Pioneer proposes DVD-R/W

Emedia Professional, Feb, 1998 by Dana J. Parker

Pioneer has unveiled a DVD-based rewritable format that promises to do what DVD-RAM, the Forum-approved rewritable specification for DVD, cannot: be readable on existing DVD read-only hardware. DVD-RAM isn't the exception, since DVD RW, MMVF, and ASMO--to name some of the other rewritable DVD proposals--also require some change in DVD-ROM drives for backward compatibility.

DVD-R/W, by Pioneer, is a relative latecomer to the growing options for rewritable DVD, and one that offers some compelling advantages. DVD-R/W is essentially a phase-change version of DVD-Recordable, which is directly comparable to CD-R. DVD-R/W is, therefore, directly comparable to CD-RW, which is making noteworthy inroads in the CD-R market. DVD-R/W's capacity is 3.95GB and the media will support up to 1,000 rewrites--substantially less than DVD-RAM and DVD RW's 100,000 rewrites. But unlike any other proposed rewritable DVD format (and unlike CD-RW, which required "Multiread" changes in CD-ROM drives), DVD-R/W would be readable on existing DVD hardware, and a DVD-R/W recorder would be able to record DVD-R media and rewrite DVD-R/W media.

DVD-R/W's appeal lies in its close adherence to the already approved DVD-ROM and DVD-R specifications. Because of the similarities to DVD-R and DVD-ROM, however, which includes CLV recording that facilitates streaming content rather than random-access content, and because of the 1,000-rewrite limitation, DVD-R/W is better suited as a development tool for streaming content than as secondary storage of random-access data. It was CD-R's role as a development tool for CD-ROM, however, that was responsible for bringing the concept, and the price point, of recordable and rewritable CD to the desktop and to the home.

DVD-R/W has been proposed to the DVD Forum for endorsement as an "official" alternative to DVD-RAM. If it is not accepted, Pioneer may or may not pursue the development of products using this technology. According to Andy Parsons, vice president of technical support and business development for Pioneer New Media Technologies, "The announcement of DVD-R/W is not a product announcement, but a technology announcement." If products using DVD-R/W are developed, the hardware is expected to cost between $3,000 and $5,000 when introduced. TDK, Mitsubishi Chemical Company/Verbatim Corporation, and Hitachi Maxell, Inc. (the media division of Hitachi), have agreed to provide media development for the format, and JVC will provide application development.

(Pioneer New Media Technologies, Inc., 2205 East 220th Street, Long Beach, CA 90810; 310/952-2111 Fax 310/952-2990; http://www.pioneerusa.com)