The first holographic discs, jointly developed by InPhase Technologies and Hitachi and capable of storing up to 300GB per disc, will go on sale in late 2006.
The technology is capable of theoretical capacities of 1.6TB per disc, and uses laser light interference to record data onto the light-sensitive surface. The advantage of this is that a million bits of data can bet written with a single flash of light, according to Liz Murphy of InPhase Technologies. This allows for transfers faster than current optical drives. The discs are slightly wider and thicker than standard DVDs.
The large capacity allows for 26 hours of broadcast-quality HD content to be stored on a single disc, which could prove very attractive for potential consumers.
News source: PC Pro
