Floppy Drive – These have been available in a number of formats and sizes from 180k – 2.88MB. The default storage size for current drives is 1.44MB.We source our drives from major manufacturers such as Sony, Alps and Matsushita(Panasonic). These were the medium by which most programs were distributed several years ago although most software is now supplied on cd or dvd. These types of devices are becoming less and less popular as they are more being replaced by cdr/dvdr and usb devices.

Hard Disks – The hard disk is the component that is used to store your operating system and all your programs and data. They are non volatile which means that they will keep your information even when the computer is switched off. Hard disks are available in a range of popular sizes from 40GB to 2TB and a number of interface types such as IDE, SCSI or SATA1 and SATA2. Hard disk drives are also available in different speeds and cache sizes. Due to advancements in drive design and ways of storing data on the drive 2TB drives are now available with 4TB drives under development. There are many different manufacturers of hard drives. We supply seagate hard drives in all our systems apart from the highest end game systems which use Western Digital Raptor's. All Seagate drives now come with a FIVE year guarantee.

1TB = 1000 GB (Gigabyte) 1GB = 1000MB (Megabyte)

CD ROM - A CDROM can store up to 700MB of information on a disc and so are the medium of choice for most users. Manufacturers now supply most software either on CDROM or DVDROM due to the high capacity available.

CD R/W - These devices are the same as a CDROM but can also record up to 700MB of information on writable CDROMS for later use. Blank discs are available in either CDR (Write once) or CD R/W ( write many times). These come in a number of write speeds from 1-52 speed or higher.

DVD ROM- A DVDROM can store up to 15.9GB of information on one disk although most disks are usually either 4.7GB or 8.5GB. These devices are commonly used for distribution of DVD films or large programs such as Encyclopedias.

DVDR/W - These devices are the same as a DVDROM but can also record up to 8.5GB of information on writable CDROMS for later use. Blank discs are available in either DVDR (Write once) or DVD R/W ( write many times). Blank dvd media comes in either 4.7GB or 8.5GB and in a variety of recording speeds from 1 - 18 and either dvd- or dvd+ formats.

DVD - RAM - These have a similar storage capacity to DVDR but are R/W and are often used in home dvd recorders as they are considered to have higher reliability than DVD.

BLU-RAY - These are aimed mainly at the high definition television/movie market as they can store either 25GB or 50GB of data. Blue-ray writers currently start at circa £350 and media at £7 each. Further development in blu-ray has resulted in tests of 100GB and 250GB discs. Pioneer announced a 400GB disc in 2008. A 1TB blue-ray disc may be with us as soon as 2013.

JVC has also developed a 3 layer technology disc which will play on a standard dvd player and also a blu-ray player. Infinity have produced some discs using this technology comprising a single blu-ray layer(25GB) and 2 x 9GB standard dvd layers on the same side of the disc. If this is commercially succesful it will bring the gap between dvd and blue-ray.

HD DVD - These are a competing format with blue ray storing 15GB or 30GB of data. Prices of writers and media are similar to blue ray. This format has now been discontinued by the manufacturer Toshiba.

Other formats currently with limited availability or in development are.

DMD - 22 to 32GB of storage. Now probably a dead format as D Data inc who were developing it now seem to have disappeared

VMD - 20 to 50GB or storage. The original company behind VMD de-registered as a company early 2007. In October 2008, it was reported that the technology behind HD-VMD had been revived by three apparently related companies - Royal Digital Media, Anthem Digital and DreamStream, to produce a new 100GB optical disc

TAPESTRY MEDIA - Initial disc sizes are 300GB with a theoretical limit of 1.6TB. This was due end of 2007 but to date has not been released.

HVD - These are still in the development stage but should offer a theoretical maximum storage of 3.9TB or between 4,600–11,900 hours of video in the new MPEG4-ASP format or 26.5 years of stereo audio !. Initial prices of the recorders are estimated to be £7500+ and the blank discs £60 to £90 each. Although these were demonstrated at the end of 2007 to date no one has commercially produced a HVD disc. There are rumours that they are being used by some usa television stations for archival purposes but there is no firm evidence of this. The HDV forum also looks to be pretty quiet as the last posting was in April 2008. This is located at http://www.hvd-forum.org/

PH-DVD - Initial disc sizes are reportedly 100GB.

Protein-coated disc - Theoretical limit of 50TB. This is a standard dvd coated in dna modified protein. Production discs were due late 2007 or early 2008 but no further development news has been forthecoming.

Two-Photon 3-D Optical - Still in development. Theoretical disc size of 1TB. several teams are currently developing this format.

FVD, or Forward Versatile Disc, is an offshoot of DVD developed in Taiwan jointly by the Advanced Optical Storage Research Alliance (AOSRA) and the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) as a less expensive alternative for high-definition content. The disc is similar in structure to a DVD, in that pit length is the same and a red laser is used to read it, but the track width has been shortened slightly to allow the disc to have 5.4GB of storage per layer as opposed to 4.7GB for a standard DVD. The specification allows for up to three layers for total of 15GB in storage. The register reported that the FVD was due to released to mass market way back in 2005 although ther is not much evidence of this. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/11/30/fvd_volume_production/

CH DVD China Blue High-Definition (CBHD)- This format offers similar storage to HD-DVD the format that it is based on. In early March 2009, Warner Bros announced that they would be supporting the CBHD format, launching with titles including the Harry Potter series and Blood Diamond, with discs selling for between 50 and 70 yuan (roughly $7.25 to $10.15). According to an August 2009 television story by TV-Tokyo, CBHD was outselling rival Blu-ray by a margin of 3 to 1 in China.In September 2009, Universal Studios and National Geographic announced their support for the format. Additionally adding support for the format are Paramount (US), Celestial (HK/CN) and BBC/Discovery (UK/US).

VCDHD (Versatile Compact Disc High Density) or DVHD (Disc Versatile High Density) - This is developed by Phillips and has the same capacity as a DVD and can be played on existing dvd players. Capacities of 15GB are muted for later dvd players using a blue laser. See article on http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/29/new-optical-disc-standard-joins-the-fray/ for a more detail.

Ultra Density Optical (UDO) - capacity of 30gb, generation 2 capacity of 60gb. Originally developed by Sony. ASTI currently sells and supports UDO technologies sold under the Plasmon brand

Stacked Volumetric Optical Disc (or SVOD)-developed by Hitachi/Maxell storage of circa 1TB.

5D DVD - Currently being developed in Australia with a theoretical limit of 100TB. Uses 3 lasers to read/write the disc instead of the current 1. See link below for more information

http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2009/05/22/tech-5d-storage-dvd-polarization-colours-3d-swinburne-chon-nature.html

For the sake of completeness other formats that have been used are GD-ROM (dreamcast console), UMD(sony psp) and Nintendo optical disc and WII optical disc for the respective consoles.

Footnote- Although there are many future formats in development BLU-RAY has such a large marketplace and with blue-ray development ongoing a lot of the other formats may never gain a foothold.