Samsung, Dell and 11 other leading consumer electronics and pc companies have jointly developed an optical high-capacity Blu-Ray disc. Currently able to store up to 27GB of data, the disc is the next generation of data storage and is expected to replace VCR and DVD technology in a few years.
The format was developed to enable recording, rewriting and playback of high-definition television (HDTV). The 27GB discs can record up to 2 hours of HDTV and more than 13 hours of SDTB. Higher capacity discs are in development and are expected to hold up to 54GB of data – several GB higher than current standard hard drives.
While current optical disc technologies such as DVD use red laser to read and write data, the new format uses blue laser instead, hence the name Blu-ray. Blue lasers are composed of shorter wavelengths giving it a more precise beam allowing data to be packed more tightly on the disc.
The new technology uses 51% paper to create a Blu-ray disc. Sony and Toppan claim such discs are useful because they can be cut up for security reasons and also reduces manufacturing costs. No date is set yet for availability.
