""Affordable"" Recordable/Rewritable DVD Players Not Until 2000
""Rewritable DVD brings protection of data investments, high-capacity storage and lowest cost rewritable, random access media at less than one cent per MB (megabyte),"" said Robert Duncan of the MECA (Matsushita) Technology Development Center. Duncanís presentation on DVD-RAM was one of five on a panel moderated by Dr. Alan Bell of IBM during the 10th annual Magnetic and Optical Media Seminar (MOMS) and Technology Conference of the International Recording Media Association (IRMA). Other presentations on DVD-RAM support group technologies included AS-MO (Advanced Storage-Magneto Optical) by Dan Dalton, Fujitsu Computer Products of America; MMVF (Multi Media Video File) by Harry Petty, NEC Technologies; DVD+RW by David Deane, Hewlett Packard; and DVD-R and DVD-R/W by Andy Parsons, Pioneer New Media Technologies. DVD-RAM drives have been shipped to OEMs since April 1998 along with 2.6 GB software, MECAís Duncan noted, with a 4.7 GB version in advanced development and updated specs expected soon. The first DVD-RW drives from Hewlett Packard are expected in 1999, according to Fujitsuís Dalton, with a 4.7 GB version anticipated in 2001. While the 3.67 GB (effective capacity) DVD-R disk is compatible with existing DVD-Video and DVD-ROM playback hardware, the first Pioneer DVD-R drive delivered in 1998 had a price of $17,000, according to Parsons. The next generation 4.7 GB DVD-R/W drive, anticipated in the first quarter of 1999, will be $3,000 to $5,000. The first model of the MMVF digital VDR (video digital recorder) with 5.2 GB capacity and DVD-ROM compatibility is anticipated in early 1999, reported NECís Petty. For AS-MO, which has the highest single-side record capacity at 6 GB, final version 1.0 of file system, AV, virtual editing and security specifications is expected in 1999, according to Fujitsuís Dalton. Asked point blank by attendees, conference participants indicated a consensus that no one in the industry expects an ""affordable"" DVD player/recorder until 2000, and possibly later.