The Blu-ray format, as well as its 4K UHD upgrade, were great physical storage mediums for the time in which they were released to market. The two specifications are capable of holding far more data than a traditional CD or DVD, all while supporting advanced audiovisual technologies and coming standard with a scratch-resistant physical coating.
The fact of the matter, however, is that Blu-ray technology is now 20 years old and counting. In other words, Blu-ray is no longer a spring chicken, especially by the standards of the electronics industry. Even its newer 4K UHD Blu-ray disc successor is outdated, having been first revealed by the Blu-ray Disc Association all the way back in 2015.
Of course, with internet-based streaming services covering the media consumption side of the equation, and with cloud storage providers and snappier flash storage technologies covering the data archival side of things, there appears to be little oxygen left in the room for optical-based media to survive and thrive.
…it’s not a stretch to imagine a world in which demand grows for a Blu-ray successor to be developed and released.
At least, that was the presumption up until rather recently. As it turns out, there’s something of a physical media renaissance currently under way, with many now returning to DVDs and Blu-ray discs in an effort to own their media, and to simultaneously sever ties with the increasingly expensive subscription-based services of today.
With this in mind, it’s not a stretch to imagine a world in which demand grows for a Blu-ray successor to be developed and released. A from-the-ground-up optical disc redux that uses 2026-era technologies could very well prove successful, I reckon, so long as it features the following five upgrades over its predecessors.
Improved data density
More storage space per square inch
Researchers have successfully built optical discs that feature multi-stacked layers capable of massively improving the total storage space on a per-disc basis. Of course, these technologies are currently prototypical, and mass-producing them at scale would be a huge undertaking. That being said, striking a balance between cost and production capacity is always a possibility, and I’d personally love to see the release of a mainstream optical media format capable of storing hundreds of gigabytes of data without breaking a sweat.
Faster read and write speeds
Speedier lasers for faster data access
One of the biggest drawbacks of current optical disc formats like Blu-ray is that they’re slower than their flash storage contemporaries. A laser has to physically scan and read the contents of a disc, which takes a relatively long amount of time and thus reduces read and write speeds considerably. A next-generation optical disc would be unlikely to match the speeds of an NVMe SSD, to be sure, but research and development could undoubtedly lead to breakthroughs in speed that would still leave the average Blu-ray in the dust.
A compact size that caters to a mobile-first world
CDs, DVDs, Blu-rays, and 4K UHD Blu-rays all share a common 12 cm footprint. Compared to, say, old vinyl records, a DVD is downright tiny by spherical consumer media standards. However, when pitted against portable solid state drives (SSDs) and SD memory cards, present-day discs suddenly look bulky by comparison. I’d love to see a next-generation optical disc be standardized to match the smaller (and more niche) dimensions of 8 cm MiniDVDs and Mini Blu-rays, which are far more compact and therefore more palatable in today’s mobile-first world.
Inorganic material composition
Reducing the risk of disc rot
I’d love for manufacturers to solve the issue of disc rot (the physical deterioration of optical discs that leads to data loss) by introducing more inorganic materials into the mix. Material science is undoubtedly complex, but I imagine it’d be possible to significantly increase the shelf life of a next-generation optical disc via some clever engineering and by leveraging certain building materials as opposed to others.
A much-needed rebrand
Clearing the slate
Let’s face it: the differences between the Blu-ray and the 4K UHD Blu-ray format are confusing. This wasn’t an issue with CDs, DVDs, and even with the original Blu-ray format, as each carried its own unique name and the associations that came with it. If a theoretical next-generation optical media format were to succeed on the market, it’d need a strong brand identity that wipes the slate clean, and that conveys to the market that it’s a new class of storage that does things in a modern way and without being tethered to the past.
