

Numanoid

I have almost 2TB of music and video, spread over 10 or 12 hard drives. Only a fraction of it is stuff I have purchased. A lot of the video is ripped from TV, including about 1500 music videos. Keeping three PCs with four or five HDs in each is a pain. I'm dying for this bulk storage.

Maquis

A complete season? Hell, with 25TB, give me the entire SERIES on one disk!

I would love that...

tanman

Wow, you're a digital squirrel. Do you keep the music files as mp3s or wav or some other compression and at what bit rate.




Maybe these disks will finally be good enough for all the audiophiles that are sticking with records

Dan Average

From another article:

So their grand plan to break into the consumer market is to release a disc that can store a whopping 5 GB more than a single-layer Blu-ray disc? Wow, that's stunningly inept. If they think the average consumer is going to be impressed by the smaller physical size, I think they're in for a shock. I don't see a whole lot of people complaining that CDs and DVDs are just too bulky and unwieldly.

Seriously, if they had any clue what they were doing they wouldn't attempt a consumer launch until they have something that would make even the most casual users say "holy shit." 30 GB isn't going to do it.

sracer

In a roundabout way, people HAVE complained about DVDs. Primarily the packaging. That is why thinpaks came out. I'll bet that as people's DVD collections grow, they'll be looking at UMD discs and packaging with an envious eye.

If consumer disc players are designed to handle both the smaller and larger form factors, then it may be possible to release the smaller discs at a lower cost (initially) and then move on to the larger form later as costs drop.

Anything that takes Sony's Blu-Ray format out of the game gets a big from me.

DthRdrX

Why is this exactly?

Dan Average

This is a packaging issue, not a disc size issue. Ship everything in thinpaks and you solve the problem. If people still want smaller packaging, reduce it to jewel case proportions. I doubt anyone is going to look at UMD as some sort of ideal space-saving packaging, given that most people shelve their collections vertically with the spines facing out and UMD packaging isn't substantially shorter or narrower than standard Amarays.

Well, first of all, no content providers have expressed any interest in this format, so it's going to be a long time before we see any HVD "players" -- the first models are going to be recorder/players, not playback-only.

And while there's no barrier I can see to the type of future-proofing you describe, we're still not talking about a huge increase here -- maybe 100GB vs. 25GB, which is a sizable difference on paper but not enough to convince the studios and hardware manufacturers to suddenly abandon the years of work and millions of dollars sunk into HD DVD and Blu-ray. That's why I think it's way too early to launch this stuff at the consumer level -- if they wait, say, 5-10 years, the costs may come down to the point where they can offer a truly vast storage increase (like 1TB) at consumer-friendly prices, and they'll have a better shot at getting studios on board, since they may have already milked all they can out of Blu-ray (I'm not holding out much hope for HD DVD at this point).

They won't.

sracer

Because I detest Sony's sneaky tactics of using rootkits for copy protection and using a subsidiary to spread false rumors about the Xbox 360. I don't want to buy any proprietary technology that they have control of.

Dan Average

Blu-ray is controlled by the Blu-ray Disc Association, not Sony. Sony sits on the board of directors but their vote counts for no more than those of the 16 other companies on the BOD.

nazz

Wouldn't it be fair to say that the others on the board have chosen to support Sony by sitting on it? Even with one vote their influence weighs heavily on the others.

Dan Average

Yes. By the same token, manufacturing and purchasing CDs and DVDs (and related products such as hardware and accessories) also indicates support for Sony. I fail to see what bearing this has on the degree of control Sony wields over the spec.

Uh...sure. After all, Sony can push for whatever they want. But there's nothing preventing anyone else on the BOD from doing the same thing. Given the size of some of the other corporations on the board (Matsushita, Samsung, Warner Bros., Fox and Hitachi, among others), it would be pretty difficult for Sony to throw their weight around unilaterally.

DthRdrX

Most companies with the BDA are offering full support and letting Sony take the lead. HP is there, now, to push for what MS wants (half of which the BDA has given them). Warner has joined just to get BD9 in the spec before it was too late, which they got handed to them on a silver platter by the BDA.

In short, while most companies are with Sony 100%, the other two pushed for what they want.

BTW, the real issue at this point has little to do with the BDA, but the current state of AACS.

rdodolak

I'd prefer my whole library on one disc. Forget the petty sizes, we should be looking into the future (petabyte, exabyte, zettabyte, yottabyte, etc)

darkside

I will only have a major problem with Blu-Ray if all the DRM rumors turn out to be true. If my DVD player has to phone home and tell Sony what I'm watching and if they can change the DRM at will causing me to have to upgrade my player I will pass on it. I'm about at my limit for tolerating DRM.

After the rootkit I put nothing past Sony. I'm still waiting for them to try and lock movies to your hardware so you can't lend them out to friends or resell them.

DthRdrX

That rumor was squashed long ago. No outside connection is required for popping in a disc and watching a movie. The only worry anyone will have about DRM is if they plan on pirating movies ....

critterdvd

some how IM doubting wiehter the public will embarce blue-ray or HD-DVD, let alone this new kind... Too many "general consumers" are too invested in there current collection... and these might end up as Niche productions like laserdisc...

Reservoir

Like the MGM vaults?


I like idea of a 1TB disc and don't think $120 sounds that bad when you compare it with a HDD (which is just a disc inside a heavier case).

However, I'd be expecting a DVDRAM Type II style protective case at the very least to protect the disc.

darkside

If its DRM I don't notice like current DVDs then I will have no problem with it.