Hasta La Gadget!

Don’t take it personally, Blu-ray — we still love you and all, but there’s just something dreamy about baking 1.6TB of information onto a blank piece of optical media we can actually afford. According to a new report, a crew of researchers at Swinburne University of Technology in Australia have exploited the properties of a certain gold nano-rod that will theoretically enable them to shove 300 DVDs worth of data onto a single disc. Calling the method “five-dimensional optical recording,” the technique “employs nanometer-scale particles of gold as a recording medium,” and according to developers, it’s primed for commercialization. Essentially, these gurus have figured out how to add a spectral and polarization dimension, giving them the ability to record information “in a range of different color wavelengths on the same physical disc.” As for the chances this actually makes it out of the laboratory and into the lives of real humans? Slim, Jim.

[Thanks, Sam]

Filed under: Storage, Science

Aussie whiz-kids can cram 1.6TB on a DVD-sized disc, go Outback tonight originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 May 2009 06:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So the Copyright Office is currently in the middle reviewing proposed exceptions to the DMCA, and one of the proposals on the table would allow teachers and students to rip DVDs and edit them for use in the classroom. Open and shut, right? Not if you’re the MPAA and gearing up to litigate the legality of ripping — it’s trying to convince the rulemaking committee that videotaping a flatscreen is an acceptable alternative. Seriously. It’s hard to say if we’ve ever seen an organization make a more tone-deaf, flailing argument than this.

Take a good look, kids. This is what an industry looks like right before it dies. Video after the break.

[Via BoingBoing]

Continue reading MPAA suggests teachers videotape TVs instead of ripping DVDs. Seriously.

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

MPAA suggests teachers videotape TVs instead of ripping DVDs. Seriously. originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 May 2009 14:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Picture a single disc large enough to store your entire DVD collection. GE Global Research has done just that with its latest breakthrough that can put 500 Gigabytes of storage capacity in a standard DVD-size disc.

GE researchers said Monday that by using a micro-holographic storage material they can create capacity of 20 single-layer Blu-ray discs or 100 DVDs in a standard disc. GE’s micro-holographic discs will also be able to read and record on systems similar to a typical Blu-ray or DVD player.

“Our technology will pave the way for cost-effective, robust and reliable holographic drives that could be in every home,” said Brian Lawrence who leads GE’s holographic storage program in a statement. “The day when you can store your entire high definition movie collection on one disc and support high resolution formats like 3-D television is closer than you think.”

Holographic storage differ from current optical storage technologies in that it uses the entire volume of the disc material. DVDs and Blu-ray discs store information only on the surface of the disc.

In case of holographic storage, three-dimensional patterns are written into the disc and can be read out. Micro-holographic players using GE’s technology can play back CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray disc.

GE has been working on the technology for about six years, said the company. For now it is still in the labs but the GE has plans to commercialize it.  It will initially focus on the commercial archival industry for the technology and then offer it to consumers.

See also:
GE Press Release

[via The New York Times]

Photo: Overlapping blue lasers record holograms in a GE disc/GE

Let’s face it — quite a lot is resting on the outcome of this case. For months now, RealNetworks has been unable to legally sell its RealDVD movie ripping software after a court issued a temporary restraining order that remains valid until it’s decided if the application violates the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act). Now, the software is finally having its day in court, and the outcome could shape the future of the DVD player (for better or worse). You see, Real has already assembled a prototype Facet device that hums along on Linux; essentially, this DVD playing machine would sell for around $300 and could store up to 70 movies internally. On the surface, this sounds entirely like a poor man’s Kaleidescape, but only time will tell if The Man agrees. Cross your fingers folks, we get the feeling fair use advocates are going to need the luck.

Filed under: Home Entertainment

RealDVD ripping software heads to court, fair use advocates on pins and needles originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Apr 2009 05:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We know you’re struggling to believe your eyes, but those Qflix burners actually are still hanging around. For those who missed all the action last year, these devices enable users to download a DRM-laced film onto their PC and burn it onto a specially-keyed DVD for playback. In other words, you can forget about toasting flicks to that dusty stack of DVD-Rs you’ve got laying around from late ’05. For whatever reason, Dell has seen fit to extend its partnership with Sonic Solutions by offering internal Qflix drives on the Studio XPS Desktop, Studio XPS 435, Studio Desktop and Studio Slim Desktop. The wild part? Its actually charging more for having you clean out its inventory.

Filed under: Desktops, Peripherals

Sonic shoves Qflix DVD burners into more Dell desktops originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Apr 2009 09:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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