FT. March 2002. Next-generation DVD Players
In the space of just a few years, DVD (Digital
Versatile Disc) has overcome a troubled initial launch to establish
itself as one of the most successful consumer electronics formats
ever. But this success has come at a price. Where the hardware
manufacturers initially hoped that they would be able to charge
a premium for the format's superior picture and sound quality,
the reality today is that DVD hardware has become commoditised,
with players selling in grocery multiples for less than Euro 150.
In addition to fierce competition among well-known consumer electronics
brands such as JVC, Panasonic and Sony, prices have been further
eroded by an influx of cheap players from China that can be easily
"hacked" to play DVD discs from any region.
To combat this price erosion, DVD manufacturers have begun to
spice up their players with additional value-added features. Where
many early DVD players offered only limited compatibility with
discs other than DVDs and regular audio CDs, for example, today's
machines are much more versatile. The majority of DVD players
launched this year will be capable of playing back both CD-R (recordable)
and CD-RW (rewriteable) discs, while many will also handle audio
CDs encoded with MP3 material downloaded from the internet. Many
also offer compatibility with the high-quality DVD-Audio format,
while Pioneer has a DVD player which plays not only DVD-Audio
discs, but also discs using Sony's rival SACD (Super Audio CD)
technology.
At Sony, the company is attempting to diversify away from standard
DVD decks, using a combination of design and functionality. It's
recently-launched DV-PF21, for example, can sit horizontally,
vertically, or even hang from the wall, while a player targeted
at the youth market and due to launch in the summer, code-named
"Picot", will be styled like a CD radio cassette recorder
and will feature a changeable top-sheet, akin to removable mobile
phone fascias, with new designs available over the internet.
Another Sony player, launching in May, the DV-PF41, will have
a Memory Stick slot to enable users to switch between viewing
a DVD and digital photos stored on the Memory Stick.
"Digital cameras are huge now, so this will give people a
way of looking at their photos on a normal TV via the DVD player,
instead of having to fire up a PC", says Sony UK product
manager for home video, Colin Woodward.
Looking to the future, the DVD Forum is working on a standard
for an enhanced version of DVD called DVD-Interactive, which would
enable users to interact with DVD discs on their player, or via
the web, with the connection to the web made via the player. A
standard for DVD-Interactive is due in the summer, with players
likely to be available in the States by the end of this year,
and in Europe the following spring.
Recordability
The goal of developing recordable DVD was realised last year when
recorders were released in Europe by Philips and Panasonic. Unfortunately
for consumers, however, the celebrations were tempered by the
fact that both use different and incompatible recording systems.
Philips uses a system called DVD+RW, not sanctioned by the DVD
Forum, while the Panasonic recorder uses DVD-Ram. A third system,
DVD-RW, is due to debut in Europe on a Pioneer DVD recorder this
year. Both DVD-Ram and DVD-RW have the DVD Forum's approval.
Philips is expanding its range with the launch of three new players
this year, including an entry-level model, which will sell for
Euro 1200. To address some of the compatibility issues, the Philips
recorder will also be able to record onto write-once DVD+R (recordable)
discs, which should be compatible with a greater percentage of
existing DVD players than any of the (many times) rewriteable
formats. Philips claims that the use of DVD+R makes the discs
"virtually 100% compatible with existing and future DVD-Video
players and DVD-ROM drives."
Even here, however, confusion reigns. Whereas in the CD world,
there is only one type of recordable CD (CD-R), DVD has two: DVD+R,
as used by Philips, and DVD-R, as used by Panasonic and Pioneer,
among others.
DVD+R, says Philips, is a superior system as it offers a greater
level of compatibility than DVD-R, and unlike DVD-R, it does not
need to be either formatted before, or finalised after recording,
each of which can take several minutes to complete.
Many manufacturers are working on "combi" machines which
combine a DVD player or recorder with another medium. Philips
will release the HDR-1000 DVD player/hard disc recorder in selected
European countries in May, while Hitachi is working on a combi
DVD player/VHS recorder and Toshiba will release a DVD recorder/hard
disc recorder in the second half of 2002.
Philips and Hitachi are also among nine companies which announced
in February that they had established the basic specifications
for the next generation optical video disc recording format, dubbed
"Blu-ray disc". This will deliver up to 27 gigabytes
of data on a single-sided, single-layer, 12cm disc, using a 450
nanometre blue laser. Blu-ray hardware is, however, expected to
take a couple of years to materialise.
DVD Camera
Not all DVD recorders are designed to sit beneath the television.
Hitachi has so far concentrated its efforts on its DVD Camera,
which records on to an 8cm DVD-Ram disc. This year at Cebit, Hitachi
is introducing three DVD Cameras, two priced below Euro 1500,
with the top-of-the-range model selling for around Euro 2000.
Like last year's model, they use the DVD-Ram recording format,
with the 8cm DVD disc housed in a protective caddy. Additionally,
however, this year's models can also record on to 8cm DVD-R discs
for playback in a regular DVD or PC DVD drive. Hitachi general
manager for product marketing, Roland Fritsch, says the new DVD
Cameras are three devices in one.
"First, it is a camcorder" he says. "Second, with
analogue inputs, the customer can use it as a DVD recorder to
record off the television. Thirdly, it is a DVD burner. With an
optional editing kit, the customer can create a finished movie
on a PC, then burn it back on to as many DVD-Rs as they wish to
give out to friends. If you watch a videotape recorded 10 years
ago, you will be surprised how bad the quality is, so a lot of
people will be looking to shift recordings from tape to disc."
Perhaps so, though at around Euro 15 for each disc delivering
30-minutes of DVD-quality recording, perhaps only very good friends
can expect to go on the distribution list.
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