The DVD forum organized the "DVD Forum Japan Conference 2005" on Thursday. Industry sposkmen presented the progrees that had been made in HD DVD standardization, introduced the updated format roadmap and also unveiled that the upcoming HD DVD Video titles may not be regionally restricted as in the case of DVD Video.
According to the DVD Forum, the standardization of the HD DVD-ROM/-R/RW and
the HD DVD hybrid disks has been completed, as well as for the 8cm HD
DVD-ROM. Note that the HD DVD-R is a write once disc, while the HD DVD-RW is more aligned
with DVD-RAM media, since it will be a Random Access medium featuring
defect management algorithms in order to offer data storage reliability.
The hybrid disks consist of two layers. The first layer conforms to the HD
DVD-ROM standard (15GB), while the second will most likely be a DVD-ROM
layer (4.7GB). The disc will be recognized and reproduced by both HD DVD and
DVD players. Hybrid discs are claimed to be easily manufactured with current
equipment used for dual layer DVD media.
The most interesting announcement, however, is the introduction of a new
format that could be considered as the successor of the DVD-RW. Temporarily
codenamed
"HD-Re-recordable" (HD DVD-RR), the format has been proposed for approval.
The format is
expected to be finalized in Spring of 2006.
In addition, the Steering Comittee has aproved the HD DVD VR format and
also examined the possibility of developing a domestic-oriented HD DVD disk
solely for the
Chinese market.
Spokesmen from Toshiba also underlined the need to offer video content
stored on HD DVD media that will not feature any regional restrictions, as
happens with current DVDs. Although final decisions about this matter have
not yet been announced, it is possibe that the same HD DVD discs will be
reproduced by any HD DVD player worldwide.
Apart from the HD DVD, the DVD Forum announced that it has begun the
standardization of
the DVD-RW DL which it expects to be finalized by the end of 2005. The new
DVD-RW
DL discs will not be compatible with current DVD players, since their
reflectivity value
is not within DVD specifications (8%). The provided DVD-RW DL media are
expected to allow
recording at 2x, featuring a 2.66GB (8cm) as well as an 8.54GB capacity for
12cm discs.
Another interesting announcement is the possible standardization of the 12x
DVD-R DL media
in early 2006. Lastly, the 6-16x (CAV) recording speed for DVD-RAM (Class 1)
will be available under the newly introduced "DVD-RAM2" logo. The reason for
introducing a new logo for the 16x DVD-RAM recorders/media is that there is
a need to distinguish it from the current DVD-RAM hardware (Class 0). The 5x
DVD-RAM media will not be able to be written with current DVD-RAM recorders.