Plextor's CD-RW drive packs more data

[Julio Franco]

Plextor has announced a new PlexWriter Premium drive that will be able to pack 980MB of data into a 700MB disc and up to 1.2GB into an 880MB disc, that's about 40% more capacity being squeezed out from regular CD-R media.

Compression is achieved by burning smaller-than-normal pits into the surface of a blank disc--up to 40 percent smaller, thus allowing it to pack in 40 percent more data, according to enthusiast sites.

It hasn't been confirmed if discs will be playable in standard CD-ROMs or CD players though it's unlikely that will be possible. Still a good move from Plextor, with DVD burners taking over soon, they should worry on pricing the drive right and get themselves a winner.

 

[poertner_1274]

That sounds like quite a step forward. But as you said how well will a standard cd player be able to read them?

It seems to me that you would need a special lens to read them since they are so much smaller, but maybe that is what Plextor is wanting.....

 

[Rick]

Even 980mb is too small. When games started getting released on 3 or more CDs, you knew the media's time is up... And that was years ago.

We also cannot make the media faster than it is, which is another reason it is outdated.

We will probably be switching to DVD soon.. All of us.. So be prepared. It is too much like the CD though, although it does hold a respectable amount of data. I'm looking forward to the next leap in technology over the DVD.

 

[poertner_1274]

I read a while ago that it will have to deal with holograms. It can supposedly hold up to 4 times as much as a regular dvd. This was some months ago though, and I haven't read or seen anything else since then.

 

[SNGX1275]

You sure that wasn't different wavelength lasers poertner?

 

[MrGaribaldi]

Originally posted by Rick
Even 980mb is too small. When games started getting released on 3 or more CDs, you knew the media's time is up... And that was years ago.

I seem to recall phantasmagoria, myst and other games being released on several cd's back in 1996...
And here we are in 2003 and still using cd's...


But I do agree that we'll be changing to another medium on the not so far off future...
But just what medium that'll be I'm not so sure of...

 

[poertner_1274]

Originally posted by SNGX1275
You sure that wasn't different wavelength lasers poertner?

Yeah I remember distinctly it had to do with holograms. But as I said it might have fallen through because I haven't heard anything about it in a long time.