New Storage System May Make All DVDs Obsolete

[the_Web_Slinger]

New Storage System May Make All DVDs Obsolete
Threatening to make both competing high-definition DVD systems, Blu-Ray and HD DVD, quickly obsolete, a holographic storage system that can store up to 300GB on a single disc is expected to hit the market by this time next year, Britain's New Scientist magazine is reporting in its current issue. The magazine noted that the technology behind it could eventually be developed to store up to 1.6 terabytes on a disk, the equivalent of 300 DVDs. Moreover, it noted, the system employs a laser light unit that allows information to be transferred in a single flash, thereby lowering production costs. The system is being developed jointly by InPhase Technologies and Hitachi.

(source of Article IMBD.com - Studio Briefing Nov.28 2005)

Now what I personally think about this:

I think this is somewhat insane because you could never fill something of that size. Take the average film release it is usually 1-2 DVDs and sometimes there is a 3 disk set for one title and this disk can hold the equivalent of 300 DVDs it just seems like a waste of space. The only real benfit I can see for something like this is for TV series, like for example you could probably fit the entire series of The Simpsons on one of these plus special features from each season but other then stuff like that I do think it would be a waste of space in the long run.

[Gaumont]

holographic storage system LOL

[editman]

Yeah yeah yeah... they said that already with HD-DVD.

The thing is, between now and the actual technology being popularised it can take years. True, when you think of 10 years ago 1GB was a lot of disk space and laserdisc was the best you can get for quality home video, so who knows what technologies 10 years from now will be like.

But one has to learn it takes more than technology to replace another technology: Vinyl is still around. CDs has been there for more than 20 years. Cassette tapes and domestic VHS VCRs are not completely out of sight yet.

And I rest my case.

[WorkShed]

It's not about how much the thing can store, it's about whether or not the public will adopt it. That's why CDs completely out perform DVD-audio and the like. DVD-audio has much more space on it, but people don't want to adopt the new format. They've already adopted the iPod. Who wants to buy a DVD-audio player?

[Jake]

Thanks for the tip, InPhase is in 3rd stage of funding so it will likely start selling stock soon. I'll look into it, maybe I'll make money from it, hehe.

details on the system are here:

http://www.inphase-technologies.com/...ogy/index.html

I think the biggest question will be size. This would be perfect for something like DVRs for TVs or public databases. At the pace that we're going you don't know maybe in 10 years MP3s will be such high quality that they'll be 100MB per song and we'll need bigger HDs. For games and movies that's certainly true.

[crazye_star]

I doubt there will be PC burners. Not all hard disk stores that much space. Even some can, how are we going to wait for it to burn!? How many hours is that??

[corfy]

I think this is somewhat insane because you could never fill something of that size.

I remember a few years ago we upgraded our computer from a 430 MB harddrive to a 4.3 GB harddrive, and at the time we thought that would be all the space we would ever need. I think that was early 1998. You can't do anything with 4.3 GB harddrive anymore.

How many people wondered when DVDs first came out why they would need 8 GB on one disk?