optical disc
noun
variants
or optical disk
plural optical discs or optical disks
: a disk with a plastic coating on which information (such as music, visual images, or computer data) is recorded digitally (as in the form of tiny pits) and which is read by using a laser
The PS5 is available in two versions. … At this point, people are happy to get their hands on either one, but if you don't have a library of optical discs—for Blu-ray movies, used games or old PS4 games—CNET recommends that you go with the $400 version.—
Dave Johnson
Dave JohnsonExamples of optical disc in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
As New Scientist explained on Wednesday, a diamond optical disc can store the same amount of information as roughly 2,000, same-sized Blu-rays.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 27 Nov. 2024
For the MacBook Air and other modern Macs that needed to read or burn optical discs, that clunky accessory was Apple's SuperDrive, an external DVD burner that connected via USB.
—Andrew Cunningham, Ars Technica, 7 Aug. 2024
But as physical media gets less lucrative and the shuttering of businesses makes optical discs harder to find, the streaming services that largely replaced them are getting aggravating and unreliable.
—Scharon Harding, Ars Technica, 11 July 2024
During the search, investigators seized two computers, a hard drive, an iPad and iPhone and 28 optical discs.
—Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 4 July 2024
It should also be noted that Sony is rumored to be working on a new PlayStation handheld that also runs games locally—a successor to the classic PlayStation Portable or PSP, which ran games off a little optical disc called the Universal Media Disc, and was available between 2004 and 2014.
—Ryan Hogg, Fortune, 10 June 2024
Contrast that to CDs, which digitally encode audio files onto optical discs that are translated back into sound via laser scanning.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 27 Mar. 2024
Now scientists in China have developed a way to encode data on 100 layers in optical discs.
—IEEE Spectrum, 23 Feb. 2024
Previously, scientists investigated encoding data on optical discs in many layers in three dimensions to boost their capacity.
—IEEE Spectrum, 23 Feb. 2024
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 27 Nov. 2024
For the MacBook Air and other modern Macs that needed to read or burn optical discs, that clunky accessory was Apple's SuperDrive, an external DVD burner that connected via USB.
—Andrew Cunningham, Ars Technica, 7 Aug. 2024
But as physical media gets less lucrative and the shuttering of businesses makes optical discs harder to find, the streaming services that largely replaced them are getting aggravating and unreliable.
—Scharon Harding, Ars Technica, 11 July 2024
During the search, investigators seized two computers, a hard drive, an iPad and iPhone and 28 optical discs.
—Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 4 July 2024
It should also be noted that Sony is rumored to be working on a new PlayStation handheld that also runs games locally—a successor to the classic PlayStation Portable or PSP, which ran games off a little optical disc called the Universal Media Disc, and was available between 2004 and 2014.
—Ryan Hogg, Fortune, 10 June 2024
Contrast that to CDs, which digitally encode audio files onto optical discs that are translated back into sound via laser scanning.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 27 Mar. 2024
Now scientists in China have developed a way to encode data on 100 layers in optical discs.
—IEEE Spectrum, 23 Feb. 2024
Previously, scientists investigated encoding data on optical discs in many layers in three dimensions to boost their capacity.
—IEEE Spectrum, 23 Feb. 2024
Dictionary Entries Near optical disc
Cite this Entry
“Optical disc.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/optical%20disc. Accessed 15 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share