TDK's Durabis 2 coating protects 200GB Blu-ray discs
by Thomas Ricker 
posted Jan 19th 2007 at 8:46AM
One of the consumer worries of Blu-ray Disc vs. HD DVD is the durability of that ultra-thin, 0.1-mm layer protecting your BD-stored data. HD DVDs on the other hand, use a comparatively thick 0.6-mm surface layer just like standard DVDs making them appear -- on paper anyway -- more rugged over the stretch, right? Not necessarily so. At least not when TDK or others apply protective coatings to their optical media. The 6-layer, single-sided 200GB BD disc on the right in the image above is coated with TDK's "Durabis 2" hard-coating technology -- the disk on the left is a standard DVD; both were subjected to equal treatment by the steel-wool and a Sharpie. Any questions?
[Thanks, Dave]
Filed under: Blu-ray
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Clark Camp @ Jan 19th 2007 9:36AM
yeah, can you switch the discs, so that the light hits them both the same way.
NNTPgrip @ Jan 19th 2007 10:54AM
You know, I have noticed that every Blu-ray that comes from Netflix looks brand new. The HD-DVDs & DVDs can vary, I have had skipping issues with some HDs on my Tosh HD-A1. The PS3 is always smooth with Blu-Ray, and fast as hell (of course thats another issue - where's firmware 2.5 Toshiba!!)
A protective coating that meets a set standard is part of the Blu-Ray spec, so all discs have it, HD-DVD has no such requirement. HD-DVD manufacturers may fold and start doing it, however not doing it would not exclude them from using the official logo so you could never be sure everything you have would be protected.
Hopefully they start using these awesome coatings on all discs, regardless of format. I believe the coating however must be put on in manufacturing, otherwise you could be sure Netflix would have been the first to apply it to all the discs it has, a long time ago.
Now, if they can give us a kit so we can apply Durabis 2 to discs we already have. I'll buy a large tub of it.
pliepl @ Jan 19th 2007 6:43PM
The PS3 is always smooth with Blu-Ray, and fast as hell (of course thats another issue - where's firmware 2.5 Toshiba!!)
Actually, you have drm (AACS) to thank for the start up time of high definition discs. It takes a considerably more powerful machine to handle drm on these discs vs. what it took on dvds. The PS3 has a lot more muscle so has a shorter startup time.
Andy @ Jan 19th 2007 11:47AM
The coating may make it harder to scratch, but it seems to be making it more prone to cracking.
SimbaDogg @ Jan 19th 2007 12:51PM
i'm almost certain that it was TDK who invented (patent) the durabis material, and i'm not sure if TDK makes an HD-DVD discs...if the two previous assumptions are true, then i HIGHLY doubt we'll see this miracle film on hd-dvd discs...
AG @ Jan 19th 2007 1:29PM
TDK is exclusive to the blu-ray format.
attaboy @ Jan 19th 2007 2:12PM
how on earth can six layers amount to 200 GBs?
WTF @ Jan 19th 2007 6:03PM
"TDK has managed to reach this outlandish mark by increasing the layer count to six and the capacity per layer to 33.3GB from the usual 25GB associated with Blu-ray Disc media".
Ed @ Jan 19th 2007 6:17PM
200GB that wont play in any of the current and the upcoming bluray players.
Dave @ Jan 20th 2007 4:39AM
I say Blu-ray all the way.
This disc will be happy to handle 6-7 FULL HD DVD movies. Just to back up them in case i want to play them on my Blu-ray player too :D
Someone checked the latest HD Video releases on the main big torrent sites? ;)
pliepl @ Jan 25th 2007 7:00AM
200 GB on a disc would be nice. wake me up when i can them at less than $1 a piece.