Sony, MSFT, Hewlett-Packard, Philips Electronics, Mitsubishi Chemical?? What a line-up!
Sony tells of DVD alternative
By Reuters
Sony
Special to CNET News.com
September 4, 1997, 2:25 p.m. PT
TOKYO--Sony Computer and five other companies today announced their own standard for large-capacity, rewritable data storage
discs for computers and digital versatile disc (DVD) players.
The new disc, called Phase-Change Rewritables, will be supported by Hewlett-Packard, Philips Electronics, Mitsubishi Chemical,
Ricoh, and Yamaha, Sony said.
Sony said the disk would not be compatible with DVD-RAMs, a similar rewritable disc technology announced earlier this year by
a group of 10 major electronic equipment makers, including Sony and Philips. DVD-RAMs are due to hit the market at the end of
this year.
The disc will be able to store 3.0GB of information on a single side, compared with DVD-RAM's 2.6GB, Sony said.
Sony plans to put the new disc on the market in the first half of next year, but the launch date will vary among the six firms, a
Sony spokesman said.
DVD-RAM standards have been a contentious issue since the specification was finalized in April. Last month, Sony abandoned
the format and announced its plan to create a new recordable DVD storage technology along with Phillips Electronics,
Hewlett-Packard, and other partners.
The same week, NEC announced its own plan to bring to market next year a disk technology that would eclipse the competition
with 5.2GB of storage. |
