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Verbatim making smaller 7.5GB Blu-ray Discs

Verbatim Corporation and its parent company, Mitsubishi Kagaku Media (MKM), have announced the world’s first Mini Blu-ray Recordable/Rewriteable (BD-R/RE) media. Measuring three inches (8cm) in diameter, the new 7.5GB discs provide approximately one hour of continuous video capture time on a single side when high definition (1920×1080i) is used, and approximately two hours of video capture time with images recorded at 1440×1080i.

MKM Mini BD media will be available in August in Japan, where the new Hitachi BD-compatible camcorder will be launched. Verbatim will begin shipments to other parts of the world, including North America, when the new BD-compatible camcorders become available in the region.

Verbatim says that the new Mini BD discs will share similar performance characteristics of its standard (12 cm) BD media, including technologies developed by MKM to guard against deterioration. The proprietary hard-coat finish on Verbatim BD media features anti-static and anti-scratch properties for added protection against scratches, fingerprints and dust particles that can occur during normal camcorder and home use.

Verbatim’s new Mini BD media now in production at MKM’s blue laser optical disc manufacturing facility in Mizushima, Japan.


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By Quiksel on 8/3/2007 10:45:01 AM , Rating: 2
The evil empire is at it again...

Sony: And I shall call him.... Mini-BD!

/paging Austin Powers, you're wanted on the set




By omnicronx on 8/3/2007 10:53:07 AM , Rating: 2
Its not like you are going to see movie releases anytime soon on these ;) I think these are more geared towards HD camcorders, which i find pretty cool.


By DingieM on 8/3/2007 11:02:33 AM , Rating: 1
Cool maybe, but useless.

If anyone desides for a disc-based camcorder instead of a flash-based camcorder is seriously ill or maybe actually has a use for it in a very very narrow niche-market???

How on earth can they make money out of that while flash is on a rampaging speed to replace all discs?

I'm really stunned.
Really stunned, did they get money from the Blu-Ray consortium and/or Sony?????


By omnicronx on 8/3/2007 11:13:55 AM , Rating: 2
Im not a master in the subject, but do flash drives even have the bandwidth to encode at 1080p quality? Also you are right if it does, 7.5G is not enough to take away from the flash drive market.


By sprockkets on 8/3/2007 12:01:12 PM , Rating: 2
You don't use flash drives, you use 2.5 inch HDDs, and those work fine. And for that matter, using them is better since you do not need a bd player to play them with.


By Korvon on 8/3/2007 2:09:57 PM , Rating: 2
I think it will boil down to media cost. If a 8GB flash drive costs a couple hundred and a 7.5GB BluRay disk costs even $20, that would be a decider right there.


By FITCamaro on 8/3/2007 2:28:15 PM , Rating: 1
So even if an 8GB flash card cost you $150 and can be reused numerous times, you'd go with the media thats $20 per disc and can only use once?

I'd rather offload my video to a laptop or computer each night, clear off the card, and pop it back in the next day.


By geddarkstorm on 8/3/2007 4:42:51 PM , Rating: 2
Except those disks are rewritables, so you can use them as much as you want, theoretically. I think flash is too slow to do recording at those resolutions in real time from the last states I saw on write speeds--a HDD solves that problem, but most people aren't going to be able to pop out a HDD from a cam and hook it up to watch on TV immediately. That may change in time, but that's still a really new concept, and the disks are still the cheapest way to go.


By namechamps on 8/4/2007 12:12:31 AM , Rating: 3
Why does everyone think these discs are incredibly fast?

The article says at max resolution one 7.5GB disc will last for 1 hour.

So 7500MB / 60 min / 60 sec = 2.08MB/sec.
Even the cheapest flash media (generic SD value line) is that fast. Some SSD (flash hard drives) are now pushing 20-30MB/sec.

Why would I want a disc that holds 1 hour and costs $20 each.

