High-capacity DVDs (Digital Video Disks) that use blue laser technology may soon be available to information technology professionals. Blue laser DVD-RW (rewritable) disks are expected by Sony in the U.S. as early as this June. The disks will store 23GB of data and the drives will initially be connected by SCSI or USB 2.0 interfaces. The expected cost of the first models is between $2,500 and $3,000; however, fast price drops should follow.

When the drives are redesigned for general consumer use, the format of the disks should hold about 25GB, using Sony’s Blu-ray format, or 20GB, using HD-DVD format.

Currently most DVDs recorders use red laser technology, and the blue laser devices won’t be interoperable with the existing crop of drives.

Dave’s Opinion
I’d be piqued if my collection of home movies that I’ve burned to DVD aren’t compatible with the new drives; however, I judge that the major drive manufacturers won’t let this happen: too many people have invested in the current DVD technology to leave it by the wayside so soon.

Call for Comments
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