The publisher has unveiled "Project Silica", a glass disc only 2 mm thick that can store large amounts of data. To demonstrate his process, Microsoft worked with Warner Bros. and backed up the 1978 Superman on one of his records.
The preservation of Hollywood heritage has been a problem for many years for studios. Most copies are film and celluloid is a highly flammable material that deteriorates over time.
With Project Silica, Microsoft may have come up with an answer to this heritage problem. The publisher has just presented a glass storage disc, a very small size of 7.5 cm x 7.5 cm x 2 mm, compared to that of a reel of film that takes up a lot of space in the archives.
The preservation of Hollywood heritage has been a problem for many years for studios. Most copies are film and celluloid is a highly flammable material that deteriorates over time.
Studios face the challenge of archiving a century of movies
The restoration work is long and costly, and if some great masterpieces enjoy special care, some of the film production dating back to the first half of the twentieth century could disappear in the years to come.With Project Silica, Microsoft may have come up with an answer to this heritage problem. The publisher has just presented a glass storage disc, a very small size of 7.5 cm x 7.5 cm x 2 mm, compared to that of a reel of film that takes up a lot of space in the archives.
Support thought to cross the ages
The data is encoded in the disk using an infrared laser in the form of voxels, ie 3D pixels that contain several bits of information. Discs can also contain many layers, up from a maximum of two today for Blu-Ray or DVDs.The main advantage of this new storage medium is its longevity. Microsoft claims to have tested its system to the fullest, plunging its disk into boiling water or after a few minutes in the microwave without damaging it.
Project Silica, therefore, ticks all the boxes to be the archiving medium of tomorrow. Microsoft turned to Warner Bros. for a first test and the company backed up the Superman of 1978, directed by Richard Donner. The 75.6 GB file is now stored on a 74 layer disc, and readable by shining a light through the glass and analyzing the reflections using microscopic readers.
This first test paves the way for greater collaboration between the majors and Microsoft, which is now looking to create a simpler reading and writing system, similar to a Blu-Ray burner.
Source: Engadget
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