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| Media type | Optical disc |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 23GB per layer |
| Read mechanism | 405 nmdiode laser |
| Write mechanism | 405 nm diode laser with a focused beam using more power than for reading |
| Developed by | Sony |
| Dimensions | |
| Usage | Data storage |
| Extended from | DVD |
| Extended to | Blu-ray |
| Released | 2003; 22 years ago (2003) |
Professional Disc (PFD) is adigital recordingoptical disc format introduced bySony in 2003 primarily forXDCAM, itstapeless camcorder system. It was one of the first optical formats to utilize ablue laser, which allowed for a higher density of data to be stored on optical media compared to infrared laser technology used in theCD and red laser technology used in theDVD format.
PFD uses a 405nm wavelength and anumerical aperture (NA) of 0.85 for the laser, allowing 23GB of data to be stored on one 12 cm disc – the equivalent to nearly five single-layer DVDs, and a 1x speed data transfer rate of 88Mbit/s for reading and 72 Mbit/s for writing. After the 23 GB disc was released, a dual-layer 50 GB was developed and released.
This format is sometimes confused with theBlu-ray Disc format, another optical disc format using blue-violet lasers and supported by Sony. Even the PFD's caddy and Blu-ray's original caddy (later dropped) looked very similar. Capabilities differ; single-layer PFD discs have a capacity of 23 GB whereas Blu-ray discs can store 25 GB. However, Blu-ray discs currently allow a 2x data transfer rate of 72 Mbit/s – lower than PFD. This is because PFD discs use much higher quality media and drives use higher quality components, making them prohibitively expensive for the consumer segment to which Blu-ray is aimed. PFD discs can have a capacity of up to 100 GB for rewritable discs, and 128 GB for write-once discs.[1]
| Disc size (GB) | Disc color | Layers of disc | Storage time (minutes record using HD42250 Mbit/s) | Properties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | Black | Single | 45 | Rewritable |
| 50 | Red | Dual | 90 | Rewritable |
| 100 | Yellow | Triple | 180 | Rewritable |
| 128 | White | Quad | 240 | Write once |
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The PFD format is used as the recording medium in Sony'sXDCAM professional video devices, both for standard definition and high definition applications.
Professional Disc for DATA (PDD orProDATA) was a general-use recording media variant of PFD, aimed primarily at small and medium-sized enterprise for data archival andbackup. PDD drives and media became available in mid-2004. The BW-RS101 externalSCSI-3 drive originally retailed in theUK at £2,344 (excl.VAT) directly from Sony, and 23 GB write-once and re-writeable media retailed for £30 each. Two other drives – the BW-F101/A internalSCSI drive and the BW-RU101 externalUSB 2.0 drive also became available around the same time.
On March 31, 2007, Professional Disc for DATA reached their "end of life".[2] PFD are still being manufactured and used in Sony XDCAM devices. Sony states that PDD and PFD media are not compatible,[citation needed] but does not specify the exact differences between products.
Sony's PDW-U1 Professional Disc drive is an external drive that connects via USB 2.0 to Windows or Mac OS X computers using the included free software from Sony. In a firmware and software upgrade in late July 2009, Sony added the ability for computer users to store any computer files on the Professional Disc into the dedicated "User Data" folder.[citation needed]
