Sony and Panasonic will jointly develop an optical disc with a storage capability of 300GB that will mark the end of the normal dual-layer Blu-ray discs.
A leap from maximum 50GB storage in normal Blu-ray discs to 300GB in optical discs is going to be a long shot, but Sony and Panasonic are geared to jointly build this invention by the end of 2015. Sony and Panasonic have signed a basic agreement to develop the next generation optical discs. The new technology packed in the optical discs is mainly targeted toward professional users who store huge amounts of data.
"Optical discs have excellent properties to protect them against the environment, such as dust-resistance and water-resistance, and can also withstand changes in temperature and humidity when stored," Sony said in a press release. "They also allow inter-generational compatibility between different formats, ensuring that data can continue to be read even as formats evolve. This makes them a robust medium for long-term storage of content."
Sony and Panasonic both have developed competitive devices that can massive data. Sony used the optical disc technology for its XDCAM series products, while Panasonic launched its LB-DM9 Series of optical disc storage devices.
Sony packed twelve 25 GB optical discs into a single cartridge offering a total storage ranging from 300 GB to 1.5 TB. Similarly, Panasonic packed twelve 100 GB optical discs into a single 20.8 mm thick magazine, offering a total capacity of 180 TB.
The next-generation optical discs will alone store 300 GB and will be used widely in video production industry and cloud-based data centers to store vast amounts of data for a long duration.
