CD-RW and DVD+RW Industry Leaders Unfold Roadmap for Data Interchange.

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 16, 1998--Hewlett-Packard Company, MCC/Verbatim, Philips Electronics N.V., Ricoh Company Ltd., Sony Corporation and Yamaha Corporation today announced a common roadmap for data interchange on CD and DVD media, growing support by major DVD chip and ROM manufacturers for the 3.0GB DVD+RW format and the planned extension of the DVD+RW (DVD+ReWritable) family to include a higher-capacity 4.7 GB specification. The announcement was made here at Fall Comdex `98, which runs through Nov. 20.

Bolstered by the worldwide adoption of CD-RW (CD-ReWritable) for data interchange solutions, the ReWritable optical storage roadmap continues to grow. The first drives supporting a 3.0 GB DVD+RW format are scheduled to appear on the market in spring `99. Meanwhile, the six companies have reached agreement on specifications for a 4.7 GB DVD+RW format that is scheduled for submission to international standards organizations in 1999.

"The phenomenal success of CD-RW is a direct result of its ability to create 650 MB discs that work in hundreds of millions of CD and DVD readers," said Mikel Dodd, president of Philips Optical Storage. "CD-RW is poised to become the unchallenged solution for universal data interchange in both computer and entertainment environments, and is the platform of choice to take data, audio and video content from one domain to the other."

Worldwide CD-RW markets are expected to grow from 2.5 million drives in 1997 to more than 15 million units in 1999, according to data supplied by Philips Electronics.

Support For 3.0 GB DVD+RW ReWritable Format

With the completion of the 3.0 GB DVD+RW specification earlier this year, the first drives to support the next-generation format are under development. Designed for optimum compatibility with DVD-ROM readers, the 3.0GB drives are expected to gain market share as the installed base of DVD-ROM drives builds momentum.

The DVD+RW Compatibility Alliance (DCA) -- created by these six companies to speed the adoption of the DVD+RW format and to promote the compatibility and interoperability of DVD-ROM drives, DVD-Video players, and DVD+RW drives and media -- recently completed its first round of worldwide seminars. These events fostered support from leading PC companies, DVD-ROM and chip manufacturers, storage integrators and application developers.

"As a leading producer of CD-RW and CD-ROM drives, we are committed to supporting the DVD+RW format in our future DVD-ROM drives," said Dr. Tadao Kazuno, R&D division general manager of Mitsumi Electric Co., Ltd. "We believe DVD-ROM drives must be capable of reading DVD+RW discs to satisfy the growing data storage needs of customers and end-users."

The 3.0 GB DVD+RW specification is a natural evolution of the successful CD-RW format and provides customers with a growth path from CD to DVD. DVD+RW is an open format, has been adopted by the widely recognized international standards body ECMA, and is currently under review by ISO, another major standards organization.

More information on the DCA can be found at www.dvdrw.org/dca.

DVD+RW Family Roadmap Extended to Include 4.7 GB Format

The 4.7 GB format endorsed by the six companies builds on the 3.0 GB standard by retaining all critical features: in-groove recording, providing both Constant Linear Velocity (CLV) and high-performance Constant Angular Velocity (CAV) recording modes; utilization of a bare disc that does not require a caddy or cartridge; and use of the industry-standard UDF file system. DVD+RW is designed to address data and video applications.

The format specifies a capacity of 4.7 GB per side to match the capacity of DVD-ROM and DVD video discs. It features linkless editing for easy compatibility with DVD-ROM drives and DVD video players. On a technical level, the 4.7 GB proposal also retains the constant-linear-density recording method, and uses the same track pitch and channel bit length as ROM and video discs to provide easy compatibility.

The companies have proven the feasibility of this proposal by achieving 4.7 GB recording density on experimental test drives and media. Upon approval by international standards organizations, products incorporating this format are expected to be available within the next two to three years.

"We are very pleased with the support the storage industry has shown for the industry-standard 3.0 GB DVD+RW format," said Yoshihide Nakamura, president of Sony Corporation's divisional Computer Peripherals and Components Company. "We believe it will be the perfect solution for high-capacity applications in the near future."

