Holographic-memory discs may put DVDs to shame

A computer disc about the size of a DVD that can hold 60 times more data is set to go on sale in 2006. The disc stores information through the interference of light – a technique known as holographic memory.

The discs, developed by InPhase Technologies, based in Colorado, US, hold 300 gigabytes of data and can be used to read and write data 10 times faster than a normal DVD. The company, along with Japanese partner Hitachi Maxell announced earlier in November that they would start selling the discs and compatible drives from the end of 2006.

"Unlike other technologies, that record one data bit at a time, holography allows a million bits of data to be written and read in parallel with a single flash of light," says Liz Murphy, of InPhase Technologies. "This enables transfer rates significantly higher than current optical storage devices."

The discs, at 13 centimetres across, are a little wider than conventional DVDs, and slightly thicker. Normal DVDs record data by measuring microscopic ridges on the surface of a spinning disc. Two competing successors to the DVD format – Blu-ray and HD-DVD – use the same technique but exploit shorter wavelengths of light to cram more information onto a surface.
Beam-splitter

Holographic memory, by contrast, stores information in a light-sensitive crystal material using the interference of laser light. The process involves splitting a single light beam into two and then passing one through a semi-transparent material. This is a grid that acts like a filter, changing different parts of the beam to encode bits of information.

The altered beam and the reference beam are then recombined in the light-sensitive material and their pattern of interference provides a record of the encoded information. Information can be recorded and retrieved so rapidly because many bits of data can be recorded and read in parallel.

InPhase says the technique could theoretically be used to store up to 1.6 terabytes of data on the same size of disc and to read data at 120 megabits per second. This is 340 times the capacity of an ordinary DVD and 20 times the data rate.
High-speed streaming

Although holographic memory was first suggested in 1963, it has failed to find commercial success so far. However, Hans Coufal, an expert in the technology at IBM's Almaden Laboratory in California, says the holographic memory could challenge formats such as Blu-ray and HD-DVD.

As well as offering greater storage, Coufal says the main benefit is speed of data access. The discs developed so far by InPhase can already stream a movie recorded in high definition television (HDTV) format.

However, Coufal notes that the technology must also stand up to everyday use. "It is an open race right now," he told New Scientist. "But you have to convince the customer that it is going to be reliable."

Source: News Scientist

Well....300Gbs...sounds nice.

Wow. But what's it going to be used for, other than movies? Will we be able to record data on it and play it back? Because if so, than this will definatly be worth a lot of money. Unfortuantly, I predict that it will be sold for a lot of money. For now, I'll stick with my tried and true floppy disks

By the way, how much is a Terabyte?

C'mon Nintendo, if they were smart they could own with this technology , imagine playing 1000 hours of Zelda on one game!

A terabyte is 1000 gigabytes.

Originally Posted by Ninboy

A terabyte is 1000 gigabytes.

Wow, that's alot! I hope the military startes investing in this idea, it'd make missle lock/launch times alot faster, and easier. So, this thing might have quite a few uses, thanks for the heads-up V99.

Originally Posted by Ninboy

C'mon Nintendo, if they were smart they could own with this technology , imagine playing 1000 hours of Zelda on one game!

A terabyte is 1000 gigabytes.

1000 hours? More like 20,000 hours =P

I would be so glad if Nintendo changed the Revolution discs to this. They'll stick it to Microsoft if they do that! *Explodes with the thirst of revenge*

First of all, I think Microsoft will probably get at the technology first.

As for Nintendo, I really hope they use this format for the Revolution, as much more data can be stored on each disk, and loading times would be a thing of the past. Graphically, they could up the graphics with this storage capacity and a newer and better GPU (without having to worry so much about the control scheme).

The only problem I see with these: I wonder how much the drives would cost, much less a burner.

Originally Posted by antarcticbase

The only problem I see with these: I wonder how much the drives would cost, much less a burner.

When they first come out it was be alot of money to buy... But give it 6 months after there release and they will be as cheap as DVDs are to us today =P

Holy crap. Forget about Blu-Rays. The only problem with these that I find is that they'll probably be REALLY expensive to manufacture at first, even more than Blu-Ray. Plus the fact that the storage amount is unneeded by most to say the least. The only thing that really jumps out at me is how it reads and the read speed. Other than that, it's so unnecessary right now. Maybe in 10 years.

I can see HVD's being a successor of BR/HD-DVD format, but not as their direct competitor.
It's too early, there's no use for that much data right now.

Originally Posted by Gungeleon

First of all, I think Microsoft will probably get at the technology first.

As for Nintendo, I really hope they use this format for the Revolution, as much more data can be stored on each disk, and loading times would be a thing of the past. Graphically, they could up the graphics with this storage capacity and a newer and better GPU (without having to worry so much about the control scheme).

having to program 1000 hours of gameplay, i feel sorry for the programmer who has to do it. remember, even if the read rate is fast, the bus is still slow as hell, even with firewire. It is simply irrelevant in the gaming industry unless you plan to use 100 levels of mipmaps for all of your texture so that you have a perfrect zoom every time and only have to use 2x antistropic filtering instead of 16x (a mipmap is a series of bitmaps, each twice as long and twice as wide, used for different levels of zoom in games if there is enough space)