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Sony's Blue-Violet Laser the Future Blu-ray?
JoshuaInNippon writes "Japanese researchers from Sony and Tohoku University announced the development of a 'blue-violet ultrafast pulsed semiconductor laser,' which Sony is aiming to use for optical disks. The new technology, with 'a laser wavelength of 405 nanometers in the blue-violet region' and a power out put 'more than a hundred times the world's highest output value for conventional blue-violet pulse semiconductor lasers,' is believed to be capable of holding more than 20 times the information of current Blu-ray technology, while retaining a practical size. Japanese news reports have speculated that one blue-violet disk could be capable of holding more than 50 high-quality movie titles, easily fitting entire seasons of popular TV shows like 24. When the technology may hit markets was not indicated."
Of course, as soon as Sony brings this to market, some other company, or group of companies, will unveil a competing product incompatible with Sony's, starting yet another format war. Too bad these guys can't just work together and agree on a common format and save us all time, money, and having to deal with dead formats (e.g. HD-DVD).
We'd already be walking around with 500GB USB sticks.
Or worse, we'd be walking around with 1Gbps wireless connections and we'd be streaming HD movies from YouTube.
So unless they've figured out how to cram like 1PB or even 1EB on an optical disc, they're walking down a blind alley.
We'd already be walking around with 500GB USB sticks.
Or worse, we'd be walking around with 1Gbps wireless connections and we'd be streaming HD movies from YouTube.
And the "HD" YouTube videos would still look like shit.
The difference in going from VHS to DVD was far more substantial than going from DVD to Blu-Ray. No more rewinding, easy seeking, a menu system. Blu-Ray does have a higher quality, but doesn't provide enough new features to warrant upgrading my entire DVD collection...especially when a decent upconverter can be purchased for relatively cheap. Some titles I have purchased for Blu-Ray, Casino Royale, and Dark Knight look gorgeous in high definition. Duck Soup and Spaceballs, however will likely stay in my collection as DVDs.
"Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right" - Salvor Hardin
If your storage medium has to explicitly allow your content then someone is doing it terribly, terribly wrong.
Paying video stores to only carry your format is not really letting the market decide. The whole things was a weasel-fest, and the more expensive format, with a non-finalized spec and forced DRM (or so I'm let to believe) won. I'm still dreaming the day consumers get together and start asking "in that an open, non-patent encumbered format", and not using it if the answer is "no". In my defence, I do realise it is dreaming.
These can hold 20x the capacity, but you'll still have to buy the theatrical and extended special editions of LOTR separately
So really, Hollywood execs will render these discs moot, at lest as far as home entertainment purposes go.