Has anybody heard of these? BDs...

[TerranRich]

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/blu-ray.htm

I randomly decided to visit HowStuffWorks and saw this article about Blu-ray Discs. Apparently they can hold 27-50 GB of data.

I love technology, man. Every couple of years we get new storage media to gawk at.

[DragonRose]

Uh oh... does this mean I'm going to have to completly overhaul my video collection again? Grrr...

Seriously, it does sound quite nifty.  And much more convenient than having a 5 disc box set of whatever.

[Evil]

I read something in a PC mag awhile ago about transparent aluminum. I'll see if I can find the article on it and scan it.

[Arcangel]

i like that.

[shbaz]

I still don't think I'll like these special disks if I have to dress up like a doctor and only use them in super-clean rooms with gloves on like that.

I read something in a PC mag awhile ago about transparent aluminum. I'll see if I can find the article on it and scan it.

It's actually aluminum oxide, melted at 1200 degrees Centigrade or so. It's considered a ceramic, rather than a metal. Search for "transparent alumina" in google and you'll find out a lot about it. It's stronger than steel, but can't quite replace it because it's brittle in comparison.

[Edwin Xie]

Those disks seem nice :o ...... just one problem, how are we ever going to have BD players? If they are going to be used on the computer, do we have to buy a computer from Hewlett-Packard and Dell?

[Gregjazz]

Are you talking about blue laser CDs and DVDs? Yeah, there's pretty cool. The double layer ones can hold even more stuff on them.

But then again, although you can buy blue laser CDs, you need to have a blue laser CD rom drive (both expensive). And the sad part is that blue laser is not compatible with red laser.

We'll just have to wait.

[auhsor]

A couple of months ago I was reading on that site about holographic disc technologies, and they had developed a disc that could hold like what was it... I'm pretty sure it was like a 100GB, but thats crazy... I'll have a look.

edit: http://www.optware.co.jp/english/what_040823.htm
Heres what I was talking about. Being able to hold 100-200GB or something. That pretty cool.

[Haddas]

What year are you people from?!

http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,85184,tk,dn022002X,00.asp

[Darth Mandarb]

I've been hearing about these for awhile now too ...

It's being developed (to my understanding) for HD-DVD.Ã,  At least, that's what I've been hearing about it.

The blu-ray DVD players will still play your old DVDs (backwards compatible) but your old DVD player won't play the blu-ray discs.Ã,  (not surprising)

But of course, like most things, there's competing technology with the red laser stuff ... so it'll be a few years before either becomes standard.Ã,  Most probably remember the DVD battle (DivX and all that) from a few years ago.Ã,  And some us can remember the VHS vs. BETA from way back in the day.

It'll be nice to have HD-DVD ... considering I just bought an HDTV

[auhsor]

And another technology promising terabyte sized DVD's: http://www.enterpriseitplanet.com/storage/news/article.php/3414031

[TerranRich]

Yes! The technology of Star Trek is coming pretty damn fast. Pretty soon we'll need to make up units (megaquads and gigaquads) to sound cool and futuristic and confuse everybody everywhere!

But seriously though, I was just reading about the thought and possiblity of holographic storage media just a few years ago. Now it's already developed. Crazy, man.

[juncmodule]

So, yesterday I went to the library and was looking at the documentaries on DVD. They had this ten set history of jazz that looked great. I picked up the first three volumes and went to the counter to check them out. I heard rattling from the DVD case and opened it. This disc was cracked at the center and scratched up beyond belief. I have had similiar issues with DVD rentals from "video rental" stores too.

I have dozens of my owns CD's that are scratched and unplayable. Resurfacing has worked on a few, but the rest of just too damaged.

I also own a Mini Disc player. Mini Disc's come in a cartridge, they are very small and just amazing. CD's are big, bigger than cassette tapes (I know, they are thinner...). MD's are just perfect.

So perhaps some enlightened fellow here could tell me why the MD hasn't been pushed as more mainstream? Why not use a smaller DVD inside of a MD case for audio (thus improving storage space and therefore audio quality issues that people have with MD's). MD's are more sturdy than cassettes and by far more sturdy than DVD's. They are also adapting to the MP3 revolution very well (anyone who owns a Sony NetMD knows this).

I've been frustrated with CD's and DVD's since they became popular and always predicted that they would fail because of the reasons I outlined here. Unfortunately, I was wrong. People have just decided to accept these issues.

later,
-junc

[Haddas]

I myself would like FASTER portable medias. Like a square disc that the drive lights up and everything you do on it happens instantaneously.

[BerserkerTails]

I'm pretty sure all the next generation consoles will be using Blu-Ray (Or similar) medias for their games.

[Gregjazz]

I think it'd be cool to buy one of those terabyte harddrive for like $500. Especially if I shared the price and space with like 5 other people. That way we each pay $100 and each get 200 gigs.

[Edwin Xie]

I don't know if these discs will be scratched even though the data is above the polycarbonate layers and material above the disc to prevent it from being scratched.

[TerranRich]

They should bring back the method of having the medium inside of a casing that needs to be inserted for the BD/Holodisc to work, much like a VHS tape. You can't ruin the insdes of a VHS unless you open it up manually and play around with it.