TOKYO—Sony and Panasonic have announced an agreement to develop 300 GB next generation optical discs for long term digital data storage, with the goal of introducing a product by the end of 2015.
Although both companies previously collaborated on the development of Blu-ray Disks, in the announcement, the companies said they “recognized that optical discs will need to accommodate much larger volumes of storage in years to come given the expected future growth in the archive market.” Both companies pointed to the expanding needs for archiving in video production as well as from cloud data centers as the reasons behind their work in advancing the format. A Blu-ray disc can store up to 25 GB of data; a dual-layer disc can hold up to 50 GB of data. According to Blu-ray.com, future incarnations of the discs could hold up to 200 GB of data by adding layers.
In making the announcement, Sony and Panasonic pointed to the versatility of optical discs for long-term data storage, noting the format’s dust resistance and water-resistance as well as the ability to withstand changes in temperature and humidity when stored. Their ability to allow inter-generational compatibility among different formats ensures “that data can continue to be read even as formats evolve,” the companies said. [Keep reading…]
Source: TVTechnology.com