Pioneer unleashes 500GB Blu-ray disc

Pioneer continues to prove to the HD world that Blu-ray is a viable mass storage device, with its announcement of a Blu-ray disc with 500GB capacity.

This disc houses a fifth more information than its 400GB offering which was only announced in the beginning of July.

The boffins at Pioneer have managed to cram 20 layers on to the disc, with each layer containing 25GB of memory.

De facto storage system

Speaking about the breakthrough Brendan Sheridan, Product Manager, Pioneer Europe NV, Multimedia Division, said: "With its strong support among the gaming, movie and PC industries, Blu-ray has become the de facto next generation storage system.

"While Blu-ray discs (BD), offering both 25GB and 50GB, are sufficient for users' current demands, we envision the need for a technology that can support far greater capacities as HD streaming in particular becomes commonplace and users build larger files of digital content."

Sheridan goes on to say that "The multi-layered method is compatible with Blu-ray devices providing a long term future for the technology and is more easily produced when compared to competing technologies such as holographic storage."

A 500GB Blu-ray disc is only in research stages at the moment, but Pioneer is already speaking to Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) to formalise the specification for the new media.

The company has already set a date for its 20 layer version, and this should hit shops in the next two to four years.