Pioneer this morning promised to expand removable storage with one of the largest confirmed optical storage capacities available. By cutting back on the potential for interference from different layers on a given disc, the electronics maker says it can manufacture readable discs with 16 layers; at 25GB per layer, this equates to 400GB on a single disc.

The format is also fundamentally similar to Blu-ray, according to Pioneer. As both the per-layer size (25GB) and reading lens behave in a similar way, the new disc format is effectively compatible with regular Blu-ray discs.

The Japanese company hasn't said when it expects to commercialize its 16-layer discs but says its discovery should become "necessary" in the near future; Pioneer is one of the primary supporters of Blu-ray and makes both computer-based drives as well as dedicated movie players. [via Impress]