14 DAY TRIAL // Currently, Blu-ray disks are the most capacious optical disks on the market and, although they have yet to take the place of DVDs in the mainstream, they already have a special role as a means of recording HD media files and storing games for the Sony PlayStation 3 gaming console, among other things. Nevertheless, it seems that the industry has reached a point where the 25GB maximum capacity of single-layer disks and the 50GB maximum of dual-layer disks are no longer satisfactory, which is why the Blu-ray Disk Association has come up with a new specification for BDXL and IH-BD disks.
The new specification will enable BDXL (High Capacity Recordable and Rewritable discs) to reach storage capacities of 100GB and 128GB. Such new optical disks will, initially, only be meant for commercial segments, such as document imaging or broadcasting, but a consumer version of BDXL should also become available for areas where Blu-ray disks are widespread. The high capacities will be attained through an implementation of three or four writing layers. 128GB disks will only come with the write-once capability, whereas the 100GB will also support the rewritable capability.
The Intra-Hybrid Blu-ray Disc (IH-BD) will have a single BD-ROM layer and a single BD-RE layer, which means that users will be able to view existing data and write additional information to the disk without the risk of overwriting. Each layer will provide a 25GB capacity.
“Professional industries have expressed a desire to find optical disc solutions that enable them to transition away from magnetic media for their archiving needs,” Victor Matsuda, Blu-ray Disc Association Global Promotions Committee chair, said. “Leveraging Blu-ray Disc to meet this need provides professional enterprises with a compact, stable and long term solution for archiving large amounts of sensitive data, video and graphic images using a proven and widely accepted optical technology.”
The upcoming BDXL and IH-BD disks will require new hardware. Fortunately, these new Blu-ray units should have backwards support for current-generation 25GB and 50GB disks. New products should emerge over the next few months.