The future of CD-RW and DVD in corporate IT - Storage Networking

Computer Technology Review, March, 2003 by Howard Wing

Recordable CDs and DVDs make all of these applications much easier and less expensive to distribute than paper, video, or any other data storage medium. CD/DVD is even less expensive to mail than videotape; and video on CD/DVD does not rapidly deteriorate in quality, unlike videotape.

Conclusion

CD-RW is rapidly becoming the de facto standard for removable data storage on both consumer and corporate PCs. As CD technology dovetails into future DVD technology, recordable optical storage continues to provide real value to corporate IT departments. The value of this technology will only grow as the data storage capacities of discs get bigger and the data transfer rates of drives get faster.

In early 2002, the DVD Forum's Steering Committee announced their support for a blue laser successor to the original DVD format: the "Blu-ray Disc" format. The DVD Forum itself voted to approve the use of a completely different low-bit-rate compression technology for High-Definition DVD (HD-DVD).

Whatever the outcome of this latest industry standards face-off, we do know that the current generation of DVD technology uses a red laser to achieve a 4.7GB capacity (single-layer disc), while next generation HD-DVD will use a blue-violet laser to achieve capacities of 27GB (single-layer disc) up to 50GB (dual-layer disc). This dramatic increase in capacity promises to fuel future demand for optical data storage products in the enterprise.

www.plextor.com

Howard Wing is vice president of sales and marketing for Plextor Corp. (Fremont, Calif.)