Blu-ray takes aim at data centres

While Sony's PlayStation 3 might well be the first Blu-ray device most consumers see, industry supporters of the technology are setting their sights much higher.

TDK, one of the key supporters of the next-generation DVD format, told vnunet.com that it will be making a major play for the storage sector, both through direct sales and via the network of specialist storage resellers and value-add resellers.

"Our target markets are the authoring and pre-mastering sectors," said Jean-Paul Eekhout, corporate strategy director at TDK, and vice chairman of the European Blu-ray PR committee.

"Data storage is going to be key, and maybe jukebox systems. There's also an underestimated market for video enthusiasts getting into high definition recording."

TDK already has 50GB Blu-ray discs in production and has built engineering samples of 100GB discs, although these are not expected to go into production until 2007.

Early prices for the media are high, however. Eekhout estimated that 25GB recordable discs would cost around €25, and 50GB recordable discs will initially be around €25-€30 at launch in the spring.

But prices for Blu-ray media would drop to within 10 per cent of current DVD costs once TDK reached full production, according to Eekhout.

Initially five companies will be launching PC Blu-ray burners, including Samsung, Sony and Philips. Current write speeds are limited to 2x, but Eekhout predicted that this would rise to 8x and beyond in the future.