14 DAY TRIAL // You all know the story about the HD-DVDs and Blu-Rays. Both can store an impressive amount of data (30GB/50GB on dual layer disks) and can accommodate several hours of 1080p content, depending on the encoder (MPEG-2, VC-1). Until now, BR disks have had the advantage of space which didn't necessarily translate into a higher quality of the video but mainly into more interactive features coming with the disk. However, the term "until now" applies perfectly here because on the first day of CES, Toshiba unveiled what seems to be the first three-layer HD-DVD disk ever. And it holds an impressive capacity of 51GB, surpassing the 50GB BR disk by about 1GB of data.
The new disk uses three layers of data but these are not standard 15GB ones. Aside from adding the 3rd layer, Toshiba also managed to squeeze another 2 GBs onto the layer making the total capacity of one single layer disk about 17GB.The new disk uses the same 0.6mm thickness and cording to Toshiba, the added cost to produce it is minimal, because it uses the same disk structure. Toshiba says that they will obtain the approval of the DVD Forum as soon as possible.
While Toshiba has already showcased its three layer disk, it seems that others think at multi-layer technology too. Ritek is rumored to have developed a disk support capable of holding no less than 10 layers. Yep, you've read it right. That means about 150GB on a HD-DVD disk and an impressive 250GB on a 10-layer Blu-Ray disk. But Ritek also stated that in order to be able to read such disk the drives producers have to enhance the power on the laser beam or they won't be able to read all the 10 layers. This announcement seems to come at the right moment since Sanyo claims that they have developed a new generation of blue laser diode capable of writing a two-layer disk at speeds up to 6x (applies both to HD-DVD and Blu-Ray). I don't know if this also applies to multi-layer disks, but I guess this is just a question of time.