Sony, Panasonic team up to develop 300GB optical disc
The two companies plan to create a recordable disc that can store 300GB of data and hope to have it on the market by the end of 2015.
Sony and Panasonic aim to provide a big boost to the amount of data that can be housed on a single disc.
The two companies will work together to create a new standard for an optical disc capable of recording at least 300GB of information, Panasonic announced Monday. The goal is to unveil the actual technology before the end of 2015. The new disc format will be targeted toward professional users, specifically businesses that need to archive huge amounts of data for long-term storage.
Pointing to one potential customer, Sony cited the video production industry, including motion picture houses and broadcasters. But cloud-based data centers could also tap into the high-capacity discs to retain vast amounts of data.
"Optical discs have excellent properties to protect them against the environment, such as dust-resistance and water-resistance, and can also withstand changes in temperature and humidity when stored," Panasonic said in a press release. "They also allow inter-generational compatibility between different formats, ensuring that data can continue to be read even as formats evolve. This makes them a robust medium for long-term storage of content."
In comparison, today's Blu-ray discs can store 25GB on a single layer and 50GB on a dual layer.