Who Will Support Dual-Layer DVD?

Within the next month, the first dual-layer DVD burners will hit the streets for both the PC and Mac platforms. If you haven’t heard, “dual layer” or “blue ray” DVD’s will hold up to 8.5 GB of material on a single disk. That’s almost twice the data you can store on one now. If you’re a little video producer like me, then you’re probably viewing the arrival with both glee and anxiousness. On the plus side, once the media, burners, and software support all become available, I’d be able to produce a DVD on par with those produced by large distributors (like Hollywood studios, for instance). On the minus side, I’ll have to invest in new burners and media and risk incompatibilities with older DVD players. I thought I read somewhere that to play these disks I’d have to buy a new DVD player as well.

My original title for this blog was to be “Will Apple Support Dual-Layer DVD?” But as I thought about it, I realized the real question was whether the average Joe Blow consumer would support dual layer DVD. After all, DVD technology is still in its infancy and people are already being asked to step up to a new format. While that tactic might work with the computer crowd, it’s not as likely to be popular with the average Joe Blow or Mom and Pop. Especially when their paychecks are being hit so hard by rising gas prices and out-of- sight medical insurance premiums.

The other problem with the technology is that the dual layer (also known as “double layer”) disks are only going to be immediately available in +R format media. I don’t care what the hype is, -R DVD’s are more compatible with a larger number of players. While my current policy is that I’ll only produce –R disks, that could change; and I’ll have to adopt some strategies to protect against incompatibilities with my customer’s equipment, a risk that will be larger due to the newness of the technology.

I believe that the market will move forward to embrace the technology. But the pendulum could swing either way. We could see both +R and –R formats move forward with it and see it gain wide acceptance despite the new set of costs; it could be the “deal clencher” that pushes the market into the +R format as “the” DVD format; or Sony, the lead player in this field right now, might find itself staring at a repeat of the VHS vs BetaMax war, with today’s DVD playing the role of “VHS” and the new dual-layer DVD’s sliding into BetaMax antiquity.

It will be interesting to watch.