DVD recorders arrive. Even die?

2002/01/01 Waliño, Josu - Elhuyar Fundazioa Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Multimedia

The video has not died, but is about to die. More and more homes where DVD readers can be viewed, offering a higher quality system, with advantages such as digital sound, multi-language subtitles, interactive options, etc.

But the main rival that has had so far the DVD has certainly been self. We have only had DVD readers on the market, so we could not record the TV game in this format or record the end of that movie that is broadcast at night. For this we have always had to go back to the ordinary video.

This is over and the DVD recorders that have been released to the market indicate that in the short term the DVD will be the market leader. The problem is, which of the existing recording standards will be the winner?

Hardware developers formed an organization called DVD Forum to standardize the DVD. The main objective of this organization has been the establishment of DVD format standards, which is currently maintained. The characteristics of each of the standards are collected in the attached table.

Three standards for DVD recorders have been released: DVD-Ra, DVD-RAM and DVD RW. The latter does not have the approval of the DVD Forum, but the discs recorded in this format can be read without problems in any other reader.

Recorders

As already indicated, DVD recorders are already appearing on the market. The last one was the DVDR1000 presented by Philips. This recorder, like many others, uses the DVD-RW format, allowing a 4.7GB capacity on either side of the disk. The DVD uses the Mpeg2 compression system, so the recording time is set based on the degree of compression. With the highest quality recording you can only burn one hour on a disc of this type, but lowering the quality to the level of a commercial DVD you can make a recording of two hours. However, it is possible to burn more, as DVD recorders offer recordings such as LongPlay, which if quality drops can burn up to four hours. Keep in mind that while the quality goes down completely, the DVD will always be better than the normal VHS.

However, such devices offer many possibilities. For example, each recording performed on each DVD will have an image and a name that will allow you to create an index. With this system we will not have to go back or advance in the search for the engraving, since everything is digitally recorded.

The main problem these recorders currently have is the price. Like every time this type of product is sold, both DVD-RW recorders and discs are very expensive. The price of this publication is about 2,100 Euros and a conventional DVD-RW disc is about 20 Euros.

The future?

The future of home cinema is quite doubtful if it goes around here, considering the speed that digital television is taking behind. In the very short term, digital television will occupy a special place in our homes, and in addition to having a very bad screen, we will have a television with a small computer.

Nor should we forget the recent commitment of major film studios: the rental of films online. This will have to increase the bandwidth a lot, but it is also a technology that has already begun to develop. Do not be surprised, therefore, if within a few years we rent and receive live movies through the Internet and perform the recordings directly on the hard drive. What will happen then with the DVD? Check with your Disco.