Pioneer to Unveil Third Optical Disk Specification
October 24, 1997 (TOKYO) -- Pioneer Electronic Corp.
plans to disclose a third specification for a next-generation
rewritable optical disk with a large capacity as early as November
1997, according to industry sources.
DVD-RAM and Phase-Change Rewritable are the two specifications
that already have been proposed.
The new specification, tentatively called DVD-ER, has the same track
pitch, recording marking length and rotation control method as the
DVD-R. The use of phase-change metal materials as its recording layer
can make it rewritable.
Pioneer, as head of a working group for firming the DVD-R's specs,
commercialized DVD-R drives ahead of other companies.
Although details of the DVD-ER specification are not known, there is a
possibility that the DVD-ER also will be read by first-generation
DVD-ROM drives, just as the DVD-R can be read by current
DVD-ROM drives.
Its capacity is likely to be 3.95GB, which is the same as that of the
DVD-R. There also is a possibility that its capacity will be 4.7GB, the
same as the DVD-ROM's.
Only grooves are used as its recording method, and address
information is marked on its land by pits. Users use pit addresses on the
land only at the time of writing data, and do not have to look at them at
the time of reading it.
The price of its drives is expected to be high for a laser, with a
wavelength of 635nm to be used to write data.
Related stories: Pioneer Starts Manufacture of DVD-R Drive Pioneer
to Introduce DVD-R Drive Product DVD Forum to Firm Up 4.7GB
DVD-R Standard Sony, Philips Propose Rewritable DVD Format
(Nikkei Byte) |
