400GB Blu-Ray?!?!

[scythe]

Yeah, Pioneer is developing a 400GB 16-layer Blu-Ray disc, supposedly compatible with current players. And a terabyte disc is on the way!

Link (HardOCP) (http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1371087)

EDIT: Looks like the Engadget link is down at the moment.

[danielOut]

yeah, saw that on engadget today. pretty flippin sweet.

[Rogue_hunter]

If it's compatible with current stuff, that's surprising. All the super capacity disks I've seen required specialized firmwares that were only available in the lab, or the drive had a different iteration of the blue laser, one that wouldn't be available for the general public.

[KingGorilla]

For the cost of a Blue Ray Drive, not including media, you can get a a TB and then some in hard drives. 120 seems to be the going rate.

[danielOut]

From all accounts I've read, regular blu-ray players will be able to play it just fine, from your PS3 to your computer drive to your standalone player. Really hope that turns out to be true, and isn't just a "well, you can play it on a normal blu-ray player IF..." kind of thing. Think of all the extras you can cram in to 400gb, or even 1tb!

For the cost of a Blue Ray Drive, not including media, you can get a a TB and then some in hard drives. 120 seems to be the going rate.

I know there is a point in there somewhere, but it is late and I can't find it. Halp!

[TheEpicOfTyler]

A Seinfeld complete series blu-ray disc!

[TrackZero]

Sounds awesome. Too bad the read speed is still slower than a DVD. That'd be a hell of a load time.

[Schnoogs]

Sounds awesome. Too bad the read speed is still slower than a DVD. That'd be a hell of a load time.

Where do they mention read speed?

[Krispy]

Read speed of a regular Bluray is kind of slow so I can only imagine how slow a 16 layer Bluray would read.

[TrackZero]

Where do they mention read speed?

The part where it's backwards compatible. Those old drives aren't going to magically read faster. ;)

[muddi900]

Read speed of a regular Bluray is kind of slow so I can only imagine how slow a 16 layer Bluray would read.

Blu-ray read speeds are not slower than DVDs (http://www.blu-ray.com/faq/#bluray_vs_dvd_comparison)

You are confusing PS3 vs 360 read speeds. PS3 reads at 1.5x Blu-Ray, which is slower than 8x DVD 360 uses.

[Krispy]

A poor choice of words on my part. It isn't that the Bluray necessarily reads slower than that it has more space to cover so it still loads data slower compared to a DVD with the same data. Granted the difference is pretty small right now so not really noticeable unless you do direct comparisons but adding 16 layers just sounds like it would exasperate the situation. *Shrug* I could be wrong.

[biosc1]

Pfftt...I'll stick to my tape backups ;)

[DoctorFinger]

One problem, very few BR players (outside of the PS3) have ethernet port, so upgrading the firmware would be tricky (if not impossible in some cases). Still, it's almost a moot point, since who knows when these discs would enter the marketplace.

[DangerousDaze]

God, imagine MGS5 on one of those.

[KingGorilla]

One problem, very few BR players (outside of the PS3) have ethernet port, so upgrading the firmware would be tricky (if not impossible in some cases). Still, it's almost a moot point, since who knows when these discs would enter the marketplace.

Generally the older ones(which seems odd to say on a 2 year old consumer product). But we have our friend copy protection to thank for the need of this.

[JayVe]

God, imagine MGS5 on one of those.

Why? Does having more space available automagically make the game better, or remove the obscene load times?

[JayVe]

One problem, very few BR players (outside of the PS3) have ethernet port, so upgrading the firmware would be tricky (if not impossible in some cases). Still, it's almost a moot point, since who knows when these discs would enter the marketplace.

Yes, this would require a firmware update. The players that do not have ethernet ports (most) can USUALLY have their firmware updated off of a DVD. Download firmware update on your PC, burn to disc, place in Bluray player, bingo-bango, update underway!

That is, IF the player gets an update. I know a large number of Bluray players won't be supporting the 2.0 spec... ever. I am not sure how many would be patched for this new format.

[KingGorilla]

From the perspective of PS3 developers, being able to stamp one disc for all regions is very nice. MGS4 shipped with all languages (spoken) on one unit. Unless you have an audience like CD Projekt(who offered all language and subtitle packs as downloaded patches), that is a feet for one boxed product. This is especially important when you look at all of the multi-lingual regions like Canada and the US.

