Gateway delivers DVD

Gateway 2000 is now shipping desktop systems with built-in DVD drives, one of the first PC manufacturers to do so.

The Gateway G6-266XL will include a DVD drive as standard equipment. The drive will be an option available to purchasers of other Gateway G-Series Desktop systems. The G-Series line of systems employ Intel's Pentium MMX or Pentium II processors.

Using the DVD system, users can watch movies on their systems, or access data archives over seven times as large as those on a conventional CD-ROM.

The DVD, or digital versatile disc, is expected to be the successor to the CD-ROM as the dominant read-only storage medium. Looking much like the familiar audio or data CD-ROM, DVD discs can hold more data, and more kinds of data, than CD-ROMs.

As previously reported in CNET's NEWS.COM on July 1, Gateway's DVD implementation uses technology developed by Chromatic Research and Toshiba. Based on Chromatic's Mpact media processor, the system utilizes the main processor's MMX technology to play back full-screen, 30 frame-per-second video.

Although one of the first major commercial markets for DVD will center upon the sale of major motion pictures for home viewing, the disks are also likely to become a favorite choice for video game makers and other computer developers needing to unite large amounts of video, audio, and application data in their products.

Gateway's G6-266XL with DVD costs $4,599, and includes a 266 MHz Pentium II processor, 64MB of memory, a 9GB hard disk drive, and advanced audio.