New CompactFlash spec allows 144-petabyte capacity
updated 10:10 am EST, Mon February 22, 2010
CompactFlash 5.0 provides space, quality guards
The CompactFlash Association today made available the fifth generation of its removable storage format. The 5.0 spec increases the addressing from 28 bits to 48 and provides an exponential gain in the amount of storage. Current cards are limited to at most 137GB, but the new format will allow as much as 144 petabytes (PB) once flash technology catches up with the new ceiling.
Also new are a number of safeguards for pro photographers and videographers worried about sustained performance. CompactFlash now has an optional quality of service framework that can guarantee a certain minimum level of performance and prevent dropping frames, particularly in HD video. The 5.0 standard can load as much as 32MB into a single transfer action versus 128KB today and is consequently much better for high-resolution RAW shots.
Association members haven't estimated when production CF 5.0 cards will reach the market, though this may take months as companies will have to implement the technology on their own before they can ship finished products.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Sep 2001
holy shiite
as a frame of reference (sadly lacking in this article), 1 petabyte is 1 million gigabytes.
so the limit of 144 petabytes is more than 1 million times more storage capacity than the current standard - 6 orders of magnitude greater!