About HP's Information Storage Group

HP's Information Storage Group, which focuses on the rapidly growing extended-storage market, manufacturers and sells information-storage products based on tape, magneto-optical and CD-RW technologies. HP storage solutions include digital-audio-tape (DAT) drives and digital-linear-tape (DLT) libraries, minicartridge (QIC) tape drives and software, CD-ReWritable drives, and magneto-optical drives and jukeboxes.

About HP

Hewlett-Packard Company is a leading global provider of computing, Internet and intranet solutions, services, communications products and measurement solutions, all of which are recognized for excellence in quality and support. HP has 127,200 employees and had revenue of $42.9 billion in its 1997 fiscal year.

About Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation  

Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation (MCC) is Japan's largest chemical company and one of the world's leading manufacturers of information storage products. In a line-up of data and image storage media, MCC holds a strong market share in markets such as DVD-R disks, CD-R and CD-RW disks, 90 mm and 130 mm MO disks, 130 mm WORM disks, hard disk media, as well as tape cartridges and floppy disks. Many of these products are marketed through Verbatim Corporation, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of MCC. Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation has approximately 12,000 employees, and on a consolidated basis recorded revenues of approximately $13 billion for the year ended March 31, 1998.

About Philips Electronics

Philips Electronics is widely recognized as an industry leader in Compact Disc and related technologies, products and markets since the introduction of the first audio CD product in 1982. Philips is a major supplier of CD-ROM subassemblies and components to drive manufacturers and leads the industry in the rapidly growing market for CD-ReWritable drives. Through its strong position in both CD and DVD technologies, Philips is well positioned to offer leading-edge optical storage solutions to PC and audio/video markets for many years to come.

Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands is one of the world's biggest electronics companies, with sales of over $39 billion in 1997. It is a global leader in color television sets, lighting, home telephony products, electric shavers and recorded music (PolyGram). Its 255,000 employees in more than 60 countries are active in the areas of lighting, consumer products, components, semiconductors, and professional products and services. Philips is quoted on the NYSE, London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and other stock exchanges. News from Philips is located at www.news.philips.com

About Ricoh Company, LTD.

Ricoh Company, LTD. is one of the world's leading manufacturers of office equipment, including copiers, facsimiles and digital equipment. Ricoh is the first manufacturer of CD-RW media and CD-R/RW drives, and also is a manufacturer of CD-R media. With the combination of media technology and drive technology, Ricoh is offering high performance and reliable Optical Disc products. The Ricoh group consists of 128 consolidated subsidiaries and affiliates in Japan and 232 overseas, which includes production, sales and research and development facilities. As of March 1998, the Ricoh group employed approximately 60,000 people with recorded annual revenues of $10.6 billion.

About Sony Corporation

Sony Corporation is one of the world's leading manufacturers of audio, video and information technology products in both the consumer and professional fields. Its music, pictures, and video game businesses also make Sony one of the world's most comprehensive entertainment companies. Sony recorded consolidated annual sales of over $51 billion in the fiscal year ended March 31, 1998 and employs 173,000 people worldwide.

As a leader of disc-based technologies, Sony manufactures and sells a variety of storage solutions, in the likes of media products such as CD, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-video, DVD-ROM, Recordable MD, as well as 90 and 130 mm MO and WORM discs and 300 mm WORM discs and disc drives, such as FDD, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-ROM, DVD+RW, and MO as well as large storage DDS and AIT tape drives.

About Yamaha Corporation

Yamaha Corporation, the world's largest musical instrument manufacturer, offers a diversity of sound, music and multimedia products. Though Yamaha products have changed with the times and have seen extensive diversification, neither our products nor the foundation of our business has strayed from our original focus on sound. New Yamaha business ventures are expanding from our fundamental expertise in sound, music and multimedia.

Multimedia is an area of explosive growth, and innovative products such as Yamaha sound and image LSI are used widely in computers and game units. We also anticipate a substantial increase in our CD-R drives and other product sales central to the fast developing field of information technology.

Yamaha now owns 44 subsidiaries and representative offices in overseas markets in addition to numerous related companies in Japan. Yamaha recorded annual sales of $4.9 billion in the fiscal year ended March 31, 1998.