Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Media Asset Storage: it's in our DNA

31/03/2020

-- --

SCREEN AFRICA EXCLUSIVE:

When it comes to the storage of media assets (or any data, for that matter), whether it's online or up on the cloud, there's no doubt that the immediate future of data storage remains magnetic tape. Recent technological advancements have given new life to hard drives, but when it comes to long-term archiving of assets, the tape or hard drive of the future could be something very old, something that everyone has inside them: DNA.

The first commercial digital-tape storage system, IBM's Model 726, could store about 1.1 megabytes on one reel of tape. Today, a modern LTO tape cartridge can hold 30 terabytes. Meanwhile, a single robotic tape library can contain up to 556 petabytes of data. While tape doesn't offer the fast read/write speeds of hard drives, the medium's advantages are many.

For starters, tape is reliable, with error rates four to five orders of magnitude lower than those of hard drives. They are energy efficient: once all the data has been written, the tape cartridge simply sits in a slot in a tape library without consuming any power until it's needed again. And tape is very secure, with built-in, on-the-fly encryption and if a cartridge isn't mounted in a drive, the data cannot be accessed or modified. The main reason why tape is so popular is simple economics. Tape storage costs one-sixth the amount you'd have to pay to keep the same amount of data on disks, which is why you find tape systems almost any place where massive amounts of data are being stored.

But, as mentioned, tape is slow, and so the development of hard drive technology continues. The longevity of hard disks, and the rapid rise of solid-state drives (SSDs), can be attributed to a continual improvement process to minimise the drawbacks of tape technology. The hard disk game changed dramatically in 2005 with perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR), where, broadly speaking, magnetised bits stand perpendicular to the head of the hard disk platter instead of lying down, making room for more bits. However, after years of data density improvements using PMR (densities doubled between 2009 and 2015), researchers are once again hitting the physical limits: each magnetic bit' is becoming too small to reliably hold its data, increasing the potential for corruption.

Shingled magnetic recording (SMR), introduced by Seagate in 2014, is one way to fit more data on a disk's platter. In an SMR disk, when the write head writes a data track, the new track will overlap part of the previously written track, reducing its width and meaning more tracks can fit on a platter. The thinner track can still be read, as read heads can be physically thinner than write heads. Western Digital launched a 15TB SMR hard drive in 2018 targeting data centres, with plans to increase the capacity per rack by up to 60TB soon.

The next big thing is two-dimensional magnetic recording (TDMR). This is another Seagate technology, and aims to solve the problem of reading data from tightly packed hard disk tracks, where the read head picks up interference from tracks around the one being read. TDMR disks use multiple read heads to pick up data from several tracks at a time, then work out which data is needed, turning the noise into useful data that can be analysed and then discarded when not required. 14 and 16TB TDMR drives came onto the market in 2019.

The multiple read heads of TDMR disks can improve read speeds, but to improve write speeds while increasing data density you need to move away from SMR to the latest hard disk technology: heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR). This aims to overcome the compromise of SMR by changing the material of the hard disk platter, to one where each bit will maintain its magnetic data integrity at a smaller size. As HAMR's name implies, the solution is to use a laser to heat up part of the hard disk platter before the data is written. This lowers the material's coercivity enough for the data to be written, before the heated section cools and the coercivity rises again to make the data secure. HAMR has the potential to increase hard disk density tenfold.

Therefore, both hard drive and magnetic tape technologies work for the storage and retrieval of data assets but the trouble is that technology is battling to keep up with the continual flood of data currently being generated, and forecast to be generated in the future. What's the solution? The hard drive of the future could actually be something very old, something that is inside every person reading this: DNA.

Deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, is the molecule that dictates how an organism develops. DNA can also hold a staggering amount of information: 215 petabytes (1 petabyte is about 100 million gigabytes) of data on a single gram. Just as impressive is its longevity. Traditional mediums like magnetic tape and flash memory tend to degrade, whether through repeated use or simply time. DNA degrades, too, but at a significantly slower rate: depending on the storage conditions, it can last thousands, or even tens of thousands, of years.

The idea of storing data on DNA was proposed back in the 1960s by Soviet scientist Mikhail Neiman. In the decades since, researchers have made great strides in making it achievable - though at a price. Currently, the most cost-effective DNA storage technique costs about US$3,500 per MB to write the data and US$1,000 per MB to read it, so don't retire your LTO or hard drive array just yet.

DNA's storage capabilities, however, are intriguing and have huge potential for computing in the future. For years, technology roughly followed the path laid out by Moore's Law, which stated that every two years or so, we could double the number of transistors that fit on a microchip. However, computer chips have become so small these day
LINK: https://www.screenafrica.com/2020/03/31/technology/storage-asset-manag...
See more stories from screenafrica

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

02/06/2026

Case Study: Tennis Channel Transitions From Satellite to IP Distribution With LTN

Tennis Channel has completed a transition from satellite-based distribution to a...

