InPhase, Maxell Plan to Launch Holographic Storage System

If you think Blu-ray Discs are a big deal, try holographic media on for size. Longmont, CO-based InPhase Technologies, working with manufacturing partner Maxell, says it will ship the new generation of 300 GB optical disks later this year.
With a data-transfer rate of 160 Mbps (20 MB/sec), the InPhase Tapesty drives could be an interesting solution for content-creation professionals, who are always in need of technology to store and access lots of data. They allow TV programs and movies to be stored as files, and moved around very quickly. The discs also boast a robust content-protection system that would allow secure digital copies to be distributed during post production. One of the first companies to test-drive the disks was Turner Network Television, which last October stuck a Tapestry drive into its own workflow, recorded an ad to a holographic disk, and then moved it to a play-out server for broadcast.
The roadmap for the new technology is ambitious, to say the least. InPhase and Maxell plan to ramp up capacity to 800 GB in 2008, and by 2010 they say they’ll offer 1.6 terabytes of capacity on a DVD-sized optical disc. But can you afford it? “Believe it or not, it really is a cost-effective solution right now,” Maxell Director of Technical Services Rich D’Ambrise told Film & Video. “We’re looking at 25 cents a gigabyte, which is cost-effective considering the longevity and capacity.” D’Ambrise also noted that the 300 GB spec refers to raw data, which can be compressed to fit 600 GB on a single disc.
InPhase also has its eye on the consumer-video market, introducing a line of what it calls H-ROM media, which are recorded using red lasers instead of blue lasers. The company said “several high-definition movies” could be held on a piece of media the size of a credit card.