James Delahunty
2 Dec 2005 11:54
The Taiwanese next generation optical disc format, FVD (Forward Versatile Disc) has gone into mass production to compete with HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc. The FVD format can provide high definition video content on a disc that can be read by red lasers like those used for the current DVD format. Single layer FVD discs can store a maximum of 5.4GB - 6GB of data and dual layer (single sided) FVD discs can store 9.8GB - 11GB of data.
The format's backers claim this capacity if sufficient for 135 minutes of 1080i video content. FVD video content is encoded in Microsoft's WMV HD format. Der-ray Huang, deputy director of Opto-Electronics and Systems (OES) laboratories, said that FVD players are now in volume production from Taiwanese manufacturer Idar. The company expects to ship 300,000 FVD players in 2006. It hopes that by year's end, over 1,000 movies will be available on FVD discs.
The format will be promoted by the Advanced Optical Storage Research Alliance (AOSRA). It is being pitched mainly at the Taiwanese and other Asian markets but its backers would like to see it adopted in the West too. It would face tough competition from Sony's Blu-Ray Disc format and Toshiba's HD DVD though.
Source:
The Register