300 DVDs on one disc

[glenc (Glen)]

"A new optical recording method could pave the way for data discs with 300 times the storage capacity of standard DVDs, Nature journal reports.
The researchers say this could see a whopping 1.6 terabytes of information fit on a DVD-sized disc.
They describe their method as "five-dimensional" optical recording and say it could be commercialised.
The technique employs nanometre-scale particles of gold as a recording medium.
Researchers at Swinburne University of Technology in Australia have exploited the particular properties of these gold "nano-rods" by manipulating the light pointed at them..." http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8060082.stm
Also: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2009/...498857369.html

Congratulations to Swinburne.

[Robh (Rob)]

It is an extraordinary achievement and probably has some commercial applications. But I wonder about its practicality for the home user. How many people are going to want to store that much data (1.6 TeraBytes) on a Super DVD? The write time would be horrendous.
I would rather back up my data on a terabyte hard-drive with its read/write flexibility and faster access speeds.
And I wonder whether we are moving away from the motor-driven limitations of memory disks. Flash memory for example is increasing at a fast pace. No moving parts, reliable and compact. I have an old 128MB memory stick. Now 8GB ones are common. The ASUS Eee PCs uses flash-based memory of 2GB to 20G. The Macbook Air has a 128GB solid state hard drive.

Anyone else with any thoughts on the new Super DVD?
Regards, Rob.

[MrB (Simon)]

I believe it will still have a market.
Optical Disk based media is cheap when compared to Solid State memory byte for byte, and quicker to manufacture.
Its the reason Nintendo moved away from cartridges.... sure cartridges were faster but they were far more expensive to produce and had less capacity.

[leinad (Dan)]

Interestingly I read, quote' "they have signed a research agreement with Samsung and believe that the technology will be available commercially in 5 to 10 years."

Just in time for 5dimensional-particle beam HDDTV's and the Nintendo P00.

[saturn c (Leo)]

cds and dvd are so easy to damage. thumbs down for me!

[Glenhuon (Bill)]

Don't think you will see it in domestic use for a very long time and I think I'd be a bit wary of keeping that much data on one easily damaged media anyway. The solid state disks are now up to 500Gb+, just got a 250Gb the other day for $109 and fits in a pocket, so reasonably priced and will probably get cheaper. Not suited for long term storage I would think but great for transporting large amounts of data from one machine to another. DVD/Blueray is still the best option for long term at the moment.

Bill