No matter the disc, there’s an expiration date. Nothing lasts forever, but that doesn’t mean people aren’t trying to. There’s a disc out there that lasts far longer than anything else on the market, whether that’s DVD, Blu-ray, or 4K Blu-ray. The M-Disc, with the M standing for millennial, is meant to last for a millennium. That’s obviously a long time, and there’s no telling if it’ll be true since I won’t be around to check.
With fears of disc rot creeping into some of our older discs, especially DVDs and CDs from the ’90s, something like an M-Disc would put those worries to rest for generations to come. Now, it’s not as simple as that, and I wouldn’t expect Blu-ray production to simply shift over to M-Discs overnight. I’m not sure I’d expect that to ever happen with physical media in the state that is.
What makes an M-Disc so durable is that the material isn’t affected by oxygen, light, or humidity. This means all of the danger to your other discs are ineffective here, so the only thing that seems to affect them is you. DVD and Blu-ray discs use a dye layer that degrades over time, which is what leads to disc rot, while M-Discs have the data physically engraved.
It makes a lot of sense for movies to be on a disc like this, but it hasn’t happened. The M-Disc format came out back in 2009, so if there was ever going to be a shift, you’d think it would’ve happened by now — especially since it follows the similar 4.7 GB, 25 GB, 50 GB, and 100 GB models that you see on DVD and Blu-ray.
Blu-ray and DVD technology
Trivia challenge
From spinning discs to high-definition glory — how much do you really know about Blu-ray and DVD?
HistoryHardwareFormatsCapacityStandards
In what year was the DVD format officially launched for consumer use?
That’s right! DVD was officially launched in Japan in November 1996, before rolling out to North America in 1997. The format was developed by a consortium of major electronics companies including Sony, Panasonic, and Philips.
Not quite — DVD launched in Japan in November 1996. It then made its way to North American markets in 1997, quickly displacing VHS as the dominant home video format over the following years.
What colour laser does a standard Blu-ray player use to read discs?
Correct! Blu-ray players use a blue-violet laser with a wavelength of 405nm. This shorter wavelength compared to the red laser used in DVDs allows data to be packed much more densely on the disc surface.
The answer is blue-violet, with a wavelength of 405nm. This is actually what gives Blu-ray its name. The shorter wavelength compared to the red laser in DVDs is what enables the significantly higher storage capacity.
What is the storage capacity of a standard single-layer Blu-ray disc?
Spot on! A single-layer Blu-ray disc holds 25GB of data. Dual-layer discs double that to 50GB, while newer BDXL triple-layer discs can hold up to 100GB, making them ideal for 4K Ultra HD content.
The correct answer is 25GB for a single-layer Blu-ray disc. Dual-layer discs hold 50GB, which is why most feature films are released on dual-layer media to accommodate high-bitrate video and lossless audio tracks.
Which format did Blu-ray defeat in the high-definition disc format war of the mid-2000s?
Exactly right! Blu-ray defeated HD DVD in a format war that concluded in early 2008. The turning point came when Warner Bros. announced it would exclusively support Blu-ray, prompting Toshiba to discontinue HD DVD shortly after.
The correct answer is HD DVD, backed primarily by Toshiba and Microsoft. The format war ended in February 2008 when Toshiba officially discontinued HD DVD after Warner Bros. threw its exclusive support behind Blu-ray.
What is the maximum video resolution supported by a standard Blu-ray disc (not Ultra HD)?
That’s correct! Standard Blu-ray supports up to 1080p (Full HD) resolution at up to 60 frames per second. It was a massive leap over DVD’s 480p standard definition, and helped drive widespread adoption of HD televisions.
Standard Blu-ray tops out at 1080p Full HD resolution. This was a significant upgrade over DVD’s 480p and helped establish the format as the premium home video choice — until 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray arrived to raise the bar again.
Which company originally developed the DVD format alongside JVC, Sony, and others?
Correct! Philips was one of the founding members of the DVD Consortium alongside Sony, Panasonic, Hitachi, JVC, and others. Philips had already co-developed the CD format with Sony, so its involvement in DVD was a natural progression.
The answer is Philips, which co-developed the DVD standard alongside Sony, Panasonic, JVC, and Hitachi among others. Philips had significant experience in optical disc technology, having previously co-invented the CD with Sony back in the early 1980s.
What laser wavelength does a standard DVD player use to read discs?
Well done! DVD players use a red laser with a wavelength of 650nm. This is shorter than the 780nm infrared laser used in CD players, allowing DVDs to store more data, but longer than Blu-ray’s 405nm laser which enables even denser storage.
DVD players use a 650nm red laser. For comparison, CD players use a 780nm infrared laser, while Blu-ray uses a 405nm blue-violet laser. The progression to shorter wavelengths is what has driven increases in optical disc storage capacity over the decades.
What does the acronym ‘BD-ROM’ stand for in Blu-ray terminology?
Correct! BD-ROM stands for Blu-ray Disc Read-Only Memory. It is the standard format used for commercially pressed Blu-ray movies and games, as opposed to BD-R (recordable) or BD-RE (rewritable) formats used for home recording.
BD-ROM stands for Blu-ray Disc Read-Only Memory. This is the pre-pressed, non-recordable format you find on commercial movie and game releases. The Blu-ray family also includes BD-R for write-once recording and BD-RE for rewritable discs.
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Don’t hold your breath here
Take them for what they are
You can get your hand on these discs today, but I really don’t think the juice is worth the squeeze. For starters, they’re pretty expensive. A 5-pack of 100 GB costs $75 on Amazon. Sure, they’re durable discs, but you can just grab a hard drive that offers a lot more space and back your movies up to that. Hard drives are obviously prone to failure, but I can’t imagine having to burn my data onto 100 GB as that size is just far too small. I also don’t imagine people will be putting individual movies onto a disc like this, so they’re in a bit of a no-man’s land.
The sheer cost of them means it doesn’t make a lot of sense for movie companies to use them, so it’s really down to consumer use. The everyday person won’t have any use for them, so it’s actually an enthusiast market that’ll keep this format alive, and even then, it feels like there are better, more affordable options. Backing up your data doesn’t have to be done with a disc, and that’s where I struggle to see this ever latching on in the mainstream.
I love the idea of a disc that I don’t have to worry about, but the reality is that the issue might be a little overblown. I’ve been collecting DVDs for decades, and I still haven’t had one fail on me. I could definitely be an outlier, and in 10 years or so, perhaps I’ll see my first signs of disc rot. At that point, I hope I’ll have upgraded any of my DVDs that I love to 4K Blu-ray, so it might be a non-issue — at least until my 4K discs start to fail. I’m not sure if there’s going to be another format beyond 4K, so I hope something’s done to keep these discs from degrading quickly.
Just too much of a niche to matter
Existing on the fringes
M-Discs make sense for people who want physical copies of their data backed up, but that doesn’t apply to most people. While it might be fun to burn a movie to one of these, that’s not very cost-effective. What M-Discs have become are niche products, and there’s nothing wrong with that. I don’t think I’ll ever have a use for one of these, even if it lasts forever. That doesn’t mean other people don’t see the appeal in them. I know they’d make for excellent time capsules that get dug up after 100 years if that’s something people still do.
If you can find some uses for these discs, then more power to you. I don’t think we’ll ever see companies start putting movies and TV shows on these discs, so that’s not something you should keep your fingers crossed waiting for. It might’ve been cool to see discs printed on these if the costs were lower, but that ship has sailed. I guess we’ll just have to deal with our discs rotting in the future. That’s definitely a price I’m willing to pay over subscribing to every streaming service under the sun and owning nothing.
