DVD Forum approves blue laser format
According to Japan’s Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper, the 220-strong DVD Forum of electronics makers and movie studios has adopted a next-generation recording format based on blue laser diode technology.
The format, which has been advocated by the Japanese firms NEC and Toshiba, is a rival to the Blu-ray disc format already being marketed by fellow electronics manufacturer Sony.
The NEC-Toshiba standard is designed to record high-definition digital broadcasts. Unlike Blu-ray, the format is said to be compatible with existing DVD drives. According to the developers, it will be able to record two hours of high-resolution broadcasts onto a disc.
With approval from the Forum, Toshiba will start marketing a backwards-compatible high-definition DVD (HD-DVD) recorder in December 2004. NEC plans to begin selling HD-DVD drives for PCs in late 2005.
