November 30th, 2005
300 GB Flash of Light from Maxell
By Alfred Poor, HDTV Resource Center
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews
Earlier this month, Maxell announced that they will come to market late next year with a 300 GB removable disc storage device. The interesting feature is that it does not use magnetic media like a hard drive, or mechanical pits like a manufactured CD, or heat-sensitive dye like a DVD+/-R, or even phase change media like DVD+/-RW or -RAM. What’s left?
Holographics. Yes, intersecting signal and reference laser beams store data as a three-dimensional hologram. This means that data is not written on a single layer — or even multiple layers — as is the case with current optical disc technology. Instead, the data is stored throughout the plastic disc. And data transfer rates are improbably fast. A standard DVD movie has a bandwidth of about 4.7 Mbps. The first generation of Maxell’s technology will be capable of writing “a million bits of data to be written and read in parallel with a single flash of light,” achieving 160 Mbps throughput. Maxell is developing the product in partnership with InPhase Technologies, and the roadmap for future generations calls for even greater capacities and throughputs, reaching 1.6 TB on a 5.25-inch disc.
We say: Don’t count on this shipping on time, scheduled for late 2006. Recent experience shows just how difficult it can be to bring a new storage technology to market. And don’t count on the discs being particularly cheap; Maxell is talking about $100 for the first generation. Still, that’s a good deal compared with the equivalent stack of 60 DVD-R discs. But if they can deliver on this in a reasonable time and at a reasonable price, we might all just stop caring who wins between HD DVD and BluRay.
Mustapha Garba says:
I doubt if this technology will take off. For one thing, the logistics for holographics storage is going to be sky-high, and the resulting device may cost upwards of the quoted $100. Now, if this would be the case, why are Maxell not already hyping this thing? seems to me the only way this’ll work, is if enough early adopters buy it to precipitate a drop in price etc…
December 2nd, 2005 at 8:53 am
Alfred says:
Just to be clear, Maxell is talking about $100 per disc; I haven’t seen any claims about the cost of the drive, which I expect will be substantially more. But have you seen what BluRay drives are expected to cost? The drive in the PlayStation3 is said to cost Sony $100 each. A retail price of $200 or more is going to be a bit steep if that’s what the drives cost Sony, compared with standard DVD. And given the low cost per megabyte of storage capacity, holographics may be able to make a compelling value proposition.
I do agree, however, that the early adopters are going to end up paying for much of the development costs, and success will only come if they can bring down prices that the mass market will pay.
December 2nd, 2005 at 9:04 am
phentermine says:
phentermine
drink considering:these.playwrights:bogs phentermine http://phenterminehclhere.blogspot.com/
May 18th, 2006 at 9:31 am
ivarus says:
Hi My Name Is ivawpm.
May 12th, 2007 at 5:44 pm
xcdyslfmaw says:
Hello! Good Site! Thanks you! yvfcpjzqtxuhox
June 21st, 2007 at 5:25 am