Number 206 - July 2000

MultiRead Spec Brings DVD Rewritables Closer to Reality
by Ken Fermoyle, A TidByte from Ken's Korner
Recent action by the Optical "Storage Technology Association (OSTA) to extend the capabilities of its "MultiRead" optical drive specification will make rewriteable DVD drives more practical. Lack of compatibility between drives from different makers has hampered growth of the technology to date.     All CD- and DVD drives that conform to the new MultiRead2 specification will read 2.6 GB DVD-RAM ReWriteable media. Panasonic, a pioneer in DVD-RAM, projects that industry-wide DVD-RAM drive sales will reach 1.5 million units by the end of 2000.     "To protect consumers from compatibility issues and eliminate confusion, OST A has developed a single standard that ensures media interchangeability of recorded media," explained Dr. Paul Liao, chief technology officer of Matsushita Electric Corporation of America" (panasonic is MECA's principal brand.) "After completing all necessary testing, OSTA issued MultiRead 2, which validates DVD-RAM. This specification paves the way for DVD-RAM to reach the tremendous potential the DVD Forum envisioned for it."     That means lower prices, and not just for rewriteable DVD drives. CD-RW drives probably will drop, too. I wouldn't be surprised to see CD-RW drives going for about $150 in time for Christmas, if Panasonic's projections prove to be accurate.     DVD-RAM is the industry's first ReWriteable DVD format, and it provides a number of significant advantages over other removable, ReWriteable storage options. These include:	 A DVD-RAM disc provides a read/write capacity of 5.2GB (about 8 times that of CD-R/RW) on two sides (2.6GB single-side media).     DVD-RAM media offers extremely inexpensive storage--less than $.01 per MB.     Rapid data transfer - 1.385 MB/second for DVD-RAM, 2.77 MB/second for DVD-ROM and 20X CD-ROM read speed     High-speed access - 120 ms or better for DVD-RAM; 85 ms or better for DVD-ROM and CD-ROM     Unprecedented media interchangeability - DVD-RAM drives can read discs currently accepted by CD-ROM, CD Audio, CD-R, CD-RW and video CD drives as well as DVD-ROM, DVD videos and DVD-R drives.     More than 100,000 write/overwrite cycles     A technically-proven growth path - next-generation media will provide a single-side capacity of 4.7 GB; ultimately, higher capacities will be available Panasonic began shipping its DVD-RAM drive in April 1998, and was the first company to deliver a DVD-RAM drive fully compliant with the DVD Forum specification. In January , Panasonic announced plans to market its first DVD-RAM-based video recorder, which will offer consumers "exceptional picture quality, multi-disc playback, digital recording and random access when connected to home theater components" the company claims.
Number 206 - July 2000