Sony's 12-Inch Optical Disc: The 1992 Storage Giant That Seemed Impossible

Look at this thing. A 12-inch optical disc from Sony, created in 1992. It's massive compared to what we're used to.

The disc comes in a protective case for transport - you can see it right at the start. Here's what made it special: it stored data on both sides, with 6.55 GB per side. That's over 13 GB total.

In 1992, this storage capacity seemed like science fiction. Most people were still using floppy disks that held 1.44 MB. This Sony disc could store about 9,000 times more data than a standard floppy.

The Reality Check

Think about the context. CD-ROMs were just becoming common, holding 650 MB. This disc had 20 times that capacity. Hard drives at the time typically maxed out around 500 MB to 1 GB for consumer machines.

Sony was pushing the limits of what optical storage could do. The physical size allowed for more data density and better laser precision. The double-sided design was clever - flip it over and you doubled your storage.

Why It Didn't Take Over

The disc never became mainstream. Size was the problem. It was too big for standard drives, too fragile for casual handling, and too expensive to manufacture at scale. The industry moved toward smaller formats like DVD, which offered good capacity in a more practical package.

But it showed what was possible. Sometimes the "insane" ideas teach us what works and what doesn't.