Monday, July 7,2008 @ 7:25am
Pioneer develops 400GB optical disc
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]
