An HD DVD drive is an optical storage mechanism that uses a 405-nanometer blue-violet laser to read high-density data platters. Originally developed to succeed standard DVDs, these drives feature tighter track pitches and specialized optics to handle up to 30 gigabytes of data per dual-layer disc. They are now obsolete hardware, occasionally salvaged for their laser diodes.
Heard on the job
I pulled a 405nm laser diode out of an old HD DVD drive to build a custom engraver.