 |
September 15,
2000 |
Double-take
Format aims to keep CDs competitive with
DVDs
In the wake of DVD mania, the double-density CD (DDCD)
demands another look. DVD, still in its formative years, has
found great success among consumers as a video format. But its
ultimate goal is to replace the tried-and-true CD, which,
holding but a mere 650 Mbytes of information, pales in
comparison to DVD's boasts of 17 Gbytes (on a double-layer,
double-sided disk). Even today's mainstream DVD-ROM and
DVD-Video discs store 4.7 Gbytes. (Although you need to be
careful about how you define "Gbytes"?see "When
a gigabyte isn't a gigabyte.") Several companies have
stepped up to the mark (see "Too
Many Flavors"), inventing enough compelling DVD formats to
make your head spin faster than your CDs.
But is the CD going to lie down and take it? The answer is
no. Manufacturers are exploring new ways to increase CD
storage capacity in a bid to keep them in the game. First,
there's a joint effort by Sony and Cirrus Logic to develop a
double density CD (DDCD) that will increase the capacity of
CD-RW, CD-R, and CD-ROM. Cirrus Logic's encoder/decoder chip,
the CR3490, enables drive speeds of 16X (writing) and 48X
(reading). But the real hoopla surrounds the DDCD's boasts of
1.3 Gbyte of storage.
The high-capacity CDs are similar in most ways to current
CDs. Data density was increased by decreasing track-pitch and
minimum pit length. And in order to accommodate higher
physical bit density, the error-correction scheme (CIRC) was
altered slightly, and the address format (ATIP) expanded.
Therefore, DDCDs can hold much more multimedia content?about
60 minutes of real-time video or 144 minutes of real-time
audio, to be exact, says Sony. So while you can't exactly
store a full-length feature film on CD, you can store close to
500 MP3 files or 1000 Windows Media files, the company
asserts. Sony and Philips will license the technology to
manufacturers, who can then build designs based on the
technology. Philips will serve as the licensing contact, and
formats are being finalized for licensing by September 2000,
Sony says. The first drives are expected to ship this
year.
Some in the industry consider DDCD yet another royalty play
by the Sony-HP-Philips trio, but supporters of the technology
claim that DDCDs are a logical transition from current media
to higher-capacity storage. They will initially cost more than
current CDs (pricing has not yet been announced), but they are
a cheaper alternative to DVD.
A bigger plus is that you can play existing CDs on DDCD
drives and players. However, of course, you won't be able to
do the opposite (play a DDCD on a regular CD player). So the
success of the DDCD is dependent on drive sales.
"DDCD could engender the replacement of millions of CD
drives and players," says Michelle Abraham, senior analyst
with Cahners In-Stat Group. "One of the primary reasons
consumers buy CD-RW drives is to record their own music CDs.
If that music can only be played on PCs, many consumers will
not be interested." Additionally, as most computer
manufacturers are already shipping systems with built-in DVD
drives, one might also wonder whether PC's will really need to
have both. But if the price is right and enough consumers
embrace the DDCD format, DVD may have to wait a bit longer to
take over the market.
?Leah
Jiorle |
