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Toshiba Develops 3-Layer DVD and HD-DVD
morpheus83 writes, "Toshiba, in collaboration with disk manufacturer Memory Tech Japan, has successfully combined a HD-DVD and DVD to a single 3-layer, twin-format disk. The resulting disk conforms to DVD standards so it can be played on DVD players, and also on HD-DVD players after upgrading the firmware. The disk can have either Single Layer DVD (4.7GB) + Dual Layer HD DVD (30GB); or Dual Layer DVD (8.5GB) + Single Layer HD DVD (15GB). There will not be a long wait as the new disk can be produced on the existing HD-DVD mass production line with minor process additions."
No, re-read the article. You only need to upgrade the firmware of HD-DVD players, not DVD players.
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There is no HD-DVD player in a XBox 360...
JOhn
Campaign for Liberty
I can't believe it - is the Slashdot populated by demented anti-Sony fanbois?
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This "hybrid disc magic" might be considered high-tech and cutting-edge in the HD DVD world, but the exact same "features" was shown and demonstrated live back at last years IFA 2005 in Berlin in the Blu-ray Disc area
http://www.blu-ray.com/ifa2005/
Hybrid discs are actually part of the offcial BD-ROM spec and was one of the selling points last year when all HD DVD came up with was those lame "flippers"
So don't buy into the Slashdot HD DVD hype, just accept the fact that everything you can do with HD DVD you can do better with BD. Storage capacity is 66% higher and the video interactivity is based on Sun's Java (just like the DVB standard).
When will you people understand that mere technology cannot win that kind of war. Who is compatible with who, who's got the best quality, who's got the more titles, etc... All these questions, ALL OF THEM, are irrelevant when it comes to who will win the battle (and the war).
r ay.htm
The war will be won by the format that is on the front display of all Best Buy-like stores over the planet. Read here for more infos: http://projectorcentral.com/retailing_HD-DVD_Blu-
Write boring code, not shiny code!
There is already an existing technology to accomplish this with BluRay. In fact, there already existed a similar technology for HD-DVD, and this is just yet another way to do it. Both BluRay and HD-DVD have supported DVD compatable content on the same disc since 2004. (Sorry about the Reg link, but it was the first one I could find on google, and I'm too lazy to dig for a more reputable source. I know they are out there though.)
But it really is a Sony product, given that the whole purpose behind it was that Sony saw the royalty money Toshiba was making from DVD, and how Sony's royalties from CD were about to run out due to patent expiration, and they wanted to get in on the fun.
Toshiba and the DVD forum wouldn't let them load up the next gen DVD spec with all of their patents, so they basically took their ball and went home, made their own spec with as much of their patents as possible in it, with no regard to the quality and feability of the final product.
The fact that Sony got many other CEs to come with them only speaks to the fact that BD was touted as a higher end, higher quality, more expensive = higher profit margin product.
The fact that Sony got more studio support only speaks to the fact that they loaded even more needless layers of copy protection onto it. More things to patent and get royalties from!
No, the whole reason Bluray exists is because of Sony's greed, so it will always be a Sony product in my eyes. Before the launches of BD and HD DVD, I wasn't sure if it was Sony or Toshiba that was being greedy in the format wars, but after seeing the products, it is clear that HD DVD is the better, more consumer friendly, and just plain cheaper product, so I'm pretty sure the greed was primarily on Sony(and friends)'s side.
Shit adds up at the bottom...