[ale] Wired News : A New Way to Look at Optical

[Glenn C. Lasher Jr.]

Actually, I think that DVD's timing was rather unfortunate.  It arrived
just in time to be obsoleted by digital TV.  Since DVD was designed with
analogue TV in mind, they went with a fairly low resolution (higher than
VHS, though) and considered it sufficient.

On Thu, 9 Nov 2000, ; wrote:

>  From Wired News, available online at:
> http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,40053,00.html
> 
> A New Way to Look at Optical  
> by Andy Patrizio  
> 
> 2:00 a.m. Nov. 9, 2000 PST 
> A new optical storage media that can hold up to 140GB of data on a
> disc the size of a CD-ROM -- the equivalent of putting the data from a
> DVD video onto a credit card -- makes its debut at Comdex. 
> 
> Fluorescent Multilayer Disc (FMD) is the creation of Constellation 3D
> and represents a fundamental change in the way optical media is
> designed.    Compact Disc (CD) and Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) use
> single and dual magnetic layers, respectively, to store data in pits
> and grooves, similar to the way grooves store music on vinyl records. 
> 
> The limitation of CD and DVD is that the solid, reflective layer where
> data is stored cannot be accurately penetrated by the laser. In the
> case of DVD, the laser can penetrate one layer deep to read the second
> layer, but after that, the laser becomes diffused and unable to read
> the data clearly. 
> 
> FMD-ROM is a totally clear disc. Instead of reading a single layer,
> the data is stored on fluorescent materials in multiple layers, which
> give off light. The existence or nonexistence of these materials on a
> layer tells the drive whether there is information there or not, which
> allows the whole system to handle many more layers. Constellation 3D
> has talked about 10 or more layers per disc. 
> 
> The five-inch disc, which is the same size as CD-ROMs and DVD-ROMs,
> can hold up to 140GB of data -- almost 30 times the capacity of a
> DVD-ROM disc. 
> 
> "There's a clear need for high-capacity data storage, most obvious in
> consumer applications like HDTV (high-definition TV)," said John
> Ellis, vice president of marketing for Constellation 3D. "There are
> other applications like digital cinema and mobile apps that require
> huge amounts of data storage like digital cameras." 
> 
> A high-definition movie can run up to 20GB in size, well beyond that
> of a DVD player. So FMD-ROM is not a competitor to DVD, but the next
> step, said Ellis. 
> 
> Constellation will be showing off the new media to the public for the
> first time next week at the Comdex conference in Las Vegas. And it
> will have some of its partners on hand, including Zeon Chemical, a
> developer of optical media polymers that will make the media for FMD
> products. 
> 
> "We found their technology very interesting," said Paula Fips,
> director of new business development at Zeon. "No one else is even
> approaching that level of density. I think in the future people will
> grow into it," she added. "You won't realize how much you can do with
> 15GB until you have 15GB to fill up. I think it will move us into an
> area of greater data storage with lighter, smaller form factors." 
> 
> The company also plans on releasing much smaller media, such as credit
> card-sized and smart card-sized products for a stand-alone user or for
> use in devices such as digital cameras and digital camcorders. 
> 
> Because the storage area can be kept very small and capacity is
> increased by adding layers, one can put several gigabytes on an area
> the size of a postage stamp. 
> 
> The first generation of FMD-ROM drives will be read-only, but the
> company is also working on producing recordable FMD technology by the
> end of 2001. You can, however, see the read-only version at Comdex
> next week when Constellation demonstrates a high-definition video
> player. 
> 
> Semiconductor giant Texas Instruments is also giving FMD a close look.
> "We see this as being a great technology moving forward and a great
> deal of potential for it," said Steve Haddad, director of advanced
> business development for Texas Instruments in Dallas, Texas. 
> 
> "We see the opportunities to be endless. If this is played right from
> a marketing, development and partnership standpoint, the acronym
> FMD-ROM could be as popular as CD-ROM and DVD."  
> 
> Related Wired Links:  
> 
> High Speed Net Launched in Space  
> Nov. 6, 2000 
> 
> Las Vegas Sexes Up for Comdex  
> Nov. 6, 2000 
> 
> Storage System Glows Brightly  
> Oct. 5, 1999 
> 
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> 
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-- 
Critter at Wizvax.Net
148 days is too long to wait for Telocity and Verizon to hook up my DSL.

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