Pioneer will be showcasing at the Taipei IT Month fair its 16-layer 400GB optical disc. The multi-layer disc uses a breakthrough in the reflective layer material, which allows read-back using the same pick-up head specifications as for existing blank Blu-ray discs.

This eliminates the need to develop new pick-up heads, as the pick-up heads used in Blu-ray disc players would be able to read these discs.

The 400GB disc features a dielectric reflective layer and track pitches of 10 & 14mm. It requires a pick-up head wavelength of 405nm and numerical aperture of 0.85, the same specifications as existing Blu-ray pick-up heads.

There have been reports that Pioneer is working to have read-only 400GB discs available between 2008 and 2010, followed by rewritable discs between 2010 and 2012. They are currently working on a 20-layer 500GB optical disc and aim to have a 1TB disc developed in 2013.

However, Andy Parsons, Senior VP of new product planning for the home entertainment/business solutions group at Pioneer Electronics, stated that there is "no plans to commercialise the technology by any specific dates." The presence at the Taipei fair is only a R&D technology exhibit, "not a commitment to produce anything in the form of an actual product."

Story filed 02.12.08