University boffins squeeze 500GB onto a DVD

Found on The Register on Thursday, 05 July 2007
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The University of Berlin, with partners Budapest University of Technology and Economics and Universita Politecnica delle Marche in Italy, has managed to work out how to store 500GB of data on a regular HD DVD or Blu-ray disc.

The Microholas project developed a microholographic recording technique, using nanostructures inside the disk rather than on the surface as in conventional optical storage systems.

By applying wavelength multiplexing techniques to multi-layer disc structures, very high storage densities can be achieved, Professor Susanna Orlic told German site Pressetext. The 500GB prototype has 50 data-storage layers.

Orl said the technology has the potential to store one terabyte (1TB) of data.

Now that's more like it. DVD's which can only hold a few GB of data are pretty much useless. Those 500GB versions would come in handy for my backups.