Manufacturers Announce Next Gen Combo DVD Drives
December 31, 2004
Tokyo, Japan - Temperatures in the competing high definition DVD formats continues to rise with the announcement of new drives with targeted backwards-compatibility.
NEC Corporation has reported development of technology capable of playing back HD DVDs, DVDs, and CDs with a single optical head. Meanwhile, JVC says its has developed the world's first Blu-ray/DVD combo ROM disc technology.
Blu-ray and HD DVD offer dramatically increased storage capacities (30+ GB) per disc, using new blue light lasers, enough for high definition content. But the two formats are proprietary, and until now, neither have been described as compatible with existing DVD technology, built around red light lasers.
Victor Company of Japan, Ltd. (JVC) announced that it has developed Blu-ray/DVD combo disc technology, which opens the way for the emergence of video releases containing content in both Blu-ray and DVD formats on a single disc. The new combo disc, which has a total storage capacity of 33.5GB (25GB BD-ROM, 8.5GB DVD), uses a triple layer structure made possible by the development of a proprietary high-performance reflective film that reflects the blue laser used for Blu-ray, but is transparent to the red laser used for DVDs, the company describes.
JVC will forward a proposal to the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) to have the technology accepted as a specification for future commercialization. The company is also working on a Blu-ray/DVD combo disc with an even larger 58.5GB (50GB BD-ROM, 8.5GB DVD) storage capacity.
The main features of the NEC prototype drive include:
Three wavelength compatible head, for blue, red and infrared laser diodes;
Three generation compatible LSI overcomes physical difference between CD, DVD and HD DVD; and
Half-size physaical format for installation into desktop PCs.
The development of drive firmware technology, system LSI technology and HD DVD/DVD/CD-compatible optical head technology enables realization of a compact HD DVD drive and its ease of incorporation into personal computers.
NEC and Toshiba have proposed the HD DVD format, which has blue LDs as its light source, to the DVD Forum, based on the concept that compatibility with present DVD discs, which has spread rapidly, is of great importance for the spread of next-generation optical discs capable of recording and playing back high-definition video.
NEC, along with Memory-Tech Corporation, SANYO Electric Co., Ltd. and Toshiba Corporation, are currently making progress with preparations to get the HD DVD Promotion Group underway in order to aid the spread of these formats, and it is expanding its activities such as collaborative promotion at exhibitions etc.
In order to realize compatibility with current discs, such as CDs and DVDs, a large number of parts are required resulting in a large-sized drive. To date this has been one of the major challenges to overcome. NEC's new development realizes a small, slim HD DVD drive, which can read and write three-generations of optical discs, HD DVDs, DVDs and CDs, with a single optical head, the company reports. NEC will continue advancing and accelerating its development toward commercialization of the HD DVD drive, in turn contributing to the spread of the HD DVD format.
For more information, visit
www.nec.com
or
www.jvc-victor.co.jp
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