Sony 2003 Annual Report Download - page 28

DVD Recorder
The superior audiovisual quality of DVDs has made pre-recorded DVD-Videos of movies, concerts and
other types of content commonplace. Now it appears that recordable DVDs are also on the verge of
developing into a large market.
To enable playback compatibility with DVD players already sold, Sony has begun selling a DVD recorder
that can accommodate +RW, -RW and -R formats. The DVD recorder pictured here has a DV input jack
which enables users to record and edit onto DVDs material filmed on
Digital Handycam video cameras and other products.
Moreover, for PCs, Sony has introduced a rewritable drive that
is compatible w ith +RW, +R, -RW and -R formats. Market response
has been favorable.
By using discs as a recording medium, customers are able to
transfer, w ith ease, high-resolution video content from one device
to another. Now that the superior picture and sound quality of
DVDs, as well as their outstanding versatility, are easily accessible,
hopes are high that digital discs will take hold as the mainstream
of video recording in households. Indications also point to growing
use of DVDs as a high-capacity PC storage medium.
Blu-ray Disc
As digital broadcasting gains momentum, high resolution television programs have become accessible
to a grow ing number of households. This is fueling demand for a means of recording these high
definition broadcasts w ithout losing any of their original quality. To meet this demand, nine
electronics manufacturers* in Japan, South Korea and Europe established the Blu-ray Disc format.
Sony began selling the world’s first Blu-ray Disc recorder in Japan in April 2003.
Each disc holds up to 23GB of data, equivalent to about five DVDs. A Blu-ray Disc can
store, at the same level of definition, about two hours of the digital high definition
broadcasting satellite programming that is available in Japan and about 12 hours of
that same programming at regular VHS level quality. The recorder also records the 5.1-
channel audio that accompanies the digital high definition broadcasting
satellite programming and users can enjoy that sound quality at play time
simply by using an amplifier that has an internally-equipped MPEG-2 AAC 5.1-
channel decoder. Moreover, the recorder comes with sophisticated copyright
protection technology that prevents unlaw ful duplication of contents.
* The nine companies are: Sony Corporation; Hitachi, Ltd.; LG Electronics Inc.; M atsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.;
Pioneer Corporation; Royal Philips Electronics; Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.; Sharp Corporation; and Thomson.
Sony Corporation Annual Report 200326
DVD Recorder
DVD/CD Rewritable Drive