An HD camcorder with HDD, SSD, or flash slot (compact flash, SD) would be a much better value. Recording to say a 80GB HDD would allow 10+ hours at highest quality and I could copy movies onto DVD-R9 for <$2 each.

Imagine if you used this BD camcorder to record a wedding and then 50 people wanted a copy. Yeah I get to buy 50 minidiscs for $1000 ea. Instead I drop the HD footage from my HDD based camcorder to my PC author up a disc in HD DVD9 or BD9 format on a normal dual layer DVD. Then make 50 copies for about 1/10th the cost.

Hmm which is a better deal?


By FITCamaro on 8/3/2007 2:32:10 PM , Rating: 2
Read the article. It says 1080i, not 1080p.


By jak3676 on 8/3/2007 4:05:38 PM , Rating: 2
It goes both ways - alot have a 2.5" or 1.8" HDD, but they have some impressive HD camcorders now that only take a single SD card.


By MScrip on 8/3/2007 2:59:48 PM , Rating: 3
> "If anyone desides for a disc-based camcorder instead of a flash-based camcorder is seriously ill or maybe actually has a use for it in a very very narrow niche-market???"

Right now, the DVD based camcorder is very nice for someone who just wants to record video and watch it. The disc costs a couple dollars, and they can play it on their DVD player. Oh, and there is a physical copy that you put on the shelf when you're done.

Not everyone will capture and edit video, and burn DVDs for their families to see. These are the same consumers who probably never set the clock on their VCR back in the day.

Besides, what do you do with all the video from Flash or HDD camcorders? Most people don't know how to organize digital photos on a PC... what are they gonna do with hours and hours of huge video files?


By afkrotch on 8/4/2007 2:46:03 PM , Rating: 1
How about the fact that it's easier to simply take the disk, pop it into a bd player and be watching away.

While the flash form would require a computer. At which point, you'd have to burn it onto an hd-dvd or blu-ray disc, then pop it into an appropriate player.

Hmmm....wonder which one I'd buy.


By Oregonian2 on 8/3/2007 2:48:05 PM , Rating: 2
No point in using them for movies seeing as how they hold the same amount of data as a regular DVD which undoubtedly is a lot cheaper to make. Advantage is it being small for HD camcorders. Of course it still holds a lot less data than a plain cheapie mini-DV tape (around 11 Gigs that I recall), so still not great.


By dome1234 on 8/3/2007 11:04:11 AM , Rating: 2
i didn't see a single word of "sony" in the article.....


By retrospooty on 8/3/2007 12:14:51 PM , Rating: 1
Blue Ray = Sony... more specifically Sony is the main driving force behind the design, and implementation of BR. many other companies have joined in the BR group, but it is basically a Sony venture.


By omnicronx on 8/3/2007 12:50:00 PM , Rating: 2
I think sony licenses out the right to manufacter BD discs, so i am guessing this may be a venture of vabertim not sony. I could be wrong but thats just my gut feeling ;)


By geddarkstorm on 8/3/2007 4:46:06 PM , Rating: 2
Vabertim designed and made these disks. Sony just owns the license to the format. It's like the fact you have many software and game companies programming for Windows and Windows API, but only Microsoft owns the API those programs will call on to display graphics or do other functions.


Win or Loose?
By oTAL (blog) on 8/3/2007 11:27:12 AM , Rating: 2
Two things will make this a winner or a looser.

1. HD battle. If Blu-Ray turns out to be a niche choice this will go nowhere. This is unlikely as this format battle will probably end like the one between DVD-R and DVD+R - dual-format players.

2. Price. If these things can cost as much as a normal BD (or less), then it'll work. If, like mini-CDs, they cost twice as much then, like mini-Cds, it will only have a niche market.




RE: Win or Loose?
By Moishe on 8/3/2007 11:36:34 AM , Rating: 2
Absolutely... in the grand scheme of things, this is really just a niche market (just like mini CDs). Even if BluRay somehow lost the format war, the minis could theoretically still be useful... but then if that were so, people would probably just make mini HD-DVDs.

