Blu-ray Disc Product Line-up
BD Archiving Topics "Panasonic in the ITU Symposium"
Six Major Reasons for Choosing a Blu-ray Disc Archiving
An Archiving Solution from Panasonic
The trend today for companies to strengthen their internal controls commonly increases the amount of archived data. At the same time, the high energy consumption of most data storage systems raises costs and places a larger burden on the environment in spite of widespread environmental concern.
To alleviate these problems, Panasonic offers a new archiving solution based on the Blu-ray Disc.
Stable, robust recording layer characteristics.
Long-term data storage with an archiving life of 50 years.
The longevity of the Blu-ray Disc is backed by a polycarbonate substrate, which resists change over time, and highly stable recording layer characteristics. These features allow robust data retention in the Blu-ray Disc and make it ideal for long-term archiving of information such as engineering drawings, documents, digital video, and medical images.
The Blu-ray Disc is based on an industry standard format supported by 190 companies.
A long list of manufacturers support both the Blu-ray Disc standard and the hardware and applied specifications established by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA). Because the Blu-ray Disc is an industry standard format, it offers excellent compatibility and reliable, long-term playback.
| Consumer Electronics | Panasonic, Hitachi, Mitsubithi Electric, Philips, Pioneer, Sharp, Sony, Samsung |
| Recording Media | Panasonic, FUJIFILM, Hitachi Maxell, Mitsubishi Chemicals, Sony, TDK |
| IT Industry | Apple, Dell, Fujitsu, HP, NEC, Sony, Sun Microsystems |
| Movie Studios | Twentieth Century Fox, Lionsgate Entertainment, MGM (Metro Goldwyn Mayer), Sony Pictures, Walt Disney, Warner Bros. |
| Music and Games | Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Sony, Universal Music Group |
The Blu-ray Disc is easy to carry around and allows off-line data storage. It can also offset the risk of data loss.
The Blu-ray Disc can be removed from the drive for storage. Safekeeping recorded data at different storage sites ensures uninterrupted business operation in the event of a disaster.
BD archiving reduces data storage costs.
We can reduce data migration cost thanks to the Blu-ray Disc‘s long archiving life. It also enables off-line data storage, and does not require a 24-hour air conditioned room, thus lowering power consumption. Because not all BD discs operate on-line, there is no need for a full-time dedicated staff, which helps to reduce personnel expenses.
The Blu-ray Disc (BD-R) meets legal regulations because it prevents rewriting and tampering with stored data.
The Blu-ray Disc (BD-R) is a native WORM (Write Once Read Many) media. It uses a laser beam to physically and non-reversibly alter the recording layer reflectivity, it is impossible to rewrite or tamper with the recorded data. That's why the Blu-ray Disc (BD-R) is attracting attention as reliable digital evidence to meet the stricter information control for compliance with legal regulations that is demanded in today's digital society.
Low power consumption and Low CO2 emission
Blu-ray Discs do not consume a large amount of electricity because they do not require a constant supply of electricity or air conditioning during data storage. This helps to reduce CO2 emissions. As a result, Blu-ray Discs are an environmentally friendly form of green media.
CO2 emission and storage type
Blu-ray Discs contribute to
green archiving for the
coming low-CO2 society
Conventional RAID-based archiving is not environmentally friendly. In comparison, BD archiving uses less electricity, does not require an air conditioned environment, and emits less carbon dioxide. Conversion to green media ensures compliance with legal regulations and enhances corporate value, thus responding to modern needs and helping to conserve the global environment.
Present problems in data archiving
Increases in the number of servers and RAID devices will also increase CO2 emissions and power consumption. The amount of data generated will continue to grow, and inactive data accounts for 80% or more of the total
Panasonic's Participation in the ITU Kyoto Symposium
The ITU Symposium on ICTs and Climate Change was held on April 15 and 16, 2008, and provided an excellent opportunity to discuss the role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the reduction of global warming. At this symposium, Panasonic displayed and proposed Blu-ray Discs for use in data archiving.
The panels and other information displayed by Panasonic can be downloaded from the following sites:
At the symposium, a series of research meetings were held to discuss ICT measures aimed at dealing with global warming, and a total of nine proposals were adapted. This included the following suggestion for data center operation.
| Environmental measures need to be promoted for data centers and ASP/SaaS. A shift should be made to using data storage methods such as optical discs, which consume a small amount of electricity, as a means of reducing CO2 emissions in the area of information management. |
Proposal for CO2 reduction by IT Solution
Promote Energy Saving by
Managing Large Amounts of Data
The amount of data generated will continue to grow, and inactive data (fixed content) accounts for the majority of the total
Low-power-consuming storage devices are expected to be used for archival storage
However, the RAID solution for archival storage is becoming more popular by reducing device costs
The report published by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and
Communications can be downloaded here.
Report of the "Study Group on ICT Policy for Addressing Global Warming
to Be Convened" (Japanese text only) 
…Chapter 3 of this report describes the use of optical discs for archiving data.
