Lasse Penttinen
7 Jul 2002 13:42
Despite the DVD Forum's reluctance to embrace the new Windows Media technology (dubbed "Corona"), the folks in Redmond still think their new package of codecs, players, and tools has a big part to play in the future of DVD.
Corona's biggest bragging point is the efficiency of its video codec, which promises to deliver high-definition video compression (up to 720 lines per inch) at 1/2 to 1/3 the bandwidth required by MPEG-2, according to Michael Aldridge, lead product manager of Microsoft's Windows Digital Media Division. Though it's content-dependent (video with more action requires more bandwidth), Aldridge said it can deliver the DVD-standard 480 lines per inch (lpi) with ease, meaning that in hard storage (rather than streaming) applications, Corona would let DVD manufacturers put more movies at 480lpi on a single DVD, or put higher-definition movies on standard consumer DVDs all without switching to blue-laser technology.
Therein lies the rub. Earlier this year, the DVD Forum agreed to pursue a blue-laser standard and continue using MPEG-2. While the forum—of which Microsoft is a member—hasn't rejected Corona outright, it hasn't exactly embraced it, either. "We've been developing a DVD-related format using MPEG-2 and some public open technology," said DVD Forum secretariat Hideyuki Irie. "Our policy is to keep standardization as open as possible. Currently, we don't have interest in adopting a new format other than the MPEG standard."
EmediaLive.com