Sony and Panasonic introduces for the first time ever, the Archival Disc.
Now I know you’re wondering what is this Archival Disc, it is a new & professional-use optical disc with storage capacities ranging from 300GB and at launch up to 1TB in the future. Now doesn’t that sound like someone has been supplying Blu-Ray Discs with top of the line supplements right? Well these companies plan to ship this next-gen standard in summer of 2015.
Sony says that this creation is meant for only archive purposes (we will see), and that optical discs will need that extra memory support in the future. These discs are supposed to be very well protected from the elements with new dust-resistance, water-resistance and can also withstand rapid changes in temperature and humidity when stored properly.
They also allow inter-generational compatibility between different file formats, ensuring that data can continue to be read even as current formats evolve. This really makes them great media sources for long-term storage of content. Realizing that optical discs will eventually need to provide much larger volumes of storage in the future, Sony & Panasonic believe there is a market for this.
With the current rise of data cloud storage, this new prototype will provide new possibilities for the film and audio industry. This also provides cloud providers and users whom prefer an actual physical backup of data (versus just cloud storage) with a generous amount of storage to somewhat whet their appetites.
Key Archival Disc specifications
| Disc size (type) | 300 GB (write-once) |
|---|---|
| Optical parameter | Wavelength λ=405 nm (nanometers), Numerical Aperture NA=0.85 |
| Disc structure | Double-sided Disc (3 layers/side), Land and Groove Format |
| Track pitch | 0.225μm (micrometers) |
| Data bit length | 79.5nm (nanometers) |
| Error correction method | Reed-Solomon Code |
Sources: Sony, IGN & Evan Campbell (of IGN)
