"A group of scientists working together with the Institute of Optics and Optical Technologies at the Technical University of Berlin claim to have discovered a way to store 500GB worth of data on DVD-sized discs. The scientists are members of the Microholas Project, coordinated by Dr. Susanna Orlic, which plans to double the storage capacity to 1TB by 2010."

full article is here

This is very impressive storage technology. What did the forum think of this promises?

It would be great to have 500Gb in a disc... but if the disc gets scratched, then gone la 500GB of your stuff

yup...even how ppl still use cdr cos even lost..u just lost 700 mb or just 1 hour or 1 episod movie...

if dvd..u lost 2 hour or even 10 episod of movie which is compress type..

500GB disc? Will it cost a bomb and how long it takes to burn a disc? Disc are prone to scratches and dust. Better get a 500GB hardisk.

If you want to talk about human error, then ANY media you use is susceptible to failure. That's why you have backups if the data is especially important. Next issue please.

for a mass storage, I'd say tape is cheaper and more durable compared to optical discs.

But since 500GB DVD is no longer impossible, just hope the price per MB is cheaper than tape and the drive that support it will become more avail to the masses.

This post has been edited by dopodplaya: Jul 16 2007, 10:24 AM

But i think the susceptibility of a dvd or a cd failing due to the slightest human error is quite high, unlike a hard disk. Hard disks are at least protected from a lot of naive human errors, but dvds/cds?

So are you trying to say that you are going to store 500GB data unto a DVD and keep a back up of it somewhere else... This not even 1-2 GB of data u r talking about. How practical is your solution of a backup?

I think its a worthwhile point to discuss.

So you want to buy hard drives instead of this for archiving data? This thing is tiny, and yes, if kept properly, less prone to failure than a hard drive because you can drop it and it won't break, and there are no mechanical parts tied to the disk itself which can fail. Backing up is really not THAT hard, you simply burn another copy and keep it safe. lol.

never said the process of backing up is hard, i meant backing up 500Gb is a lot of time and effort wasted dont you think... if the media that you back it up with is very prone to the slightest human error. well why do u think hard disk drives now thrive on solid aluminium/non shock casings... its definitely not for bling bling.. If i am to invest on something like this. I would definitely look at the aspect of the risk involved and not just the convenience.

CD/DVD-scratches, accidental breaking, dust, and also at times the disc player might spoil the disc for you.

Hdd- drops, high magnetic exposures, high heats, mechanical failure( but if you see the difference, its mainly an extreme circumstance)

By the way, i have imation cd's and they were suppose to be good and i burned all my songs in them 700Mb per disc and guess waht after a month, i lost about 2cds of songs which is 1.4GB, due to dust and a scratch. Now how about 500GB?

For some people, convenience is not an option, reliability and durablity is the key to safe data keeping.

Think about storage space and ease of transportation. You can store many more optical disks of this size in the area of a single hard disk. Think about moving hard disks as well. Moving a bunch of hard disks is not easy, you need to make sure they don't get bumped around too much etc etc. DVDs i just throw a bunch of them in a DVD book and carry them around without worry.

All the accidental stuff is why you have more than 1 copy for very important data. It's really not that hard, and it's also cheaper than buying 2 hard disks. One copy you use, one copy you keep. Break the used copy, make a new copy from the backup. Dust is not a problem, all you need is a clean piece of cloth or tissue paper...

I have hundreds of CDs and DVDs, kept over a few years and scanned periodically to determine if there is any material degradation over time (so far so good). The only ones i've lost are the ones i've deliberately thrown away.

but i guess everyone is not like you... btw, personally i do think that this invention is cool, just need to be extra careful with it though. treat it like god.. Now talking about your second paragraph about getting another copy if the disc is spoilt... how much is one disc would u know? hmm iwish its less than RM100... the 500GB dvd...

it's not about the quality of the disc. It can be always be improved. Amazing microscopic DVD physical track is the matter that should discuss not the medium quality.

The quality of the medium wasnt the main issue i was talking about, i was talking about the practicality of the concept of storing 500Gb in a disc.

Well like i said in my earlier post, its cool to be able to store 500Gb. But is the cost of having one of this going to be cheaper than a 500Gb hard disk?

@a1098113
Like all new technology, eventually the price per MB will go down in time, patience my young padawan.

yes master dopodplaya.. shall i be patient to wait till the drop of MB prices in the near future i must learn to be patient with technology

if like this then u better dont do backup lar . with that high amount of storage space, dont tell me u simply throw that 500GB disc on the floor and didnt store it nicely.

backing up unto a 500GB disc is a practical solution in the future, dun tell me u go and buy 100+ DVDs or 666+ CDs just to backup ur hard drive data?

I am not talking about myself... i am talking about an average consumer.. of course u do store it well like any other precious cd collection you have, but get my point right, acccidents do happen. whether you like it or not, its the basic principle of Murphys Law.

No one is talking about buying gigantous amount of cds to back up 500Gb, i am definitely not dumb to do that. You tell me this, between a 500Gb hard disk drive with solid enclosure and a dvd, which do you feel safer with?>

i feel safer with that 500GB DVD to b honest. the most important thing is - it is way cheeeeeaper, i can even do double or triple backups which the hard disk cant. this way, i can have two/three backup copies with one storing in my drawer and another one to take it wherever i go - CD case. even with these 2 copies, it is still alot more cheaper than the hard disk.

on the other hand, hard disk are prone to data loss - intense vibration, viruses, strong magnetic source.....heck, even hd manufacturer which used to gv 5 years warranty, now they had reduced to 3 years (or less depend on manufacturer).

*how many ppl are using extra hard disk to do backup actually? - as u mentioned - average consumers

This post has been edited by edwin3210: Jul 16 2007, 12:21 PM

hehehe, yes average customers like me who really feel that dvds are flimsy... ya. Now this is the case la, if this dvds dont require special equipment, or some special thing to keep it, and its like a normal dvd, then i will vouch for it. And also the cost is not excorbitant.

blue ray drive..... rm2.5k, but only 30GB @ 50GB disk can burn, hard disk only rm870 can get 750GB.... u can get 3 750GB hdd... cool....

Blu-Ray and HD-DVD are new, yet to be cheap per MB. IT may take a few years to be cheap like DVD-RW.
Anyways optical and magnetic storage have different manufacturing cost.