Japanese To Begin Mass-Producing HD DVD-R Discs Next Spring

A group of four Japanese manufacturers said they have successfully developed a prototype HD DVD-R disc, a write-once next-generation DVD disc, that can be easily mass-produced on standard DVD production lines.

Hitachi Maxell and Mitsubishi Kagaku Media/Verbatim have separately test-manufactured the write-once discs, which use a new organic dye specifically developed for blue-laser applications, and confirmed the potential for mass production, the group said in a statement.

The new dye was jointly developed by Hayashibara Biochemical Laboratories, Mitsubishi Kagaku Media/Verbatim and Toshiba Corp.

Hitachi Maxell and Mitsubishi Kagaku Media/Verbatim will start selling the HD DVD-R discs next spring, when consumer electronics manufacturers including Toshiba begin marketing HD DVD recorders and PCs with built-in HD DVD drives.

'By combining our cumulative know-how in high-density optical disc technology with the breakthrough of the new dye, we have tested and proven the manufacturability of HD DVD-R discs,' Norio Ota, Hitachi Maxell's general manager for development and technology, said in the statement.

HD DVD is one of two new data storage technologies competing to become the global standard for next-generation audio-visual and computer equipment. Toshiba and NEC Corp lead the group of companies seeking to establish HD as the global standard.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd, which makes Panasonic-brand products, and Sony Corp lead a rival group promoting blu-ray technology as the industry standard for next-generation DVDs.

The blu-ray camp also includes Royal Philips Electronics, Samsung Electronics Co, LG Electronics Co, Dell Computer Corp and Hewlett-Packard Co.

The two technologies are incompatible, meaning a disc designed to play on a blu-ray DVD could not be played on an HD DVD player, and vice versa.

To avoid a repeat of the VHS/betamax battle in the 1980s between manufacturers over setting a global standard for video-cassette players, Toshiba and Sony have recently been discussing adopting a unified standard for next-generation DVD players. But recent news reports indicate those talks are at a stalemate.

Story source: forbes.com.