(fwd) Toshiba Announces DVD Video And ROM Players 09/27/96

["C. Oda" <craig@example.com>]

A question from the TLUG meeting concerned DVD players.

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TOKYO, JAPAN, 1996 SEP 27 (NB) -- By Martyn Williams. Toshiba  
Corporation [TOKYO:6502] has become the third of Japan's big 
electronics manufacturers to announce its initial range of digital 
video disk (DVD) video players. The company has also become the first 
to unveil plans to produce a DVD-ROM player for inclusion in 
computers. 

The first DVD player from Toshiba, the SD-3000, will go on sale  
November 1 in Japan at a price of 77,000 yen ($696). A basic model, 
the unit features the ability to playback DVD video and audio CD 
discs. Other features include a Dolby AC-3 noise reduction decoder, 
S-video output and Y/Cr/Cb video output signals to ensure maximum 
possible quality can be viewed with a suitable monitor. 

The big news for computer users is the announcement of the first  
DVD-ROM player. Toshiba has begun sample shipments of its SD-M1002 
already at unit prices of 90,000 yen ($813) in Japan. The disc is sure 
to be popular with multimedia computer software manufacturers because 
of its ability to hold 4.7 gigabytes of data, several times more than 
CD-ROM discs. 

In common with the video player, the computer drive maintains  
backwards compatibility with its CD cousin and will accept existing 
CD-ROM, CD-I, video CD and Photo CD discs. A dual lens pickup means 
the drive can play both systems; the appropriate lens is selected 
automatically when a disc is inserted. In CD-ROM mode, the drive 
offers up to 8 times rotation speed. 

The drive is a 5.25-inch type that couples with Toshiba's new decoder  
board, the IPC0101A, that includes an MPEG-2 and Dolby AC-3 decoder. 
Sample shipments of the decoder board, a PCI 2.1 bus card, have also 
already began with a sample shipment price of 150,000 yen ($1,355) per 
board. 

Analog video and audio outputs on the back of the card mean the  
computer can be used as a DVD player when connected to a standard 
television set. The board is currently available for the Microsoft 
Windows95 platform. Toshiba is yet to announce retail pricing for the 
drive and board. 

For the future, the company plans to launch a television set  
with built-in DVD player and high-end desktop personal computers with 
built in DVD-ROM drives. 

Exchange rate, $1 = 110.70 yen.  

(19960927/TOSH960927/PHOTO)   	
  	   	

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Craig Oda 	craig@example.com	
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