Sony and Panasonic announced on July 29 that they are developing a new generation of optical disc that will boast capacities of 300GB or more. The joint business venture is a move by the two companies to strengthen their presence in the digital archiving industry. It would initially be targeted at the business industry but it’s possible that in the future, it could take off in the consumer market the same way that Blu-ray did in years previous.

The new format is expected to be a combination of each company’s own unique technologies, and the aim is to make storage of 300GB+ of data on one disc possible by 2015, which equates to roughly the total storage capacity of 12 current-gen Blu-ray discs. The technology from the joint venture will be based on Blu-ray technology, however it doesn’t seem likely that Blu-ray players will be capable of reading the new format.

Both Sony and Panasonic have up until now developed their own high-capacity storage systems designed for business, however these have consisted of a combination of optical discs installed together in a cartridge or magazine-like formation. The new optical disc technology is expected to be useful not only in the broadcasting or movie industry but also in network services and businesses that deal with large volumes of data like cloud data centers.

The exact specs of the disc are also expected to be determined after further deliberation between the two electronics giants. Once the new disc has been developed, it is possible that each company will adapt the technology in their own ways for use within their future products. While at the moment it looks to be a business industry only thing, we here at RocketNews24 think that it would be amazing if 300GB capacity discs were to hit the consumer market. Just think of all that lovely high-definition video in one place. Mmmmn.

Source: Yahoo! News Japan