Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

45GB Triple-Layer HD DVDs

Posted by timothy on from the my-laptop's-drive-now-feels-tiny dept.

m4c north writes "Toshiba has developed a new DVD-ROM: 45GB spread over 3 layers. From the press release (which has a few illustrations) the new discs have the ability "to record twelve hours of high-definition movies on a single disc." They've also added a "dual-layer hybrid ROM disc comprised of a dual-layer HD DVD-ROM side and a dual-layer DVD-ROM side." Japan Today's article adds, "The huge capacity means that a single disk can store a Hollywood movie trilogy." Do I smell yet another Star Wars re-re-release? Toshiba will take the wraps off the new DVDs at the Media-Tech Expo 2005 in Las Vegas. The HD DVD Promotion group offers the press release in PDF."

17 of 334 comments (clear)

  1. In Search of a Standard... by TripMaster+Monkey · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...the new discs have the ability "to record twelve hours of high-definition movies on a single disc.

    It's a shame that the DVD community doesn't have the ability to decide on a standard...

    --
    ____

    ~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey

    1. Re:In Search of a Standard... by 0x461FAB0BD7D2 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It's not like the community can.

      Both Sony and Toshiba have their reasons to capture the High-def DVD market with their technology. And there hasn't been any actual products any of these formats for the market to decide which is better.

      To many, there's no point in deciding now, as it would reduce any incentive for these companies to improve on their products and there is really no criteria on which to decide (except storage space, which is not a good measuring rod at all).

      When products which use these technologies are released, the market will be able to choose. And one just hopes they choose wisely.

    2. Re:In Search of a Standard... by drinkypoo · · Score: 2, Insightful

      consumers didn't choose VHS over beta, manufacturers did, and it was over sony's licensing. first, they wanted exorbitant licensing fees. Second, they didn't want porn on beta, which is a sure way to kill off any format.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    3. Re:In Search of a Standard... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      I agree. Without wanting to turn this into a flame war, if the foreskin wasn't meant to be there, evolution would have removed it by now. Besides, 99% of foreskin troubles can be resolved without surgery.

      As for that cleanliness crap, i've had an intact member all my life and all he needs is a quick rub down in the showers. (yes, I know how that sounds and sometimes the wrong idea is really the right one)

  2. Fine. Whatever. by ackthpt · · Score: 5, Insightful
    When everyone finally jumps off the fence and starts manufacturing, distributing and fully supporting what technology they all settle on, drop me a line.

    I'm sure Star Wars re-re-re-released on HD DVD will be stunning, but I'm rather skeptical about when I'll actually have a HD TV to watch it on. As it is, the set I just got is pretty damn good when viewed on a non-CRT screen (no black lines.) A couple years ago Philips had the TV/Monitor to watch HD on, but it was $18,000. I'm certain that kind of quality hasn't come down far enough in price, nor shall it in the next 3 years for me to even consider buying one (probably only when I get HD Soccer on FSC or such.) Meanwhile, as we saw the other day, someone has nanotubes which may make some really great screens, but probably won't actually hit consumer markets, priced attactively (gotta pay off that investment in research.)

    Heck, I'm only moving to a 64bit CPU at home because 32bit motherboards aren't being innovated anymore and I need a new mobo. It'll probably be a burned out monitor that forces me to get the nanotube screen and a few really good movie titles which convince me to upgrade to a new DVD (only because non HD players aren't made at that point.)

    --

    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    1. Re:Fine. Whatever. by TripMaster+Monkey · · Score: 3, Insightful


      "Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate, so we can buy shit we don't need."

      - Tyler Durden, Fight Club

      --
      ____

      ~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey

    2. Re:Fine. Whatever. by Have+Blue · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Same here- HD is not good enough to throw out existing equipment for, but when you find yourself without a TV at all, there's no reason not to go HD with a replacement. Sooner or later, HD is going to be either present in *all* video devices, or a "free" feature on some other device you want already (like a next-gen console), so the cost of explicit migration gradually erodes until one day you find that you're HD-ready almost without realizing it. This is basically what happened to me, and it looks awesome :P

  3. Very Cool by MightyMartian · · Score: 2, Insightful

    We've been looking for a decent replacement for our old 30gb tape backup system, and this looks to be the critter. Hope the price of burner and DVD's isn't too high. Heck, with that kind of storage, I could use Ghost or something like it to do HD images.

