Sharp intros first 100GB BDXL discs, Japan gets first dibs on July 30

By Vlad Savov

posted July 16th 2010 2:49AM

It took a little while after the BDXL specification was finalized, but here's Sharp busting down the door to expanded storage with the first official products adhering to said spec. The new VR-100BR1 discs will use triple-layer fairy dust to squish 100GB of data inside, and Akihabara News reports that they'll be swiftly followed by quad-layer 128GB variants as well. Of course, every shiny new toy comes at a price, which in this case will be ¥5,000 per disc -- that equates to $57 and makes us wonder why we wouldn't just buy an external HDD with that cash. Perhaps because the slinky new Blu-ray media will be playable in that shiny new Sharp Blu-ray DVR you just bought? You did buy a Sharp DVR, right? Because the BD-HDW700/70 are the only models that will support these, at least for the moment.

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Sharp to Introduce VR-100BR1 Triple-Layer Blu-ray Disc Media
World's First*1 Recordable Media to Conform to New BDXL™*2 Format Specification for Blu-ray Discs Storage Capacity of up to 100GB on a Single Disc

Sharp Corporation will introduce the VR-100BR1 triple-layer Blu-ray Disc media (write-once) that conforms to the BDXL™ format specification, the new multi-layer recordable Blu-ray Disc format, a world first. These new Blu-ray Discs will be available in Japan beginning July 30, 2010.

This disc media product conforms to the new BDXL™ format specification that extends the storage capacity of Blu-ray Discs to 100GB, twice the 50GB storage capacity of existing dual-layer discs. This new format enables recording approximately 12 hours of terrestrial digital TV broadcasts*3 or approximately 8.6 hours of BS digital TV broadcasts*3. It expands the range of applications for Blu-ray Discs to include recording and saving*4 long-duration HDTV programs or multiple episodes of serial dramas onto a single disc with the same high-definition image quality as the original.

Major Features
1. World's first triple-layer Blu-ray Disc media featuring large 100GB recording storage capacity.
2. "Hard coat" process provides peace of mind to users by protecting important video data from scratches and fingerprint contamination.
3. Users can print directly on discs down to 24 mm inner diameter.
*1 As of July 16, 2010, for Blu-ray Disc media for video recording.
*2 Specification defined by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) for high-capacity Blu-ray Discs.
*3 A guide for the potential recording time when recording video using standard DR mode (recorded with the image quality exactly as broadcast; calculated at bit rates of 17 Mbps for terrestrial digital broadcasts and 24 Mbps for BS digital broadcasts). Recording time will vary depending on the recording mode settings, the recorded video content, and other factors.
*4 This disc is intended for use only in equipment supporting the BDXL™ format. Note that there is no guarantee that this disc will function when used in equipment or PCs not supporting the BDXL™ format.

Major Features
1. World's first triple-layer Blu-ray Disc media featuring large 100GB recording storage capacity. This disc media is the first in the world to conform to the new BDXL™ format specification that extends the storage capacity of Blu-ray Discs by increasing the number of recording layers. The dual-layer structure used up to now has been augmented with an additional layer where image data can be recorded to create a new triple-layer structure. This design doubles the recording storage capacity (to 100GB) compared to existing dual-layer discs (50GB). This makes it possible to record approximately 12 hours of terrestrial digital TV broadcasts or approximately 8.6 hoursof BS digital TV broadcasts in DR mode (recorded with the image quality exactly as broadcast), or store other long-duration video content, all on a single disc, while preserving the same high-definition image quality of the original.

2. "Hard coat" process provides peace of mind for users by protecting important video data from scratches and fingerprint contamination. A "hard coat" process applied to the disc surface forms a protective barrier coating to protect stored data from scratches and dirt that may cause read and write errors.

3. Users can print directly on discs down to 24 mm inner diameter. Wide print area of 24 mm inner diameter and 118 mm outer diameter for disc labeling. In addition to enabling vivid color labeling to be printed over nearly the entire disc, oil-based or water-based marker pens can be used to hand-write labels on these discs.