Ok if 45GB isn’t enough and 100GB is a vast improvement, then 850GB’s ends the conversation, right? If only it were that simple. Believe it or not Iomega has patented a 850 Gigabyte optical disc. Yeah that’s basically 10 times better than the best of Sony’s Blu-ray discs, of course there’s one catch.

Much like Sony?s announced, but still to be seen 100GB Blu-ray disc, Iomega’s “Reflective Nanostructure” technology is still on the drawing board and not in production. I’m of the opinion that anything in the neighborhood of 35GB is probably sufficient for high definition movies on a disc, as even with MPEG2 encoding they top out at around 28GB’s, but others will argue the merits of more storage space endlessly.

If either Sony or Toshiba could partner up with Iomega on an up-coming HD-DVD format (it’s too late now), the storage issue would be a moot point once and for all.

Michael.G

Toshiba’s president acknowledged that a unified high definition DVD format is likely, but also indicated the consumer will decide which of the two current candidates will become that ?one format? not the respective companies themselves. Gee thanks for the news flash. This is why the unification talks have been so annoying thus far; the hot air smothers any real possibility of compromise.

To be completely honest I?m getting tired of even commenting on the unification ?news? as there isn?t any. Until a deal is signed by both Sony and Toshiba, all the chatter is nothing but hyperbole. The sad part is we?ll likely hear this type of banter all summer/fall long, maybe by winter we?ll all be able to see the obviousness that is two formats will clog the marketplace well into 2006.

Michael.G

TDK announces 100GB Blu-ray disk, Panasonic tells Toshiba to back down, and Star Wars Episode III was actually good. What is going on here?

TDK announced it has succeeded in creating a Blu-Ray disc which will use 4 layers to store data, each layer with a capacity of 25GB, totaling 100GB. If the new format is approved by the BDA, the first 100 GB Blu-Ray discs won?t appear until 2007. Ok now, the ?mine is bigger than yours? aspect of this tiff is getting ridiculous. I thought that was an American thang.

If Blu-ray was so convinced that it has the bigger and better format, then why is Kunio Nakamura, Panasonic pres., so adamant on HD-DVD yielding? According to Nakamura it is up to Toshiba Corp. to yield, making clear that Matsushita and its partner Sony Corp. won’t budge in the negotiations.

It seems both camps don?t want to contest to the other and both think they have the better format. Therefore, how can anyone believe that Toshiba and Sony are going to compromise on a unified format? It?s just blind hope coming from us consumers, who don?t want to lose out on the best hi-def DVD experience possible. But the main question is not are they going to unify? What you should be asking is does this 100GB disc give Sony a higher advantage of dominating the HD market?

According to various news sites, “the launching of this disc comes only to give Blu-Ray an even bigger edge over HD-DVD regarding storage capacity.” Yes regarding storage capacity but if that was the deciding factor in this format-war, there would not be a war. When Toshiba came out with the 45GB 3 layer HD-DVD a couple of weeks ago, no one was praising their efforts of coming within 5GB of Blu-ray.

So why is 100GB such a big achievement, because Sony made it? When it comes down to HD movies and content, you are not going to need 100GB. Plus this 100GB disc has the propensity to be fragile and delicate and cost so much that the movie studios, who will still decide the winner of this battle, are not going to touch it. Sony and Panasonic will dominate the data storage industry, which is what a 100GB disc is needed for, not for movie watching.

R.Hollis

All the reports are coming in now that Toshiba?s chief negotiator in the “peace talks” between Sony and Toshiba is quoted as saying that unifying the two formats “would be extremely difficult at this stage.” No, really? I’m glad somebody in Toshiba realized it or at least is finally quoted as saying it.

Yoshihide Fujii, is also quoted as saying that “the Sony side failed to provide enough evidence that its format has a clear advantage over ours in terms of cost and range of applications.” And, “We (Toshiba) won’t give up the idea of forging a unified format.” Ok. Well, I guess we will just wait and see what will happen tomorrow with this on-going saga.