02/06/2026

Daktronics Announces 2026 High School Video Summit for June 23-24

Daktronics has announced the 2026 High School Video Summit, a two-day educational event for high school educators and student production teams, taking place Jun...

02/06/2026

Fandango to Screen Telemundos FIFA World Cup 2026 Coverage at 160 Theaters Nationwide

Fandango will bring Telemundo's live Spanish-language coverage of the FIFA W...

02/06/2026

AWSN Announces Broadcast Schedule for Inaugural Professional Softball League Season

All Women's Sports Network (AWSN) has announced the live television schedule...

02/06/2026

Spalk Announces Partnerships with Ligue 1, Euroleague, and LNB

Spalk, a cloud-based multilingual commentary and production platform, has announced three new partnerships: Ligue 1 (English and Portuguese highlights), Eurolea...

02/06/2026

NHL Network Announces Stanley Cup Final Programming Schedule

NHL Network's 2026 Stanley Cup Final coverage began June 1 with NHL Tonight: Stanley Cup Final Media Day from the Carolina Hurricanes' Lenovo Center at ...

02/06/2026

Matrox Video Launches Maevex MGX Series IPMX-Ready AV-over-IP Encoders and Decoders

Matrox Video has announced the Maevex MGX Series, a lineup of IPMX-ready video e...

02/06/2026

Marshall Electronics to Exhibit IP Camera Lineup at InfoComm 2026

Marshall Electronics will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth C7521), showcasing a lineup of 4K and HD compact POV cameras for corporate, education, hospitality, wo...

02/06/2026

PAMA and Shure Extend Deadline for Mark Brunner Professional Audio Scholarship to June 15

The Professional Audio Manufacturers Alliance (PAMA) and Shure Incorporated have...

02/06/2026

MultiDyne To Debut FiberSaver-10G and New VersaBrix Frame Options at InfoComm 2026

MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth C50...

02/06/2026

Advanced Systems Group Promotes Joe Marchitto to Western Regional CTO

Advanced Systems Group (ASG) has announced the promotion of Joe Marchitto to Western Regional CTO. In his new role, Marchitto will oversee system design across ...

02/06/2026

Brothers Osborne To Perform Free Concert Outside Lenovo Center Before Stanley Cup Final Game 1

The NHL has announced that Brothers Osborne will headline a free outdoor concert...

02/06/2026

CP Communications Names First Female Executives in Company History

CP Communications has announced the appointment of its first two female executives in the company's 40-year history. Tabitha Coleman has been named Vice Pre...

02/06/2026

Lighting Design Group Designs Broadcast Studio for Yahoo at 770 Broadway

The Lighting Design Group (LDG) has announced the completion of Studio C at Yahoo's headquarters at 770 Broadway in Manhattan. The studio launched April 24 ...

02/06/2026

Zee Entertainment Acquires FIFA Media Rights for India Through 2034

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (Z) has announced a partnership with FIFA to broadcast FIFA World Cup 2026, FIFA World Cup 2030, FIFA Women's World Cup 2...

02/06/2026

Behind The Mic: Prime Sports UK Shares On Air Roster for NBA Finals; and More

Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, including new deals, departures, and assignments compiled from press releases and repo...

02/06/2026

Auburn Universitys Parker Leppien on the Nonstop Growth of War Eagle Productions

The department is broadcasting NCAA Baseball Super Regionals at Plainsman Park this weekend Broadcast and production crews at Division I institutions are busy ...

02/06/2026

With Stanley Cup Final Set To Begin, NHL and Honeywell Lay Foundation for Energy-Efficient Venues

The initiative is extends beyond the league's arenas to team training rinks,...

02/06/2026

Release Rundown: What to Watch in June, From Leviticus to The Invite

Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Pen lope Cruz, and Edward Norton appear in The Invite by Olivia Wilde, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. (Co...

02/06/2026

Scaler Music launch Carbon Electra 2

Musically intelligent soft synth gets upgraded Scaler Music will be probably be best known to many for their music theory tools, but their product range al...

02/06/2026

Klevgrand introduce Altitude

Powerful new vocal-production tool announced Described as a vocal performance station , Klevgrand's latest plug-in combines pitch-correction with harmo...

02/06/2026

McDSP introduce DC-2 Dual Compressor for APB

Launched alongside Go Green sale extension McDSP have just released the latest addition to their APB line-up, DC-2 Dual Compressor, and have also announced ...

