Toshiba, Memory-Tech unveil new disc

In an effort to ease the transition to higher-capacity disc technology, Toshiba and Memory-Tech have developed a dual-layer disc that supports DVD and HD DVD formats.

A smooth shift from the old technology should make it as convenient as possible for consumers and device manufacturers to upgrade from DVDs to the next-generation DVD format without having to toss their old discs.

The companies announced the joint development and detailed the new disc's capabilities Tuesday in Tokyo. The disc will be single-sided, with the upper layer storing up to 4.7GB of data in the DVD format and the lower layer holding 15GB of HD DVD data.

Memory-Tech will produce the read-only discs. Manufacturing costs will be comparable to those of single-sided, dual-layer DVDs or HD DVDs. The discs are expected to reach stores in late 2005, as are HD DVD players.

The new disc is part of an effort to ease the conversion from the popular DVD format to higher capacity, blue-laser specifications. With increased disc capacities, high-definition content--as well as new features such as interactive content and sound tracks--can be added to discs.

A fluid transition is also key to the continued success of movies on DVDs, a multibillion-dollar business for studios.

The new technology "will help the industry to make a smooth transition from the current DVD business to the next-generation DVD business without interfering with current DVD business growth," Memory-Tech CEO Shiroharu Kawasaki said in a statement.

Two blue-laser technologies, HD DVD and Blu-ray, are being promoted as DVD successors. Toshiba and NEC are leading the HD DVD efforts, with Sony and PC makers such as Dell and Hewlett-Packard stumping for Blu-ray.

Last week, the HD DVD camp got a significant boost when several major studios, including Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures, said movies would come out on HD DVDs starting late next year.

[AlecWest]

The next bubble to burst?

Finally, DVD players have reached a price-point where most people can afford them. And, DVD recorders are reaching a price-point that threatens the future of VHS recorders. Industry's answer to that? Create a new DVD format to make the old format obsolete.

This is typical. From vinyl to 8-track, 8-track to cassette, cassette to CD, and CD to DVD, the home electronics industry has been steadily nudging us toward the next new thing. But this time around, there's a difference ... and Toshiba and film studios are proceeding cautiously. While they may say they're putting DVD content on one side of the disk and HD-DVD content on the other to encourage people to make the format transition, I suspect there's another reason ... that they're worried the consumer will not make the leap.

No, I'm not saying people don't want the next best thing. They always do. What I am saying is that earning power in the U.S. is eroding. Blue collar jobs are being relocated overseas and the jobs replacing them pay less ... all at a time when costs for energy, health care, and God knows what else are going up. So, while white collar earners might be able to afford this upcoming new format, a lot of blue collar earners are hanging onto their VCRs ... not wanting to upgrade to a DVD format they know the industry plans to sunset.

It's also well to note that, all the while, when those who can afford the technology are salivating over the possibility of being the first on their block to have it, the industry remains in motion. And deep in the bowels of Toshiba's R&D department (and other R&D departments), they're surely working on the "UD-DVD" format that will make HD-DVD obsolete ... and possibly even laying the groundwork for the successor to UD-DVD.

[AlecWest]

P.S.

I'm speaking as a person who, back in the early seventies, laid out a considerable amount of money on what the industry told me was the next new thing - Quadraphonic Stereo. I bought the SQ decoders from Sony to cover the SQ technology offerings and a JVC 4-channel receiver/amp with four speakers to handle it ... as well as the Discrete technology JVC championed. And as we all know, SQ and Discrete quadraphonic stereo technology now rests in the graveyard of home entertainment systems. The consumer didn't "jump" back then ... and it's possible they won't "jump" now either.