JVC develops disc compatible with Blu-ray and DVD format

While the big players in the market are competing on what format to standardize with next generation storage medium, JVC have now come up with a prototype disc, which supports data stored in both DVD and high-capacity Blu-ray Disc formats. It is a first by any company to come out which such a product. The discs from JVC have three separate layers.

The top most layer supports Blu-ray standards and can store data up to 25Gigs. And the two layers below it save data in normal DVD format to give additional 8.5GB storage. JVC is yet to decide on commercializing the technology of producing these discs. Another company Memory-Tech recently launched discs, which stored data in DVD, and rival HD-DVD formats. The capacities were 4.7 GB and 15 GB respectively on the two layers. Memory-Tech plans to launch these discs in the market for sale soon.

Both companies claim that they have found a solution for easy transition to the next generation of discs with their new products. However, there are still issues of compatibility. The consumer would have to decide what standard supporting drive to buy. Both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD have their own advantages and shortcomings.

15 big companies like Sony and Matsushita are pledging their support for the Blu-ray Disc format while Toshiba, NEC, and Sanyo are behind the HD-DVD standards. Next year will see which format wins this war.