Microsoft backs DVD rewritable group

[Pablo]

Obviously the DVD+RW camp just got a whole lot of leverage...

http://news.com.com/2100-1040-985787.html?tag=fd_top

Microsoft is taking a more active role in developing one of the formats in the heated DVD rewritable debate.

The DVD+RW Alliance announced late Monday that Microsoft had joined its ranks, adding that the software giant will also have a seat on its policy-setting team with representatives from Dell Computer, Hewlett-Packard, Mitsubishi Chemical/Verbatim, Philips, Ricoh, Sony, Thomson and Yamaha. The DVD+RW Alliance is a group of companies that promotes and develops the DVD+RW format.

The rival DVD Forum, which includes Apple Computer, Hitachi, NEC, Pioneer, Samsung and Sharp, advocates the DVD-RAM, DVD-R and DVD-RW formats. The two sides have been competing against one another to push their formats as the dominant ones in the market.

 

[makkystyle]

so what's the deal here? Can DVD+RW be read/played by most component machines like DVD-R???

Maybe Apple is positioning itself on the fence with the introduction of the Sony drives into new iMacs so that in case the other side does get too much leverage they are not left out in the cold.

 

[Stelliform]

Or is Microsoft aggressively trying to curtail Apple's growth. (First Connectix, then alienating Apple by crippling DVD-R?)

 

[ftaok]

Apple can go either way on this. They refer to their DVD-R drives as "SuperDrive". If the standard becomes DVD+R/RW, they can easily put one in and still call it a SuperDrive.

This leaves Apple a lot of wriggle room. They haven't backed themselves into a corner.

 

[Pablo]

No, but it certainly has me second guessing a decision to incest over $3k in a new Powerbook that might not service my needs for as long as I was expecting.

 

[timbloom]

The reason apple used dvd-rw is because it was out, while dvd+rw was still being developed. +RW does have some really good advantages over it, and it will not hurt Apple in the slightest to move to the + standard, or best yet, use that drive that they are allready putting into some BTO iMacs that has the ability to do both standards. Which would be much more effective, but maybe a slight bit confusing.
But just to clarify, Apple is not hurt by microsoft having them adopt this. And microsoft is not gaining anything, other than a slightly better standard.

 

[macphoria]

Big issue with DVD+R/RW is that they won't play in majority of home DVD players, whereas DVD-R will.

Advantage of DVD+R/RW is that they are designed to be used as data storage media, meaning it could be used as ordinary floppy disk. And when new DVD players come out with DVD+R/RW compatibility, they can also be used as video media.

But for now, DVD-R seems make more sense. We'll see how things will change in the future.

 

[Mr. MacPhisto]

Originally posted by makkystyle
so what's the deal here? Can DVD+RW be read/played by most component machines like DVD-R???

Maybe Apple is positioning itself on the fence with the introduction of the Sony drives into new iMacs so that in case the other side does get too much leverage they are not left out in the cold.

Yes, DVD+RW can be read by most DVD players. My brother has burned several and I've seen them read in various brands of players.

 

[timbloom]

Originally posted by macphoria
Big issue with DVD+R/RW is that they won't play in majority of home DVD players, whereas DVD-R will.

Advantage of DVD+R/RW is that they are designed to be used as data storage media, meaning it could be used as ordinary floppy disk. And when new DVD players come out with DVD+R/RW compatibility, they can also be used as video media.

But for now, DVD-R seems make more sense. We'll see how things will change in the future.

According to the dvdrw.com people, +rw plays in more players than -rw.