In November
1996, Toshiba launched its SD-3000 DVD player, the first of its
kind in Japan. Matsushita, Sony, and other competitors released
their first DVD players around the same time. There's little merit
in debating who was actually first, since the difference was a
month or two at most. Here, we'll discuss the development of the
prototype DVD player, the first DVD player in the true sense, and
its rapid ascent to the status of a world standard.
The DVD development project began in 1994. The most common image
medium in those days was the VHS video cassette. While the laser
disks also available at that time offered superior image quality
(and had a landmark impact on karaoke), they were large - up to 30
cm in diameter - and a single disk barely stored one movie, even
when using both sides. Laser disks won limited consumer acceptance.
Worst of all, the disks offered only analog image data. The DVD proposed
by Toshiba (called "SD") stored both audio and video data in pure
digital format. An entire movie fit onto a 12 cm disk, the same size
as an audio CD, while offering high image and audio quality and a
flexible array of functions.
Placing extended recordings on a 12 cm disk requires both a high
density disk and MPEG2 technology for compressing video data. Fortunately,
Toshiba had already developed an MPEG2 encoder. And thanks to its
close ties with Time Warner in Hollywood, Toshiba had access to numerous
movie titles. Working closely with Time Warner, the project team
began MPEG2 compression tests using these titles, seeking to minimize
data volumes while achieving a level of image quality that would
satisfy even Hollywood professionals.
Hollywood had another requirement:: One disk containing a full title
was to cost less than 20 dollars (the price of two movie tickets,
popcorn, and soda). A single disk was to store data sufficient for
135 minutes on one side; a capacity that would be sufficient for
90% of the movies produced in Hollywood. In response, Toshiba devised
a method whereby two 0.6 mm disks were assembled back to back to
form a disk 1.2 mm thick. This configuration was easy to manufacture,
and allowed for the possibility of increased density further down
the line.
Toshiba built a prototype DVD player to verify that the design worked
as intended. At the same time, Toshiba launched pilot production
of disks with assistance from Warner Music and Toshiba EMI. Consisting
of an unruly pile of circuit boards, the first prototype player came
to be known as the "fire watchtower." The disk and the fire watchtower
weren't always stable. But their high image quality handily eclipsed
the VHS cassette. Emphasizing its high image quality and Dolby 5.1-channel
surround sound capability, Toshiba demonstrated the DVD around the
world, impressing studios, computer companies, news media, and various
related industries. In one instance, a DVD player was exhibited on
the executive floor of Toshiba headquarters and demonstrated before
representatives from various related industries in Japan in an effort
intended to underscore the concerted efforts of the entire company
to make DVD a universal standard.
Thanks to demonstrations of the inherent performance of a DVD using
the first prototype "fire watchtower", and disks actually produced
on the test line, rather than simulated products, the Toshiba DVD
system won industry-wide acceptance and made significant strides
toward worldwide standardization. Incorporating suggestions from
other companies, Toshiba completed and delivered a final DVD format.
The PC boards of the "fire watchtower" were replaced by integrated
circuits and shrunk to fit almost entirely into a single PC board.
This was followed in short order by the first commercial DVD player,
the slimline SD-3000. A DVD disk consisted of two 4.7 GB layers,
or a total of 8.5 GB, capable of holding 135 minutes of uncompressed
video data and more than 3 hours of compressed video data. Today,
DVD players are available at remarkably low cost, and numerous movie
and music DVDs have been released. Also available are DVD recorders.
DVD is used for video games, for in-car navigation, in mini-component
systems, and in many other applications. With the status of a global
consumer standard, it's achieved near-universal levels of recognition.
Terrestrial digital broadcasting began in 2004, following on the
heels of BS satellite digital broadcasts. This development marked
the advent of the digital high-vision age. Toshiba is currently advocating
HD-DVD as a new-generation optical disk
to support digital high-vision applications. The HD-DVD project is now
underway with the blessing of the DVD Forum. We can look forward
to a high-vision version of the "fire watchtower" in the not-so-distant
future.
|
 |
| The SD-3000 - the
world's first DVD player |
| The first DVD to
be released anywhere in the world |
| Demonstration player
used in Hollywood |
The first prototype:
the "fire watchtower" |
The second prototype:
the "vanguard" |
| The SD-410 - the portable
DVD player |
|
