OTHER TECH

Almost overshadowing the rich out cropping of standard-definition DVD recorders at this year's CES was the looming presence of several prototype high-definition disc players and recorders. Many of the manufacturers backing one of the two high-def disc systems bitterly contending to become the new international standard were displaying their first go at a machine. The specs defining the Sony/Panasonic/Philips Blu-ray and the NEC/Toshiba HD DVD systems had only recently been finalized. That so many working models of both were available this soon shows how intensely the two groups have been working behind the scenes to bring these machines quickly to commercial reality.

By "quickly" I mean as early as this fall, at least if LG Electronics has its way. The giant Korean manufacturer startled many with the announcement that its LGXBG420 Blu-ray Disc (BD) recorder will be in stores by then. Combining BD recording with a 200-gigabyte hard drive, copy-protected DVI (Digital Visual Interface) connectivity, as well as built-in HDTV and analog tuners, the recorder is said to provide "unparalleled HDTV-recording flexibility." It will also probably have an unparalleled high price.

Strictly speaking, the LG machine should not be called a DVD recorder, nor should Blu-ray be called a DVD system. After all, the DVD Forum, which controls the DVD trademark and patents, has sided with the rival HD DVD system, thereby setting the stage for an apocalyptic format war. Certainly the Blu-ray specifications recently published on the Web (blu-raydisc-official.org) show departures from many of the design principles of the DVD format.

Magnified cross sections (not to scale) of a standard DVD (left, with red laser) and a high-def Blu-ray Disc (right, with blue laser). Take a look at the illustration, showing a cross section of a standard DVD on the left and one of a BD on the right. As expected for a disc with five times the data capacity of a DVD, the Blu-ray's data-carrying "pits" are smaller and the "pitch" of the track that carries them is narrower. To obtain its high data density, the HD DVD system has a similar restructuring of its information-bearing surface.