Second Generation DVD-RAM Standard
Ratified
June 8, 1999
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA, Newsbytes via
NewsEdge Corporation : The standard for
next-generation DVD-RAM disks capable of
holding 4.7 gigabytes of data per side -
double the current capacity - was ratified
late Friday during a DVD working group
meeting in South Korea.
The meeting, hosted on Thursday and Friday
by Samsung Electronics at its Digital Media
Research Laboratory, brought together
representatives of the 44 companies that are
members of Working Group 5 (WG5) of the
International DVD Steering Committee
including Hitachi, Matsushita, Toshiba, Sony
and Thompson.
With the approval of the standard, drive and
disk makers will be able to begin producing
products for the new standard, which will
enable a maximum of 9.4 gigabytes of data
to be stored on each disk. The standard
includes provisions to ensure first generation
DVD-RAM disks, which store 2.4 gigabytes
per side or 4.7 gigabytes per disk, can be
used in the new drives.
In anticipation of the standardization,
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd.
[TOKYO:6752] announced plans for a second
generation drive on May 25. It developed
new high density recording methods and a
new optical pick-up for the drive to enable
the higher density storage system.
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