Blu-ray Disc Association shoots down high-capacity discs
There will be no one-disc Band of Brothers set anytime soon.
Despite announcements from both Sharp and TDK in recent weeks on the development of high-capacity Blu-ray discs, the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) has no plans to change its standard 25/50GB format for commercial film releases.
“I think there will be applications for larger capacity recordable discs, but it would be difficult for [discs larger than 50GB] to achieve compatibility with the installed base of players,” said Andy Parsons, chair of the Blu-ray Disc Association promotion committee in the United States.
“This is because player manufacturers design players to meet published specifications that define maximum media capacity, which in the case of Blu-ray Disc, is 50GB on two-layer media.”
The likelihood is that both offerings from Sharp and TDK will be available as recordable media only, with the BDA reluctant to adopt high-capacity discs as a standard for its players.
That said, Parsons said there is still hope that future decks might be able to read high-capacity discs, “much as how tape formats such as VHS gradually added higher recording capacities that were playback-incompatible with older decks.”
“But interestingly, virtually all published content in VHS was released in two-hour SP mode, since it was the lowest common denominator among the installed base of tape decks,” he added. “Pretty much any VHS deck could play pre-recorded movies regardless of their age. This is synonymous with my argument for the longevity of 25/50GB Blu-ray Disc media for publishing.”
And with one quick press release, Mr. Parsons dashes the hopes of nerds everywhere itching for Battlestar Galactica on one disc.
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