Over the last decade CD and now DVD optical discs paved their way into our life, becoming the dominant storage medium for any kind of information. Music, Photographic Images, Videos, Computer Data; all finally are archived on an optical disc. While currently the 650MB CD is gradually replaced by the 4.7GB DVD generation, the future optical disc successor of the DVD is taking shape. In a joint press release a group of 9 consumer electronic companies, such as Hitachi, LG Electronics, Matsushita (better known with its brands Technics und Panasonic), Philips, Pioneer, Samsung, Sharp, Sony and Thomson, has announced an agreement on key specifications for a disc with basically the same physical dimensions as CD or DVD, however a 5-fold increase in storage capacity per information layer. These companies expect the market introduction of the required new recording systems not earlier than 2003 or even later. The tremendous performance improvement will be achieved by reducing the light wavelength of the employed laser diode from 650nm (red light) to a 405nm (blue light) and by a reduction of the cover layer thickness from 0.6mm for the DVD to 0.1mm for the new generation discs. While in the case of CD and DVD the bare disc is handled, for the new generation disc a standard cartridge housing is expected, as the disc will become more sensitive to surface scratching. The initial application of the new format will be consumer recording of high definition television (HDTV), which is expected to launch successfully in Japan over the next years. Accordingly the primary research focus at this moment is on a rewritable high density disc. This is a different development strategy compared to CD or DVD, for which first playback only devices and discs with prerecorded information content (CD-Audio, DVD-Video) were launched.
Within this year 2002 the release of a first technical specification is expected and licensing of the technology will start. The very first commercial video recorders are due within a years time. The development of a sizeable market however could easily take 5 years time and requires wide acceptance of HDTV. New professional cameras for video recording need to be employed, the terrestrial, satellite or cable based broadcasting will have to be established and a new generation of TV sets is needed at the consumer side.
The press announcement is excellent news, as it shows the commitment of the consumer electronic industry to continue focusing on optical disc as the primary consumer storage medium of today and tomorrow. Accordingly it receives tremendous attention and press coverage. Singulus Technologies is fully supporting and participating in the preparation of the new format generation in Japan, where our MODULUS is employed in the dedicated research work at one of the 9 key players facilities.
Of course we will continue to mature our prerecorded DVD technology, as DVD is the ideal optical disc medium for the given data storage requirements, for which we expect strong growth in the coming years.
The Blu - Ray- Disc Alliance:
Sony
Philips
Pioneer
Matsushita (Panasonic)
Samsung
Sharp
Hitachi
LG
Thomson