November 12, 2004. Copyright, 2004, Graphic News. All rights reserved

Discord over the future of DVD technology
by Mark Rutter

Future progress on increasing the amount of information that can be held on DVD could be hampered by the emergence of two rival formats.

Today's DVDs can hold up to 4.7 gigabytes (Gb) -- enough for 133 minutes of playback recorded television or film. Whereas they use a red laser, the two new formats employ a shorter wavelength blue laser to read and write to discs. This allows greater precision in focussing the laser spot, making it possible to store data closer together and in a smaller space. As a result, DVDs of the future will have 3- 5 times the recording capacity of present ones.

The increased disc capacity and faster data transfer rate available with blue light laser technology is ideally suited to recording and playback of high definition television (HDTV), whose popularity should increase in the next few years. It is highly compatible with digital broadcasts, allowing HDTV to be recorded directly onto disc without any loss of quality.

Of the two competing formats, HD-DVD, primarily the product of Toshiba and NEC, has the lower storage capacity of 15-20 Gb. As it resembles current disc format, its proponents argue that it will be easier to manufacture in existing factories and allow new drives to be compatible with older formats. The Blu-ray disc, being led by Sony and supported by twelve other electronic companies and PC manufacturers, will have a capacity of 23-27 Gb. However, it will probably be the more expensive option, as it will require new equipment to manufacture and furthermore will not be compatible with existing DVD formats.

This is likely to be a fight to the death. Both camps believe having two formats available will lead to confusion and loss of interest among consumers. Although combination drives recognising the different DVD formats, DVD+R/RW and DVD-R/RW, were eventually developed, this solution would be prohibitively expensive for blue laser technology and the drives too large to fit into a standard PC.

The outcome of the battle will depend on the versatility of any new system, as future high capacity DVDs will have to serve as a medium for computer storage and retail and rental films, as well as for home video purposes. As such, the support of the Hollywood film studios is expected to be crucial. The future then is far from blue for the winner, with DVD sales representing a huge and still growing market.

Blue laser systems have already begun to enter the market. Sony and Matsushita have Blu-ray DVD recorders for sale that can record TV programmes, while Toshiba has announced that it will launch HD-DVD players and recorders at the end of 2005. Whatever the eventual outcome, blue laser DVDs will not come onto the market in large numbers in the next few years. In fact, it is thought that they will only come into common use after 2010, reflecting both the current high costs of the technology and the demand for it.
/ENDS