The Future For Optical Media: Beyond Blu-Ray
The current technology trends is a booming industry. It’s all too easy to get lost and overwhelmed in the sheer magnitude of this industry. Even in 2015, many people are still comprehending the scope of possibilities that products like Blu-ray can provide in this age, which makes Sony and Panasonic’s joint announcement on the development of a new optical storage media in the works, mindblowing to some.
Sony and Panasonic have joined heads to develop a next generation standard for optical discs which will be able to hold up to almost a terabyte of data (whereas a standard Blue-ray holds a mere 50GB in comparison). As such, both the companies hope to release an initial version of the new disc by late 2015. Now, this news has been met with rather mixed reactions. This may be because for many, the Blue-ray might effectively be the last champion of optical media in a world that is now heavily geared towards digital distribution and online streaming. Granted, if your primary use for Blue-ray is watching movies and shows, you will feel the same way about this entire announcement. But Sony and Panasonic have already made it clear that the core market for this new disc is the professional community looking for a new long term storage solution, as well as for archiving purposes. However, given the domino effect of new technologies as prices eventually fall, it will not be surprising if Sony and Panasonic try to gear their new product towards a more commercial consumer base. However, the question of how effective this new iteration of the medium fare in a world that is dominated by digital distribution, casts a very big question mark over the future of optical media.
There is no doubt that some of the biggest firms and organizations in the media industry have been aggressively pushing and setting up footholds into the world of digital distribution and streaming. In the recent Electronics Consumer Show, CBS CEO Leslie Moonves has unveiled a complete online streaming strategy, now being implemented by the company, known as the “CBS All Access”, which works on a subscription and allows its subscribers complete access to all of CBS’s shows without the need for a cable provider or cord. Disney seems to be following the same trend, but much more aggressively. Disney made news with its acquisition of Maker Studios for at least $500 million last year in an effort to expand its grip in the online distribution market. And it looks like they are far from stopping just yet. At its heart, Disney is a pure media company and so far it has had to rely on third parties to get its products across to its consumers. By acquiring more ground in the digital market, one may argue that Disney may indeed be trying to establish a more direct and focused relationship with its consumer base. And the films and television industry is not the only one seen to be following this trend. Over the past few years, we have seen a dramatic increase in digital distribution software for the video game industry, most notably through Valve Corporations’ “Steam” and EA’s very own competitive “Origins” platform. There is no denying the fact that ever since the introduction of such platforms, the gaming industry has seen a relative decrease in the sale of optical media and an exponential rise in sales and trends favoring digital distribution. And this is only the tip of the iceberg. As the increasing size of HDD(s) to ridiculous capacities continues, the issue of where to store all your information and data will be soon a thing of the past.
Such actions from many other various firms now really beg the question that with the focus of media and entertainment shifting firmly into more digital realms, just what does the future hold for the next generation of optical media? While there is no way to be certain, for some, Blu-ray can indeed be considered the last champion of the generation of optical media.
