DVD format rivals agree to cross support
DVD format rivals agree to cross support
Jan 06, 2005: In a move that will be welcomed by businesses and consumers alike, HP and Panasonic have agreed to support each other's new recordable DVD formats in their respective devices.
Panasonic will add HP's DVD+R read-write capability to its DVD recorders and HP will add DVD-RAM functionality to the recordable DVD drives in its portfolio of desktop PCs.
The agreement should provide a boost to both companies, particularly HP, which eventually plans to make the new high density blu-ray technology available across its range of PCs. It is also good news for customers, who can now purchase technology free from the doubt that it may become prone to premature obsolescence, as occurred in the early '80s when Betamax video, which was considered by many to be the superior technology, fell into extinction by virtue of the more powerful marketing of VHS.
"Panasonic is committed to working with HP to explore ways to give consumers a more satisfying experience as they make use of all the capabilities that digital electronics make possible," said Fumio Ohtsubo, president of Panasonic AVC Networks Company, the audio, video and computer products arm of Matsushita Electric.
"HP is working with Panasonic to offer more flexibility on DVD formats to our customers," said John Romano, senior vice president, Global Consumer PC Business Unit, HP.
The two recordable DVD formats have compelling advantages. DVD-RAM allows different media files (pictures, video and music) to reside on one disc and features robust re-writability with overwrite protection. DVD+R is regarded as the most widely compatible write-once media for PCs and today's set-top DVD players, offering technical leadership in areas such as double-layer discs that enable recording of up to 8.5 GB of data.
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