That's right! I forgot.
DVD divorce.......................................
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Rewritable DVDs Caught In Format Fight
Players for read-only digital videodiscs are already on the market.
The divorce is now official, and both sides are sharpening their spears for another replay of Beta vs. VHS. Only this time, the battle is not over videocassette recorders, but rewritable digital-videodisc (DVD) drives.
The first generation of read-only DVD drives is already on the market, touting far more data-carrying capacity than the CD-ROM drives now ubiquitous in personal computers. But next-generation DVD players will be able to write data as well, and they are expected to sweep the PC industry as the medium of choice for large-volume data storage.
Unfortunately, the world's major electronics companies couldn't agree on a single industry standard, so consumers soon will be faced with two incompatible choices: DVD-RAM, supported by a group of companies including VHS champion Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., and DVD+RW, backed by a group including Beta pioneer Sony Corp.
Specs established
The DVD-RAM disc holds 2.6 gigabytes of data on a side, as specified in industry specifications ironed out by the DVD Forum last summer.
DVD Forum members include Matsushita, Hitachi Ltd., Mitsubishi Electric Corp., Pioneer Electronic Corp., Sony Corp., Toshiba Corp., Victor Co. of Japan (JVC), Philips Electronics NV of the Netherlands, Thomson Multimedia of France and Time Warner Inc. of the U.S.
In setting the specs, the DVD Forum intended DVD-RAM to be the heir apparent to the existing read-only DVD-ROM drives.
The first DVD-RAM products have already come to market. In April, Hitachi and Matsushita released DVD-RAM drives as external computer peripherals. And those companies together with Toshiba have also begun shipping samples of interval DVD-RAM drives to PC makers, hoping to see the drives included as part of the standard PC package, just as DVD-ROM drives are now standard in some PCs.
However, more PC makers are deciding to hold off on DVD-RAM drives, waiting to see how the new developments play out.
Not everyone was satisfied with the DVD-RAM specifications, and now the incompatible DVD+RW format is being touted by Sony and Philips together with Hewlett-Packard Co., Mitsubishi Chemical Corp., Ricoh Co. and Yamaha Corp.
DVD+RW is being promoted as the natural extension to the existing market for rewritable CD-ROMs. The new format is a "phase change" rewritable disc with 3-gigabyte capacity.
Hewlett-Packard plans to release DVD+RW drives as early as fall. Sony will supply the drives on an original-equipment-manufacturing basis, while Mitsubishi Chemical will supply the discs, making them in Singapore starting in July at a rate of 200,000 per month. Sony also plans to market the drives under its own name within the year.
The move by the Sony group to use the DVD namer for its phase-change disc format has produced a vehement reaction from DVD Forum members such as Toshiba, and they are studying whether they can legally block use of it. The Sony camp counters that DVD is a general name, not a product name.
Meanwhile, the two camps have agreed on standard formats for DVD-Video, DVD-ROMs and DVD-R, and have been working toward standardization of a commercial-use DVD format. But there is still disagreement on DVD-Audio, with very little sign that the groups will find a compromise soon.
The Sony-Philips camp is hoping to extend the life of compact discs. The DVD Forum, led by Toshiba and Matsushita, has already agreed on a format for DVD-Audio, with supporters such as JVC planning to release DVD-Audio products that adhere to the protocol within the year.
Sony and Philips, meanwhile, are promoting their own Super Audio CD format as the next-generation music medium, cooperating with Sharp Corp. and audio-equipment makers toward releasing products in this line next spring.
Higher capacity
Both formats offer as much as 600% more data capacity than conventional music CDs, good sound quality and the ability to store images and data. Aside from storing more data, however, the two formats are decidedly different.
Super Audio CDs will come with a data-recording layer identical to that of conventional music CDs and an additional large-data-capacity layer, making it possible to play the product for music only on ordinary CD players.
The insistence of Sony and Philips on producing their own format grows from their development of the current standards for music CDs and MiniDiscs and may also be motivated by their CD-related patent holdings.
"Sony and Philips are hoping to prolong the shelf life of CDs as a means of maintaining their income from licensing fees," an industry source said.
Toshiba and Matsushita are hoping, however, to take the lead in data-recording media by encouraging the transition to DVD products.
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