    --
    The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
  4. Arg! by Enigma_Man · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Just imagine how many different models of CD(or whatever)-ROMs we're going to need now, and how many sub-versions (a-la DVD-R, DVD+R) we'll have.

    The packaging on burners will look something like this:
    16x4x16x DVD+RW / 12x4x16x DVD-RW / 5x DVD+R DL / 4x HD DVD+R / 32X HD3-DVD1-R+RW / etc / etc

    -Jesse

    --
    Nothing says "unprofessional job" like wrinkles in your duct tape.
  5. Obligatory Quote by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "The nice thing about standards is that there are so many to choose from."
    - Andrew S. Tannenbaum

  6. Another reason not to buy a DVD burner by PenguinBoyDave · · Score: 2, Insightful

    As stated previously, when they decide on a standard, let me know. I'd really like to get a burner, and I know that it will probably work well and be compatable for some time. However, I don't want to buy something and then have it become obsolete just after I buy it. Guess I'm just too cheap.

    --
    I'm not a troll, but I play one on Slashdot.
  7. Re:Sweet. by Knytefall · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Except you'll notice that the article doesn't talk about a triple-layer HD DVD-R format. That's because the DVD forum hasn't really been moving too swiftly on multi-layer recordables at all. Notice that there's no DVD-R DL (that's the Toshiba-led DVD Forum's format) -- only DVD+R DL (the competing Philips-led camp.)

    Since we're not going to see DVD-R DL until at least the end of the year, that means we're probably not going to see HD DVD-R until next year, and HD DVD-R triple-layer for years!

    They should give up and join forces with Blu Ray.

  8. Sounds like an interesting backup media.. by the_rajah · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Let's get the double layer ones at a reasonable price before we go crazy on this new one. I'm still seeing around $4 apiece for the doubles buying them online in bulk.

    --


    "Do the Right Thing. It will gratify some people and astound the rest." - Mark Twain
  9. We need more than this! by pato101 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    At the beginning of the CDrom era, a CDrom handled more space than most of HDs over there (at least the personal computer HDs). You were lucky if your HD was 200Mb!!. I guess we would be happier with something of about 100Gb right now, but I agree that 30Gb is more than enough.

  10. Mostly posturing by no_opinion · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Keep in mind that there are on-going talks on merging the formats (HD-DVD & Blu-Ray) next week so the timing of this is mostly political positioning. The change itself hasn't been discussed in the DVD forum and it's all vapor right now.

  11. Movie companies don't want bigger disks! by Silverlancer · · Score: 1, Insightful

    An HD-DVD will easily fit the amount of video that is now stored on a whole season-pack of DVDs. But people will not be willing to pay $120+ for a single disk. They will demand what was sold before for $120 for $20. And thus we will never get the potential of this technology. You'll still have to get Star Trek: The Next Generation on 7 packs of 7 DVDs, even though they could fit it all on 3 or 4. The worst heresy I've seen recently was Bandai putting 26 24-minute episodes of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex on 7 DVDs, and trying to charge up to $30 each for them. Considering that a single dual-layer DVD can fit all 26 episodes encoded at basically-perfect 1600kbs Xvid along with 6-channel AC3 audio, they have no right to spread out 11 hours of video to 7 disks. Its just an utter ripoff.

  12. Re:Still not enough. by Heisenbug · · Score: 3, Insightful

    One reason I've heard for limiting the size is that the bigger the disk, the faster the outside edge is moving per RPM. When you're reading the inside edge at a suitable data rate, the outside edge will be shredding itself from the speed. I can't vouch for that being the reason, but it could be.

    Another reason I'd just as soon they didn't is that I have tons of ways to store CDs and DVDs, cases and racks and so on, and bigger disks wouldn't work with any of them. I imagine this is a much more serious problem further up the supply chain -- there's tons of ways that having identically-sized media saves money when moving to a new format.

    Oh, and I think bigger disks would be considered ugly by consumers, for whatever that's worth.