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Consumer-electronics giant Philips Electronics has unveiled a DVD video recorder that allows recording of up to three hours of digital video from television and cable on one 4.7-gigabyte disc.

The high-capacity video recorder based on the DVD+RW format will be available in Hong Kong by October or November.

With a time-shift recorder for television programmes, it is tipped to be the long-anticipated replacement for the video cassette recorder.

In October, the company will ship the DVDRW208, a DVD+RW PC drive which enables users to write custom CDs and DVDs from a PC.

Philips is one of eight companies supporting the DVD+RW format. The three competing standards for DVD recording technology are DVD+RW, DVD-RW and DVD-Ram. This has caused confusion in the market, raising compatibility issues and keeping prices high.

Hewlett-Packard, Mitsubishi Chemical/Verbatim, Philips Electronics, Ricoh, Sony, Thomson, Yamaha and Dell Computer are members of the DVD+RW alliance.

The DVD re-writable drive (or DVD+RW) lets users record and erase on the same disc - films or data - and is compatible with most DVD players and drives on the market.

Panasonic's DVD-Ram enables users to record and erase repeatedly, but is best used for data storage. Films are not supported in most DVD players and drives.

DVD-RW is compatible with most DVD players and drives but is only for recording films. Compaq Computer and Apple are in this camp.

Analysts predict sales of DVD recordable devices will grow in the next couple of years as prices fall, and consumers discover digital recording and editing. For the best experience on a DVD+RW, people will need a digital camcorder and a high-end PC with a FireWire port.

Gartner predicts the re-writable DVD market will reach about 2.1 million units next year and grow to about 14.5 million units by 2005.

'As newly launched DVD+RW drives hit retail shelves, consumers will determine the winning re-writable DVD standard that best meets their needs,' said Nick Grifiths, Gartner analyst in Strategy Analytics.

'Consumers will not make this decision overnight and so we expect the format competition to continue. However, it will be easier for everyone to test these products for themselves and vote with their dollars in determining the ultimate DVD standard.'

Several DVD+RW products have been announced in the United States by members of the DVD+RW alliance. The products are all expected to be in Hong Kong this year, in time for Christmas sales.

HP introduced the PC-based HP DVD-Writer, dvd100i, and 4.7GB DVD+RW discs for data and video storage. It is pricing the DVD+RW disc at US$15.99.

The HP DVD-Writer dvd100i lets users create custom DVDs and CDs. It is expected to be available in Hong Kong by early October.

At the end of next month, Ricoh will begin shipping the Ricoh MP5120A PC drive, which has DVD+RW and CD-R/CD-RW writing capability.

Verbatim will ship 4.7GB DVD+RW and DVD+R (record once) discs for the PC and consumer-electronics markets.

By the end of the year, Japanese consumer-electronics powerhouse Sony will introduce a DVD+RW drive for PCs and DVD+RW discs optimised for PC and video applications.

Next year, Thomson and Yamaha will both release DVD+RW recorders, similar to Philips' offering.



Philips in DVD drive to set industry standard