What is Optical Disk?
Optical Disk is a secondary storage device. Optical Disk is a computer disk which uses optical storage technology to read and write data. This computer storage disk uses laser beam technology to read and write the data and store it digitally. And optical disks was first developed in the late 1960s. And the first optical disc was invented by James T.Russell.
CD (Compact Disk), DVD (Digital Versatile Disks) are the most commonly used forms of optical disks. And these disks are generally used to store large amounts of data like audio, video, images, also used to transfer data from one computer to other computer devices and distribution of software.
Optical Disc can store more data and these disk have longer lifespan than the preceding generation of magnetic storage devices. CD writer and DVD writer drive are used to read and write the data. And Optical Disk consist of a flat, circular disc made of plastic or glass.
Types of Optical Disk
There are multiple types of optical media and these types are:
CD-ROM
It is a type of compact disc which is read-only. It means that CD-ROM can only read the data but cannot written to it or modified. Typically it can hold up to 700MB of data.
DVD-ROM
It is a type of Digital Versatile Disc which is read-only similar to CD-ROMs. Which means in DVD-ROM data can be only read but not written or modified. And DVD-ROM offer a higher storage capacity as compared to CD-ROM. Typically it DVD-ROM's storage range is from 4.7GB to 9GB.
Blu-ray
Blu-Ray is a high-definition optical disc which is used for storing and playing back digital media. Like DVD-ROM it also offer a higher storage capacity. But it offer a higher storage capacity compared to DVDs. And Blu-ray storage capacity range is from 25GB to 50GB.
Optical Disk Advantages and Disadvantages
Advantages
1. High Capacity: Optical disks offers a high storage capacity. And specially Blue-ray provides a high storage capacity compared to other disks.
2. Portability: Optical Disks are portable which means that these can transported easily from one place to another place.
3. Durability: Optical Disks are less affected by physical damage then magnetic storage media.
4. Cost: Optical disks are created using aluminum foils and plastics, which makes manufacturing cost less expensive and because of this optical disk are less expensive.
5. Stability: In optical disk high level of stability is provided.
Disadvantages
1. Data Access: Accessing data in optical disks are generally slower than hard-disk drives (HDD) or solid-state drives (SSD).
2. Vulnerability to Scratches: Scratches or damage on the disk surface can lead data loss or corruption.
3. Limited Rewriteability: Optical Disks, CD and DVD formats have limited rewrite cycles which affects their lifetime.
4. Reliability: Optical disks can be caused to damage if their is any plastic casings. Which make the disk unreadable and the stored data on an optical disk cannot be recovered anymore.