It is also the only legitimate bonus I have seen, of the developers who have used the tech, for the Blue Ray size.

[JayVe]

From the perspective of PS3 developers, being able to stamp one disc for all regions is very nice. MGS4 shipped with all languages (spoken) on one unit.

Damn, that musta been a lot of space used up for just audio.

[Schnoogs]

The part where it's backwards compatible. Those old drives aren't going to magically read faster. ;)

But you mentioned they were slower than DVDs which isn't true...so I'm still confused by that post.

[KingGorilla]

Damn, that musta been a lot of space used up for just audio.

If you think of all the cut scenes, that is a lot of dialog. It was like 5 or 6 languages.

[JayVe]

If you think of all the cut scenes, that is a lot of dialog. It was like 5 or 6 languages.

If they were to use just one language instead of all 5, it would be easier to fit on DVD9's for the inevitable 360 port. :cool:

[Philonious]

I can't see this influencing individual games any time soon, maybe game compilations. The real advantage will be for TV series and movie sequels... LotR on a single disk sound pretty neat. Also when there redefine HiDef they may be able to stick with the BluRay and not invalidate our collections.

[carnage11]

Dats a whole lotta porn storage. :p

[DangerousDaze]

Why? Does having more space available automagically make the game better, or remove the obscene load times?

No, it just means there'll be plenty of space for the part that shows you getting a sense of humour.

/edit - possibly unfair. My post was referring to the ridiculously long cut scenes in MGS4 (and yes, they were too long imo). We could be watching cut scenes for days on a 400GB disk. It wasn't exactly clear to what I was referring to. ;)

[Wackman3000]

If they make read/write speeds decent on the blu ray-RW drives I would be all over this. I would assume a pack of blank blu rays would be much cheaper than buying another HDD for storage.

[muddi900]

Damn, that musta been a lot of space used up for just audio.

Uncompressed audio. 7.1 uncompressed audio. That's the only reason the game occupied 50GB.

[JayVe]

Uncompressed audio. 7.1 uncompressed audio. That's the only reason the game occupied 50GB.

lossless compression says "Oh Hai!"

[KingGorilla]

If they were to use just one language instead of all 5, it would be easier to fit on DVD9's for the inevitable 360 port. :cool:

All of those foreigners should just talk American like the bible tells them to.

But it is a good use of the technology. I think The Witcher is more genius, basically offering modular language and Subtitle packages. But the idea of not having to stamp separate discs for each region, for each country, has got to be a load off of the publishers. And it really has more to do with the PS3 being region free than the storage space of Blue Ray.

[muddi900]

lossless compression says "Oh Hai!"

Sorry for necro posting but both consoles do not support compressed 7.1 audio.

[JayVe]

Sorry for necro posting but both consoles do not support compressed 7.1 audio.

Who cares? Compress the audio, and you don't need all that space. How many people can tell the difference between uncompressed 7.1 audio and lossless compressed 5.1 audio? How many years have we all been enjoying games WITHOUT uncompressed 7.1 audio, and having a great time?

Is uncompressed 7.1 audio really worth twice the price of a competing console? Maybe for the tiny audience of people who are both made of money and audio snobs. Apparently, that's not a very big group of people.

[KingGorilla]

If you have a 7.1 set up, then you and the other guy with it can probably tell the difference. Blue Ray, if you have not guessed, is a orgasm for audio/videophiles, or for people who think that they are.

[Mike Kelehan]

Yes, this would require a firmware update. The players that do not have ethernet ports (most) can USUALLY have their firmware updated off of a DVD. Download firmware update on your PC, burn to disc, place in Bluray player, bingo-bango, update underway!

That is, IF the player gets an update. I know a large number of Bluray players won't be supporting the 2.0 spec... ever. I am not sure how many would be patched for this new format.

Or it could be on the lowest layer of the disc. Maybe as they are, they'd only see it as a so-many layer disc, and it would need the firmware update to see the additional layers.

...I don't know what I'm talking about. Just a thought.

[JayVe]

If you have a 7.1 set up, then you and the other guy with it can probably tell the difference. Blue Ray, if you have not guessed, is a orgasm for audio/videophiles, or for people who think that they are.You hit the nail on the head with that last bit.

Apple didn't become super-successful with its iPod because of its sound quality. Wii didn't become popular with its high-fidelity graphics. There is plenty of room in gaming for 'good enough' technical specs as long as the game is FUN.