Cebit 07: Toshiba HD-DVD matches Blu-ray capacity

51Gbyte triple-layer disk developed in labs - but company 'could do combo drive if market demands'

Toshiba has a developed a prototype triple-layer HD-DVD system that can store 51Gbytes per disk, according to one of its optical-storage experts.

This would put it on a par with a dual-layer disk using the rival Blu-ray technology, which can store 50Gbytes a disk.

James Armour, optical disk specialist at Toshiba’s storage device division, dismissed Sony claims that it has developed a 200Gbyte Blu-ray disk.

He said: “They may have done it in the labs but have they put it into production? No. And anyway who needs a 200Gbyte disk?”

Armour admitted that Blu-ray was ahead on movie sales in the US, which he put down to the drive on Sony’s Playstation 3 games console. But he said HD-DVD movie sales were ahead in Europe - though the PS3 has yet to launch here.

HD-DVD disks can made using existing DVD plants, whereas Blu-ray disk manufacture requires massive investment. Armour said media makers had told him that an HD-DVD disk cost only 5 percent more to make than a DVD, and he claimed the extra cost of Blu-ray media was reflected in the cost of movies in that format.

“I’ve checked the shops in Germany and on average a Blu-ray costs $2 more than an HD-DVD.”

Armour said he believed Toshiba would bring out a drive that supports both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD if the market appeared to want it. He stressed that this was his own opinion and he was not speaking for the company. “But Toshiba is very open minded. If the market is going that way I am sure they will do it.”

He added: “Basically all these companies are interested in is the format. They don’t care about the hardware. So if you get a combination drive you are still going to sell movies in your format.”

Toshiba has developed a slim-line read-write drive but it will be sold first in Japan. Toshiba’s own notebook division will get the first off the production lines but after that some may go to other notebook vendors.

Some of the first to come to Europe will goingto an exterior read/write USB 2.0 drive, Armour said. Toshiba was showing a dummy of the product on its stand.