Philips Electronics, a world leader in optical storage and a founding member
of the Blu-ray Disc Association, will be revealing its prototype all-in-one PC
writer that reads and writes CD, DVD and Blu-ray Discs. The demonstration will
be held on the Philips booth #9004 at the CES 2005 exhibition. The introduction
of this unique all-in-one PC writer is scheduled for the second half of
2005.
The PC drive utilizes Philips' latest compact OPU81 triple-laser optical
pick-up unit in which separate infra-red, red and blue lasers share the same
optical pathway to provide Blu-ray Disc read/write capabilities as well as
read/write compatibility with DVD and CD. This compact optical pick-up unit is
based on a flexible architecture, allowing future speed improvements to be
easily and cost-effectively implemented.
'With the introduction of this new product concept we have created the
ultimate consumer product" said Cor Saris , CEO of Philips Optical Storage. '
Combining the success of CD and DVD Recording with the BluRay Recording formats
into one PC writer will accelerate the acceptance of this new format in the PC
and Consumer market."
Blu-ray Disc is the most advanced new optical storage standard that will
satisfy all next-generation requirements in terms of storage capacity, data
speeds, copy protection, interactivity, convenience and cost. As consumers
worldwide gain access to high-definition TV (HDTV) through cable, satellite and
terrestrial channels, they are not going to be satisfied with less than equal
quality in their video recordings. Blu-ray Disc is the only format with the
capacity of 25 Gbytes on a single-layer disc and 50 Gbytes on a dual layer disc,
to offer full-length feature movie playback using high-definition MPEG2 encoding
'“ the native compression technique for HDTV broadcasts '“ or even more with
advanced codecs, like AVC. In addition, for pre-recorded packaged media, Blu-ray
Disc has sufficient capacity to include bonus materials and interactive sessions
for an unparalleled entertainment experience. For PC users archiving photographs
or video and other data on the hard disk, Blu-ray Disc is the only
recordable/re-writable format that provides such a quantum leap in optical
storage capacity and gives a seamless experience between PC and CE
environments.
Philips is yet again at the forefront of supporting the establishment of
Blu-ray Disc as the ultimate long-lasting standard that will take the industry
forward in a quantum leap instead of a succession of incremental and consumer
confusing steps.
Promoted by the world's leading consumer electronics, PC, disc replication
manufacturers and movie studios, the global standardization activity for Blu-ray
Disc has already attracted a total membership of more than 90 companies to the
Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA). The BDA includes companies from every part of
the value chain in high quality video and multi-media delivery.
Source: Philips