02/06/2026

Ableton announce Extensions SDK

Create custom tools for Ableton Live 12 Suite Ableton have just introduced a new open JavaScript toolkit that allows anyone to create their own custom tools...

02/06/2026

Eventide unveil the H9 Harmonizer Gen 2

Now features full H90 algorithm library Eventide have announced the upcoming launch of the H9 Harmonizer Gen 2, a new and improved version of their hugely p...

02/06/2026

Universal Audio release UAD Topline Vocal Tune

Plus UAD Half Yearly Sale now live The latest arrival to the Universal Audio range delivers a new native pitch-correction plug-in that's capable of deli...

02/06/2026

BTL Laboratory becomes Taiwan's first test house with a CTIA Certification compliant OTA test system by Rohde & Schwarz

BTL Laboratory becomes Taiwan's first test house with a CTIA Certification c...

02/06/2026

Cobalt Digital to Showcase End-to-End IPMX Ecosystem at InfoComm 2026, Making ST 2110 Easy for Pro AV

blueCORE standalone processors headline solutions designed to simplify the trans...

02/06/2026

Monetizing the Archive: How Cantemo's JIT Playback Eliminates the Proxy Bottleneck

If you've kept up with this article series, you know by now where to start w...

02/06/2026

Calrec Scales ImPulseV for Greater Choice in Virtualised Workflows

With new DSP configurations and flexible licensing options, Calrec is removing the barriers to virtualised audio, giving broadcasters the freedom to scale produ...

02/06/2026

Marketing Architects Expands Relationship With Nielsen To Include Integration of Media Data Engine on a National Level

The TV agency was one of the earliest adopters of Nielsen's local television...

02/06/2026

Riedel Networks Taps Gudrun Scharler as CEO

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

02/06/2026

Grass Valley Enables Sky News Australia s Cloud-First New...

Grass Valley today announced that Australian News Channel (ANC), operator of Sky News Australia, has deployed Grass Valley AMPP to transform its newsroom produc...

02/06/2026

STUDIO TECHNOLOGIES INTRODUCES NEW MODEL 385 MIC INTERCOM...

Studio Technologies, a leading manufacturer of high-quality audio, video, and fiber-optic solutions, announces its new Model 385 Mic/Intercom Beltpack. The Mode...

02/06/2026

Gudrun Scharler Appointed CEO of Riedel Networks

The Riedel Group today announced the appointment of Gudrun Scharler as CEO of Riedel Networks. She succeeds Michael Martens, who has led Riedel Networks since 2...

02/06/2026

Magewell Levels-Up All-in-One Content Production with Lau...

More signals, higher quality, and outstanding ingest and streaming flexibility deliver professional results in a small, all-in-one footprint...

02/06/2026

Modena Showcases farmerswife at Mediatech 2026

farmerswife will be featured on the Modena Media & Entertainment stand at this year's Mediatech Africa 2026, giving visitors an opportunity to explore the l...

02/06/2026

PTZOptics showcases intelligent video ecosystem at InfoCo...

PTZOptics will showcase a new generation of intelligent video workflows at InfoComm 2026, June 17 19, Las Vegas. Visitors to booth N8227 will see how PTZOptics ...

02/06/2026

Roku Launches the Roku Soccer Zone

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

02/06/2026

FCC Sets Deadlines for Comments in ABC License Renewals

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

02/06/2026

Studio Technologies Introduces Model 385 Beltpack

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

02/06/2026

Gerald Jerry Pierce, Architect of Modern Digital Cinema, Dies at 73

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

02/06/2026

VEON Closes USD 1.4 Billion Bond Offering, Refinancing 2027 Notes Ahead of Schedule

02 Jun 2026 VEON Closes USD 1.4 Billion Bond Offering, Refinancing 2027 Notes A...

02/06/2026

The Marlow Murder Club returns for a fourth series on U

Praise for series three: The Times - sun-dappled pleasure The Daily Mail - The Homes Counties' Charlie's Angels The Sun - 4* this [is an] enjoya...

02/06/2026

Gudrun Scharler Appointed CEO of Riedel Networks

Wuppertal June 2, 2026 Gudrun Scharler Appointed CEO of Riedel Networks The Riedel Group today announced the appointment of Gudrun Scharler as CEO of Riedel N...

02/06/2026

Discover Your Next Book-to-Screen Obsession With Our New Dedicated Hub

Back to All News Discover Your Next Book-to-Screen Obsession With Our New Dedicated Hub Product 02 June 2026 Global Link copied to clipboard Dear most vor...

02/06/2026

New LinkedIn Data: 90% of C-Suite Leaders are Continuously ...

New LinkedIn Data: 90% of C-Suite Leaders are Continuously Building Skills to Lead in the AI Era Published on Jun 2, 2026 Categories: Data and insights Lin...