R.Hollis

Well, it seems as though I too took the plunge in believing that Toshiba & Sony were going to make all our dreams come true, in the next-gen DVD format war that is. I should have known that this was all smoke and mirrors when only one paper (but a relatively reliable paper) was the source for all this gossip.

Now Toshiba has come out with a press release simply stating that no hybrid format between HD-DVD & Blu-ray is in the works. They have confirmed the hush hush talks and a higher capacity disc of their own though, which leads me to believe that the Nihon Keizai Shimbun wasn?t completely off with their exclusive story. The paper just jumped to a conclusion that we all accepted without a second look.

The new addition to the HD-DVD family is the 45GB triple layer (that?s right, triple layer) disc which will be presented at the HD-DVD workshop on May 11, at the Media-Tech Expo 2005 in Las Vegas. This slap in the face to Sony will allow you to record about 12 hours worth of HD programming. Toshiba will also be unveiling a double sided, hybrid disc which will incorporate a dual layer HD-DVD ROM side and a dual-layer DVD ROM side. It will be able to store 30GB of HD on one side and 8.5GB of SD on the other.

Toshiba even has an independent disc replicator ready to go with manufacturing on the new HD-DVD 45GB and hybrid. The 45GB HD-DVD ROM may not hold as much as the Blu-ray?s 50GB but Toshiba is looking like they need Sony less and less

R.Hollis

Sony and Toshiba are still in “talks” regarding the possible hybrid of their next-gen DVD formats. The unified format is expected to have the best of both technologies. Toshiba will supply their data transfer software & copyright protection, which is why Hollywood loved HD-DVD, and Sony will supply, well Blu-ray. Basically it will be a Blu-ray disc with HD-DVD copyright protection which makes the movie studios happy and hopefully the consumer too.

Apparently, both companies are expected to make an announcement this month before the “meeting of manufactures involved in the manufacture of next-generation DVDs”, some news sources have indicated. Yeah, that might be a good idea, to announce a hybrid of the two formats before the manufacturers get together and discuss manufacturing.

R.Hollis

It is kind of hard to swallow a fairy tale such as ?Sony and Toshiba to unify HD-DVD and Blu-ray? when a company like Panasonic, one of Blu-ray?s major supporters, chooses to ignore it.

Panasonic announced today that it will start operating a pilot production line in collaboration with Origin Electric, for Blu-ray Disc (BD-ROM) replication. They will start with the single layer in mid to late May, and wait for December to manufacture the double layers.

The Blu-ray company expects this will stimulate the ?development of a local end-to-end BD-ROM technology for Hollywood studios, replicators, and production houses.? Basically this means that Blu-ray will be able to start mass producing movie titles, which the public has yet to see a list of. The BD-ROMs will also feature a 128-bit AES encryption to prevent content piracy.

R.Hollis

Blu-ray supporters aren’t throwing in the towel on Blu-ray only technology just yet. Even with the “talks” of a unified format between Toshiba & Sony, it seems as though two BDA members have every intention of sticking with Blu. Nero and CyberLink Corp. separately unveiled Blu-ray burning software at the member seminar & info meet in San Jose this past week. This seminar is basically a show and tell for the BDA members, which are expected to display and demonstrate BD and BD-related products and technology.

CyberLink showed off their Blu-ray Disc Rewriteable (BD-RE) playback and navigation using CyberLink PowerDVD. Through out the demonstration, attendees were shown how to access play lists, fast forward and fast rewind, and navigation using thumbnails on a browser menu. CyberLink is also working on wider support for Blu-ray throughout its disc authoring and burning products PowerProducer and Power2Go.

Nero?s new software, Nero 6.6 and ShowTime, will now be able to record on Blu-ray media using, of course, a blue laser. This new application will allow its users to ?playback all digital recordings including video recorded on Blu-ray discs, movies, TV programs, home videos, DVD video all with high-quality picture and sound quality.?

Both of these software companies have come out with burning and playback capabilities. Does this mean that Sony still wants Blu-ray out on top? Well, maybe in the data storage, personal computer sense. Just because Toshiba and Sony are in ?discussions? regarding a universal format, don?t expect either camp to give in on their own.

Michael.G