New 400GB Disc Could Be PS3-Compatible

by Hilbert Hagedoorn on: 12/05/2008 12:23 PM | source: | 0 comment(s)

400GB optical disc can end up being compatible with existing Blu-ray players, such as Sony's PlayStation 3. While current Blu-ray players and drives will not be able to read the 16-layer disc--each layer can hold up to 25GB--Pioneer claims that a firmware update may allow existing players to be compatible. The technology is expected to hit mass market by 2010, with a 1TB version of the disc format expected to arrive within five years.

It is because this is not a Blu-ray disc at all, this is a highly-condensed optical disc that the company proposed back in July and exhibited for the first time yesterday. Now Pioneer is making three new promises: the 400GB read-only disc will hit mass production sometime in 2010, rewritable versions will come through before 2012, and a 1TB version will become available within five years. The consoles you have right now will not be able to play these discs. Numerous sources have reported that the disc is compatible with Blu-ray players (and therefore PS3s) already on the market. Speaking to Edge, Pioneer said the opposite was true. "Current BD players and drives would not be able to read these discs," the company said, adding that the technology is "at this time not being proposed as a candidate for addition to the existing Blu-ray Disc format." via Edge