Still though, since flash is available in those sizes and seeing how mini-CDs failed to take hold, I'd bet these are pretty much doomed.

But at least it's one more small feather in BD's cap.


RE: Win or Loose?
By VoodooChicken on 8/3/2007 11:56:10 AM , Rating: 2
My camcorder is VHS-C. WHO'S on the fence about digital format wars??


RE: Win or Loose?
By Moishe on 8/3/2007 2:06:03 PM , Rating: 2
uh... wha?


RE: Win or Loose?
By FITCamaro on 8/3/2007 2:25:27 PM , Rating: 2
Considering that normal blank Blu-ray discs are $16 for a 25GB disc, I'd say that for mass market option for camcorders, this media would have to cost a lot less than that to be competitive. I don't know about you, but if I was in the market for a camcorder to go on vacation with, the one that costs me $16 or more per 2 hours of video wouldn't win. I'd much rather get a camcorder that I pay $100 or less for a 4GB flash card and can reuse it as many times as I want.


RE: Win or Loose?
By geddarkstorm on 8/3/2007 4:48:30 PM , Rating: 2
"Mini Blu-ray Recordable/Rewriteable (BD-R/RE) media"

Theoretically you can use it as much as you want, just like with Flash, just it's faster and holds a lot more data and is cheaper.


RE: Win or Loose?
By oTAL (blog) on 8/3/2007 4:50:18 PM , Rating: 2
It is not realist to state which price "you would pay for it", or which price "is fair".
When I said it would have to cost as much as a normal BD (or less), I didn't mean that the price should freeze in time at that value. I meant that it should follow the price of BD-ROMs as they fall to mainstream mass market prices.
Of course they will be expensive to begin with, and they will probably remain so for some time. But if they can keep them at the same price as a BD-ROM, throughout it's life cycle, then I believe this product will be a success as it can store a large amount of data in a small disc. Great for many MANY uses.
Examples:
Want to give out the video of your wedding to the gests? Mini-BDs!
Want to back up your OS partition (or tools for business use, or several CD isos plus iso reader, or similar) and have it available at all times? Put it on a mini-BD, place it on a sleeve and carry it in your wallet (it would fit my wallet).
Want to stash your porn collections somewhere safe but accessible? Get them on a Mini-BD (or 3 or 4), surgically implant a kangaroo pouch and store them there.
So may possibilities.... it boggles the mind!


RE: Win or Loose?
By namechamps on 8/4/2007 12:00:57 AM , Rating: 2
Everything you named could be done with a DVD-R DL for about 1/20th the cost.

Why do I want to put it on a more expensive disc that has less capacity and can be used in a limited number of devices?


RE: Win or Loose?
By JimFear on 8/6/2007 6:07:04 AM , Rating: 2
But you'd need a spaceship shaped camcorder to us a DVD-RW, unless you go with a mini DVD which hold like 1.5GB, a mini-BD is 7.5GB so an extra 6 GB in the same space is likely to be a welcome increase.


Wow
By Shadowmaster625 on 8/3/2007 3:23:48 PM , Rating: 2
Wow talk about intelligent. Let's pay 10 times more for discs with only 50% more capacity and 30% less size. Does it really matter? I mean, no matter what, 10cm discs are gonna be around for years and years to come, so what is the point in mini discs?




RE: Wow
By Niv KA on 8/3/2007 4:08:16 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
I mean, no matter what, 10cm discs are gonna be around for years and years to come, so what is the point in mini discs?


Sorry, but I have to correct you.
I have not heard of any 10cm discs. Standard discs are usually 12cm and their reduced size relatives usually are 8cm.


PS3?
By JimFear on 8/6/2007 6:01:15 AM , Rating: 2
I wonder how the PS3 and other slot loading BR players (if there are any) will cope with these?




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