GE Developing 1TB Hologram Disc Readable By a Modified Blu-ray Drive

Globally Mobile writes "The Register has this article concerning GE's announcement that it has been developing a 1 terabyte DVD-size disk that can be read by a modified Blu-ray player. Peter Lorraine, GE's lab manager, talking at an Emerging Tech conference last week, said that license announcements could be expected soon. He also mentioned the notion of disks having the capacity of 100 Blu-ray disks, implying a 2.5TB or even 5TB capacity, gained by increasing the number of layers used for recording. The discs will be used for high-end commercial niches initially and then migrate to consumer markets in 2012-2015. Also here is a video of the technology explained. Wish we could see this sooner! Reminds me of the technology that Bowie's character came up with in The Man Who Fell to Earth."

Remix

[Wowsers]

How many MB will be wiped out by a pathetically small scratch on the disk? Remember the promises made of audio CD's?

Off-site backup?

[moogoogaipan]

I might be able to use it for off-site backup. As long as it can hold data for 3 years, I am good. Hopefully it doesn't cost 5K per disc.

Why?

[thisnamestoolong]

With the plummeting costs of magnetic storage, what is the point of this? I mean, optical storage is practical when you are talking about a few GB, but for multiple TB? I mean, how long would it take to burn one of those suckers, five, maybe six months? Why not just buy a cheap eSATA or USB external drive and stick it in a closet somewhere -- it's not much more expensive, lasts longer, and saves you a ton of productivity.

Re:Well

[oldspewey]

I find I'm "skipping a generation" in many technologies: Operating systems, storage standards, gaming consoles, etc.

*Yawn*

[Urza9814]

Wasn't there a company promising this exact same technology about ten years ago? I've found articles from 2005 talking about a holographic disc from InPhase, and I seem to recall hearing about another company working on something similar even earlier than that, though I can't recall the name of it...what I do recall is hearing something along the lines of the company shutting down several years ago.

Re:Remix

[john83]

How many MB will be wiped out by a pathetically small scratch on the disk? Remember the promises made of audio CD's?

You're assuming that in order to fit more data on the disc, they've just shrunk CD technology. That's not the case. Holographically stored data are spatially distributed. I'm not sure exactly how they handle damage, but I think a "pathetically small scratch" would have a pathetically small effect on the replay.

No moving parts, please!

[Fishbulb]

Everything I'd heard about holography and one of the most appealing and promising things about it was that it would not require, or at least minimize, moving parts. Why are they now recreating holographic media as Yet Another Spinning Disc device with parts that wear out quickly, go out of alignment, and put the media at risk of damage? A digital storage medium without moving parts could easily provide devices with unprecedented longevity.

I get the connection to make a Blu-Ray backward-compatible medium, but why lock ourselves in to a bad idea (spinning platters) for a medium that's had lackluster adoption*?

* - which I contend is almost entirely the fault of the iron grip the entertainment distribution industry has tried to impose on the digital storage industry With Great Fail.

Re:Well

[sukotto]

Much of the tech I actually care about has reached the "good enough" stage >> why bother upgrading? (This is especially true for gaming platforms)

IMHO, DRM technology has become crimminally intrusive >> I don't want to support those bastards

I have a family and a mortgage >> I have more important ways to spend my money

Much of what I want to do and see is available online >> why buy even more physical stuff?

Re:Remix

[elfprince13]

holographic data storage is fractal in nature, meaning if you make a hologram of a car and then snap it in half you won't end up with 2 holograms of half a car each, you'll end up with 2 holograms of a full with half the resolution as the original. Methinks this would be good for data-redundancy in other applications as well

Re:The Man Who Fell to Earth

[PinkyGigglebrain]

I am sorry but I have to totally disagree with you on that.

As a "B" grade "alien bug vs. Human" sci-fi action film it was OK but I think it would have been much better if they had NOT tried to follow the original book at all.

Title + completely different story == GOOD || GREAT # see BladeRunner

Title + faithful adaptation of the book == GREAT

Title + lame adaptation == SUCK_MONKEY_BALLS

The movie Starship Troopers, as an adaptation of the book by the same tittle sucked monkey balls. The book wasn't about the bug/human war, it was an examination of a society and military that just used the war as a back drop. Its interesting to note that people who read the book expecting it to be an action/adventure like the movie are always almost always dissapointed, but if they read it for its view point on society and military tactics they love it. My Father (Major, Retired), who has NO interest in sci-fi, loved the book because it was dead on in its examination of the Military structure, training and tactics. And we both agreed that when something important is handed to you on a platter it is inevitably taken for granted, like the right to vote currently is (if its so important why is it just given to you when you turn 18?, you have to pass a test to get a drivers license don't you?). And how many times have we seen on /. comments about making the parents responsible for their children? Want to know what I'm talking about? read the book.