DVD RAM is getting bigger and maybe cheaper

[paulw]

http://www.pcworld.com/cgi-bin/pcwtoday?ID=16720

[RoGuE]

Thanks for the link Paul.

[DrMordrid]

I'm not biting on any DVD writers until they produce disks that can be read in a standard DVD reader and not cost an arm and a leg.

Dr. Mordrid

[Scouser]

Your quite right, at the moment it's only useful for backup really, and with CDR's costing 30p (about $50)........

A bit like CDRW's, no use at all really

ok, flame me now
Scouser

[Pertti]

I'm there with Doc, until those two conditions are met, I'll just keep on buying more HD:s

[miker]

Does anyone know of any DVD pressing plants in the UK? There's plenty that do CD pressing and promise DVD pressing but with scant detail (ie cost per volume)

Seems there's plenty in the states, you can get dupes for a reasonableish price.

I'm looking at independent distribution of my next feature presentation, straight to DVD (and VHS).

[mynx]

DVD R/W is supposed to be here near the end of the year. With home versions available sooner.

[Jerry Jones]

Interesting stuff about the soon-to-be-marketed standalone Panasonic DVD-RAM recorder/player.

Now... if they could just tell us whether it can play DVD movies... which I doubt.

[This message has been edited by Jerrold Jones (edited 17 May 2000).]

[DrMordrid]

Then there are the FMD's. 140 gigs per CD sized disk.

Ricoh and an optical fabrication company just joined C3D's efforts to bring them to market next summer.

Dr. Mordrid

[RoGuE]

DVD-RAM and DVD-R are the only 'home' formats supported by the DVD-Forum. The other standards (DVD/RW, DVD+RW etc) will probably die. But then again....who knows.

[wkulecz]

RoGuE,

The DVD Forum approved DVD-RW as a second recording format standard in Feburary according to an article in the May 15 issue of EE Times (issue 1113, page 18) unfortunately this article doesn't seem to be on their web site.

At this point it looks like DVD-RAM is Matsushita vs. just about everyone one else, including Sony, (appears they are ready to compromise on their propriety with HP DVD+RW format) LG, Kenwood, Onkyo, Pioneer, Sanyo, and Sharp all have lined up with the RWPPI 4.7GB/side DVD-RW group.

Hitachi makes DVD-RAM drives and is set to introduce a camcorder using them. Toshiba, also a leading maker of current 2.6 GB/side DVD-RAM drives, seems ready to make both types.

Disk makers Fuji, Hitachi, Maxell, Mitubishi Chemical, Pioneer Video, and TDK have signed on to manufacture DVD-RW disks. The more disk makers, the faster the disks become cheap commodities so this is very good news.

As I understand it, DVD-RW is what *we* are waiting for as it is derived from the DVD-R format and it shouldn't be too expensive to add read-only capability to the next generation stand-alone DVD players.

Apparently the DVD-RAM has a 100,000 R/W cycle requirement for computer use that causes the data track and media to be very different from DVD-ROM. The DVD-RW designers (Pioneer?) said 1000 R/W cycles is enough and so it uses media and track layouts "compatible" with DVD-ROM.

IMHO, its a good time not to buy any of this stuff until some serious dust settles.

Last time I priced DVD-RAM media, its cost per GB was a good bit higher than for Maxtor DMA66 hard drives and access is a lot slower, so for computer use it seems a niche product at best. Remember 640MB "Panasonic PD disks"? They also beat CD-RW to market but so what, CD-R got so cheap that nobody cares about using them only once! We can hope the same happens for DVD-R!

DOC, FMD's better get on the market in volume well before Maxtor, Seagate, and IBM come up with 150GB IDE drives or they'll be going down the same road as all the other optical/removable storage media have -- as too little too late, and too slow for on-line use.

IF the next generation of standalone DVD players can be made to read DVD-RW, (and compare the RWPPI members to the names on the players at Best Buy and Circuit City etc.) the DVD-RW format can't miss, even if it is a little late. In fact, being "late" so that stand-alone players that can read the disks are already on the market will help insure its success!

OTOH if the stand-alone players fail to read DVD-RW disks it's just another in a long line of who cares, niche back-up products with largely unproven claims as to reliability suitable for data archive use.

--wally.

[RoGuE]

Very informative. Thanks. I agree with what you are saying also, better to wait and see what develops.

Also, the backers of DVD-RAM are Matsushita (Panasonic), Hitachi, and Toshiba.

DVD-R and DVD-RW are the work of Pioneer.

DVD+RW is Philip's effort.