45GB Triple-Layer HD DVDs

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."

Comments

Sweet.

[solios]

With something like this I'll be able to backup my workstation with ten pieces of media, instead of the seventy or so DVDs it would take to do a Full Backup.

Seriously, it's about time offline media started catching up with hard drive capacities.

Re:In Search of a Standard...

[Mr Smidge]

Personally, I hope the one with the least restrictive DRM becomes the standard.

HD-DVD's AACS is just disgusting.

Still not enough.

[ThePurpleBuffalo]

Back when I first bought a CD burner, I did it to archive. Back then, a "big" consumer harddrive was around 1.2G and a CD held about half of that. Not bad for the time.

These days a "big" consumer harddrive is around 250G to 300G, and this "great new technology" (yet to be released) will allow for about one fifth of that.

That's simply not enough for me to justify using it as a method of data archiving or backup. To backup a single 250G volume I'd need 5+ blanks.

On the consumer side of the equation, I can't see people moving from DVD to this unless there is some justification better than "you'll have to swap discs one third as often".

Now, on the topic of size, since most optical media is recorded radially, why not make the physical size of the discs bigger? Not as big as LDs, because those were a little unmanageable, but another inch or two in diameter would GREATLY increase the capacity of even a DVD-R. Some will point out that it would no longer fit in a 5.25" bay, but who cares. This is why we have firewire and USB2.

Thoughts comments?

Re:Still not enough.

[Detritus]

Increasing the size of the disk also increases the workload on the servo system, the system that keeps the laser positioned over the track and at the right height. The larger the diameter, the larger the excursions side-to-side and up-and-down.

Hmmm

[nizo]

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

Wow I need to get my calculator and see how many divix movies that is. Lets see, the whole battlestar galactica first season fit on 1 and a half regular (4GB?) dvds..... I could move my whole movie collection to a few mega-dvds, and my entire music collection to just one.

Re:Another reason not to buy a DVD burner

[GizmoToy]

DVD Burners are what, $50 max for an excellent Dual-Layer burner, and discs can be had for $0.30. How much cheaper can you get? You can barely get a CD burner for that!