Blu-Ray Disk Specification Now Officially Allows 128GB Capacities
Blu-Ray Disk Specification Now Officially Allows 128GB Capacities
Posted 04/04/2010 at 12:14pm
| by Justin Kerr
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50GB Blu-ray disks aren't exactly what I'd call "cramped", but just in case you thought the existing spec was getting a bit long in the tooth the Blu-ray association has released a new standard today that will bump capacities up to 128GB (write-once) or 100GB (rewritable). The new format which will be called BDXL sounds promising, but unfortunately won't be backwards compatible with older hardware. I suspect this little caveat will hamper its adoption pretty heavily, but is great to see that optical storage isn't dead yet.
Video applications for BDXL aren't exactly clear at this point, but it's unlikely the 3D craze that's sweeping the media industry is to blame. Existing disk capacities seem to be holding up quite well, so it's likely this will be phased in slowly over time without the vast majority of users even noticing. The new disk technology goes three to four layers deep on the disk, and a more powerful laser requirement is the reason you'll need to upgrade to get it.
BDXL is also expected to be phased into PC consumer grade optical drives over time, but I suspect flash drives will continue to suck the wind out of adoption for this as a backup medium.
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Digihotaru
April 14, 2010 at 2:56pm
Time for optical storage to go the way of the dodo. Too cumbersome and too expensive.
nHeroGo
April 05, 2010 at 11:33am
I wonder if "they" will drop the price on current sized media, or if the XL-discs will cost $80 each? It is cheaper to buy hard drives.
Sebie Kay
April 05, 2010 at 9:00am
Wow... 128 GB, and I need new hardware?
No thanks!
-=Do unto others... THEN RUN!!=-
Arrowdodger
April 04, 2010 at 11:42pm
I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that the PS3 is about to get boned. Again. Atleast it'll be a gradual change...
Keith E. Whisman
April 04, 2010 at 7:22pm
That's cool... Awesome.. Need another bd player now.. great new..
BTW I felt an EarthQuake today in my home in Phoenix, Arizona.. 8 pointer in Mexico. This is my first earthquake. The house just rocked like a very big wave. Pretty cool.
I Jedi
April 04, 2010 at 3:23pm
I'm glad to know that Blu-ray disk are getting much, much bigger; however, I won't need to use a Blu-Ray drive unless my parents decide to reformat, or a customer I work with needs it.
hades_2100
April 04, 2010 at 3:01pm
It's nice, I'm sure there are benefits to backup solutions. For me, don't care. All my media (including backups!) are on a server with 6HD's. I'm eliminating optical physical media from my house as fast as I can.
hades
hades_2100
April 04, 2010 at 6:05pm
It's a RAID system, running unRAID. 1 HD can fail easily without bringing the RAID down. I simply replace it with another HD and away I go. I wouldn't trust 5TB's of data to a server with no redundancy.
hades
Caboose
April 05, 2010 at 10:48am
I've had a drive fail in a RAID1, Seagate replaced the drive. My PC still ran fine w/half of a RAID1 (I limited the use). Once I popped in the new drive, AMD RAIDXpert rebuilt my array ina half-hour (1TB RAID1) and I was back up and running.
128GB on a single disc though would be good for offsite archive storage. As long as the media doesn't degrade...
-= I don't want to be dead, I want to be alive! Or... a cowboy! =-
aviaggio
April 05, 2010 at 11:49am
Problem is the tech is proprietary and there is no competition. Therefore no incentive for prices to drop. If HD-DVD were still around you know damned well burners would be $50 by now instead of the $150 they've been stuck at for years.
bpstone
April 04, 2010 at 2:11pm
If the PC Gaming Industry would adapt Blu-Ray, it would be nice. lol :D :P
QUINTIX256
April 04, 2010 at 3:22pm
2.5 gigabytes per hour of gameplay, if not more? Are you nuts? Go play .kkreiger and watch elevate by RGBA. DVD9 is more than enough .
You can have your recession. I'm not participating.
aviaggio
April 04, 2010 at 1:33pm
Well what's the friggin point now? I still can't afford to buy a bluray player or burner, and now they already have designs for a better spec? Looks like I still won't be getting one anytime soon. Retarded as usual.
Peanut Fox
April 04, 2010 at 3:49pm
A BD reader is less than $60 right now. Kinda' high for a disc reader, but well within' reach of most.
aviaggio
April 04, 2010 at 6:05pm
No point in buying a reader. I want a burner. And they are still around $150 and showing no signs of dropping in price.
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