RaSta used our newssubmit to submit an article published in the April 2000 issue of PC Direct. It's about a new DVD-Rom drive that should be able to hold 20 GB of data and by the use of new kind of laser, it should be able to record and play a video at the same time.
Philips claims to have a prototype 20Gb DVD-Rom drive currently under test in their research laboratory. The drive uses a blue, rather than red, laser in a read/write head mechanism, which can read and write information from the disk simultaneously. |
The technology is earmarked for use in DVD video recorders, where users could play back a previously recorded video while watching another, or even watch the start of the programme while still recording its end.
According to Philips Laboratories' Simon Turner, however, a final product is still a number of years away from fruition, although he estimated that the time between technology conception and mass-market production in DVD technology currently stood at about two-and-a-half years.
"If you want the time-shift function, you must be able to record and read at the same time, and this is hard for optical drives," said Turner, who feels that the limit on how fast the disk can be spun, has now been reached. What Philips is certain of is increased demand for DVD video recorders, estimating that around 4.3 million units will ship this year, rising to seven million in 2001.
Philips' vision for the future also includes homes filled with technology that integrates voice, video and data communications into a network of interactive computers. Part of the equation involves huge wall-hanging LCD and plasma displays, which allow videoconferencing and which will be activated by voice commands as recognition accuracy improves.
Prices of screens this size will have to shrink a good deal before the vision becomes a reality, however, as displays such as Philips' own 42in 420P Plasma screen currently cost in the region of £6,000. Turner also forecast that intelligent information appliances, able to detect individual users and their preferences, will become more prevalent. He cited telephones that recognise the environment and know when not to ring as an example.
Go Philips !
Source: PC Direct
