New generation of optical disc

Sony and Panasonic announced that they set a format of optical disc for a new generation.

Engadget: Sony and Panasonic announce the Archival Disc, a new optical disc standard for long-term storage

This is named as "Archival Disc." Its volume of storage will reach 1TB. They are planning to sell this new product to the companies which need invulnerable recording media.

I think that the era of optical disc has nearly ended. Sony won the current position of the Blue Ray Disc (BD), defeating Toshiba and Microsoft, which were on the side of HD DVD. However, BD has not been broadened to consumers yet.

First, BD has not replaced DVD yet. Many BDs are bundled with DVD and/or digital copy service. Second, although BD can store 50 GB, it is too big for individual and too small for industrial use. For most users, the memory stick is more convenient as a storage. Third, the development of telecommunication has completely changed our trend of  watching movies. Nowadays, the mainstream is streaming via the internet. It considerably interferes selling BD media.

Therefore, the decision of Sony and Panasonic defining the use of the new optical disc as industrial storage is rational. There are colossal data to be preserved permanently in many industries. And the amount will be rapidly increasing.

By the way, I wonder how they ensure the immortality of the data recorded in an Archival Disc. Every material is vulnerable to time. There was a rumor that CD would not be able to be played 20 years after. Fortunately, this rumor seems to be not realized. Nonetheless, regular backup will be necessary to guarantee the completeness of data.