What is this? 300GB in a disc?

o_O

from Sins Forums
Well, I was reading "The Economist" (a magazine) and there was an article about a new type of disc format. Its called holograhic storage (still discs like DVDs and stuff tho). The first ones will be able to store 300GB of data - "12 times more than the latest Blu-ray disvs and 60 times more than a standard DVD. And within a few years this capacity is expected to increase more than fivefold to 1.6 terabytes (1,600 GB)."

The example of what 1.6 terabytes can store (taken from the article) was 5 seasons of a television drama, in high defintion, on one disc. So the Sopranos, which is ten seasons, could fit on two discs instead of (4 discs in season 1, say they all have 4 discs, so thats 40 DVDS!) 40 DVDS!

o_O Imagine the length of a game that took up all that space.....
off-topic
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Reply #1 from Sins Forums Top
games would never get that long... profits would never be able to make up for production, and the process would take forever (maybe MAYBE big companies could pull it off)

but holographic storage, I believe that has to do with 3-D engrained images, correct? in crystal structures I believe.
nice little doohickies, wonder we didnt come up with them sooner. such a simple idea.
Reply #2 from Sins Forums Top
Well, DVDs write on a thin layer below the surface or something. This format writes on three layers or something. Wiki it.
Galactic Civilizations IV
Reply #3 from Sins Forums Top
imagine scratching it and losing 300GB of data!
Reply #4 from Sins Forums Top
but holographic storage, I believe that has to do with 3-D engrained images, correct? in crystal structures I believe.
nice little doohickies, wonder we didnt come up with them sooner. such a simple idea.


It's actually a fairly old idea, just one that hasn't readily come together into a useful product before now.
Reply #5 from Sins Forums Top
I WANT MY BABYLON 5 STORAGE CRYSTAL..
well yeah, when do we stop using all those mechanical things. Like harddrives, cd, dvd, HD dvd and so on.

Im more into the idea of flash drives or what ever they are called.
Will we ever see an alternative to the harddrive and disc's within the next 10years?
Reply #6 from Sins Forums Top
Apperantly they're ready to go on sale in a couple of weeks (I dunno if that means to other companys, or to the public. If I had to guess I'd say it won't be to the public because, since its a new format, you'll prolly need a new thinggy to read the disc.)
Reply #7 from Sins Forums Top
i'm more worried about the interface that has to handle that capacity.

present day interfaces can't push that sort of capacity fast enough IMHO.
Reply #8 from Sins Forums Top
it's actually a fairly old idea, just one that hasn't readily come together into a useful product before now

my point exactly
why?
Well, DVDs write on a thin layer below the surface or something. This format writes on three layers or something.

no, its that DVDs and CDs work in 2D where these work in 3D
since its a new format, you'll prolly need a new thinggy to read the disc

oh yeah.
Reply #9 from Sins Forums Top
The fruits of endless consumerism.

Capatalism at work I say.
Reply #10 from Sins Forums Top
its that DVDs and CDs work in 2D where these work in 3D


True, DVD's and CD's work out the the edge, Holographic disks work out the the edge and them straight back to the middle, and the way they do it is astoundingly clever (yet obvious).

A simple analogy is those "holographic" fridge magnets that change the image when you move them. These disks actually write the second and third layer of data in a slightly different way than the first, so to access it the reader only needs to change to read the way that particular layer was written.