Audio Video News

A red laser–based Advanced Optical Disc (AOD) format system developed by Toshiba and NEC has been chosen by the DVD Forum as the standard for next-generation high-definition DVD players. The DVD Forum will develop AOD specs and publish them in the spring, according to the Nikkei news service. NEC said it would release AOD drives for PCs next year. Toshiba plans to market AOD home recorders in 2004.

The announcement was made in mid-November by the 212-member DVD Forum, and indicates the group's abandonment of attempts to combine red laser technology with the Blu-ray Disc format developed and backed by Hitachi, LG, Matsushita, Philips, Pioneer, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, and Thomson. Blu-ray supporters may still proceed with the development of that format.

Cable-ready DTV may be a tad closer to becoming a reality. Broadcasting & Cable reports that cable providers and television manufacturers are close to establishing interoperability and interconnectivity standards, including incorporating de-scrambling technology into new sets. Making new equipment ready to "plug-and-play" on any cable system would make the changeover to HDTV relatively hassle-free for most consumers. "Cable operators have relaxed their insistence that digital tuners not be allowed to relay high-quality signals to VCRs or other recording devices in subscribers' homes," reports John Higgins.

Interoperability, the holy grail pursued by standards organization CableLabs, could reduce the widespread dependence on set-top boxes. "The consumer electronics industry wants standards that ensure that TV sets will work anywhere in the country as well as allowing them to grab business from dominant set-top makers Scientific-Atlanta and Motorola, which split 85% to 90% of the digital cable market," Higgins notes. Discussions are ongoing between the National Cable Television Association (NCTA) and the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA).

Cable may dominate in North American, but worldwide, most people get their TV signals from direct broadcast satellite (DBS) or direct to home (DTH) terrestrial broadcasting. The popularity of DBS and its continuing growth in subscribers insure a steady market for satellite receivers and DBS set-top boxes (STBs), according to Reed Business Information. "Features such as personal video recording (PVR) and high-definition reception continue to make their way into more boxes," says a recent report. "PVR boxes, in particular, are spreading throughout the retail and free-to-air markets in Europe and the Middle East . . . . Most of the DBS pay-TV providers are offering interactive services via middleware on the set-top box . . . . North America is one bright spot for the DBS box market, not only because unit shipments in the region account for more than one-third of boxes shipped each year worldwide, but also because of conditions in this market that will continue to support increases in shipments." Asia could show the highest growth in DBS STB shipments through 2006, and per-unit wholesale prices should drop steadily worldwide, from an average of $71 in 2002 to $54 in 2006.