replacement for the CD format

[boran]

well, yesterday (when I accidentially rode over my morrowind CD with my desk chair when I dropped it)
I kind of tought there has to be a better way than a CD, cous frankly face it, a CD is too big to be really portable (I can put some in my pockets, but that's cous I wear baggy pants, I dont really see anyone with an armani suit put some CD's in his pockets)

ANd a CD is too fragle, it can be easily scratched etc, okay modern CD readers can easily bypass any scratches etc, but in the long term they add up and cause malfunctions (luickily my morrowind CD isnt malfunctioning yet but that's another point)

now my tought is what if we copy the MD format (everyoby knows MiniDiscs I hope)
and put a small dual layered dual sided DVD disc inside it instead of the MO disc that's now inside.
this would offer storage from 700 (Single sided single layered), 1150 (Dual sided Single layered or single side dual layered) and 2300 MB (Dual sided Dual layered)

those R rough estimates (just a calculation from the 180 MB an MD can store compared to the 700 MB of a CD) and I could be wrong, but they should prove usable as a regular storage medium for anything that isnt TOO big (so not for HDTV video or so)

now I want you opions, is this managable and wouldnt it cost too much (the drives should have two read heads, one for each side, so that would add in cost)

but the advantages are that the caddy itself is very durable (as has been proven over the years by my MD's) and that the disc itself is very compact, thus wearable ...

any opinions are welcome.

 

[AndyHui]

Expense.

It will be difficult to really economically add a housing to the disc. You are not going to be able to sell such a thing for a few cents such as what CDRs are now.

There's also more moving parts with the loading mechanism and the sliding cover, which also increases costs and lowers reliability.

I don't know....it's hard to say. I guess if you were really hardcore about it, go back to a CDROM with a disc caddy.

 

[CTho9305]

cheap CDs are made of a layer of plastic with a foil on top. the foil is the part you write on. kodak, IIRC, makes (or used to make) some expensive CDs for data archiving purposes which had another layer of plastic on top so the foil would be protected on both sides. you could take these cds, put them on asphalt, run and jump on them and even after you'd slid a few feet, the data would still be readable

 

[Peacekeeper100]

Well the size issue should be solved soon. If they just start making smaller DVD-discs when DVD-R's get cheaper. They make small CD's now that have small storage, but they are hard to come by. Not to mention I think they only hold less than 150MB. Once DVD-R's are cheap maybe they will start making 1.5 and 2 inch discs since they will be able to hold so much data. They would still be able to be damaged though.

 

[AndyHui]

Mini CDs hold 183MB, or overburned to 210MB.

Sufficient for most low volume purposes.

They are quite popular here in Hong Kong, but the problem is that they are more expensive than the regular full sized CD.

 

[jiffylube1024]

They already have working examples of exactly what you describe: mini dvd or dvd-derived technology for home use. They're just nor practical to replace CD. The Nintendo Gamecube uses a proprietary disc based on the DVD technology (only much smaller) for example. This concept isn't very innovative or new either, it's just that it's impractical to impliment right away.

The problem is that CD has been the standard since the early 1980's in home audio, and after that in the PC market. Since it's been the standard for so long, and there is so much money already put into it, as well as the fact that there would be a need to upgrade if an incompatible standard was introduced, it's very very difficult to replace the format. We are handcuffed by our need to remain backwards compatible. Since DVD has been released, they have developed similar discs (practical ones, mind you, with a similar cost) with something like 2-10 times the storage capacity. IBM developed a disc that is the size of a penny that can hold 800 GB a few years back (this one however, will take a long time before they can manufacture it practically). Many other big companies doing research and development in data storage have similar products.

DVD was the perfect solution a few years ago (and still is a worthy heir): same dimensions as CD, with only smaller grooves on the disc, and a thinner laser to read it. Since they used very similar technology, they could release DVD drives with a set of two lasers: one to read DVD's and one to read CD's (just like how CD-RW's have 2 or 3 lasers, used for either reading or writing). I believe all DVD drives sold to this day, for home entertainment, or PC use, have both lasers for readind CD's and DVD's.

Edit: oh yeah and about the double sided thing: they've had dual sided DVD readers before, and it's just way cheaper to make a double sided disc and just force the user to flip it to access the data on the other side. You don't have to change the reader at all this way, and there is no real cost difference between this and CD either (when mass produced).