There are around 25,000 Blu-ray movies; find out how to store a hypothetical complete library of these extracted discs in a small suitcase.
The use of tapes remains the most cost-effective option for transporting extremely large amounts of data.
Since the Blu-ray format gained popularity about 20 years ago, more than 25,000 movies have been released on this medium. This raises the question of how to efficiently store so many discs in a limited space. Assuming each movie takes up an average of 40 GB, approximately 1 PB of storage would be required.
In total, 25,000 discs weigh over 900 pounds (about 411 kg), which is impractical for transport. In comparison, a petabyte of content could be stored on 500 2 TB microSD cards, costing around $85,000 and weighing just over 1.2 kg. If 1 TB cards were used, the price would drop to about $45,000, but the challenge would be organizing 1,000 cards the size of a small nail.
Storage options include:
- MicroSD Cards:
- Teamgroup 2TB: $189.99
- Sandisk Ultra 1.5TB: $107.46
- Teamgroup Go 1TB: $59.99
- Teamgroup Go 512GB: $28.99
- Hard Drives:
- Seagate Expansion 24TB: $335.43
- Seagate Expansion 26TB: $372.91
- Seagate Expansion 28TB: $407.54
- SSDs:
- Patriot P210 2x2TB SSD: $159.99
- Silicon Power A58 2TB SSD: $79.99
- Silicon Power A55 4TB SSD: $175.99
- Tape:
- Fujifilm LTO-8: $57.84
- HPE LTO-8: $57.78
- HPE LTO-9: $86.68
An attractive alternative is external hard drives. A 24 TB HDD costs around $335, so 42 of these would be needed, resulting in a total weight of about 48 kg and a volume of just over 39 liters. For SSDs, SATA versions can cost as little as $40 per TB, totaling nearly $40,000 with an approximate weight of 100 kg.
For more compact storage, LTO-8 tapes could be considered, requiring 84 cartridges, each with a capacity of 12 TB. The total cost would be $4,754 and the weight would be 17 kg. Moreover, their size (21.5 x 105.4 x 102 mm) would allow them to be carried in a small suitcase.
The use of data tapes remains preferred for long-term storage due to their reliability. For instance, Fujifilm offers a lifetime warranty on their tapes, ensuring they can last at least 30 years. Transferring 1 PB of data could take up to 32 continuous days.
In summary, for less than $10,000, it would be possible to store nearly all the Blu-ray movies produced to date in a small space, like a suitcase. Additionally, it is expected that by the end of this decade, SSDs may offer capacities of 1 PB, although at an uncertain cost.
