Who needs Blu-ray? Tera-disc are just a few years away

An Israeli technology company called Mempile is said to be developing a disc that can pack one whole terrabyte (1TB) of data onto one single disc. Each disc has around 200 virtual layers which can each store 5GB worth of data. Current prototypes can reach a maximum capacity of 800GB per disc but the company expects that 1TB development to be complete in 1.5 years followed by public release a year later. It is said that if these hit retail, a 600GB disc will be available to purchase for anywhere between $30-60.

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Each disk is built from polymethyl methacrylate which is almost entirely transparent to the specific wavelength of the laser used by its recorder, allowing Mempile to shove roughly 200 virtual layers onto a single 1.2mm disc, with each of those layers capable of storing 5GB of data.

Mempile claims that current prototypes can store an impressive 600 – 800GB per disc, but they believe the first 1TB prototype is 18 months away and will hit retail shelves about a year afterwards, priced around $3,000 for the drive and $30-60 for a 600GB disc. The prospect of terabyte recordable media is certainly tempting. We’ll have to wait and see if this actually makes it to the market and doesn’t get filed under the "vaporware" category.