Pioneer Unveils Recordable DVD Player, But Piracy, Compatibility Concerns Linger
09-27-00, 08:07 PM
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By SETH GOLDSTEIN
Pioneer Electronics is developing a DVD application that could bump VHS from its dominant position as an off-air recording device and give Hollywood new copyright concerns.
At a Sept. 18 advanced DVD technology demonstration in New York, Pioneer showed a mockup of a player with a built-in high-density disc, which will be able to record and store broadcast and cable shows, including movies. The unit can also transfer programming to a removable DVD disc that can be watched and archived.
Pioneer North America hopes to introduce the unit in 2002 at a price that has not yet been determined, said group business development v.p. Bob Niimi.
The current generation of digital video recorders, like TiVO and ReplayTV, are either stand-alone devices or built into cable or satellite receivers. Programs can be moved to tape, but without the clarity or convenience of DVD, Pioneer says.
Others are taking steps in the same direction. Philips, for example, reportedly wants a DVR with a removable hard disc that would be used in much the way Pioneer proposes. At present, DVR discs can't be removed; after reaching capacity, they're recorded over.
Philips, Pioneer and anyone else interested in making off-air copies have to overcome another obstacle: Hollywood, which demands maximum protection for its movies. DVD, in paticular, had been considered especially vulnerable by some studio executives.
"We'll try to meet expectations," Niimi said. Pioneer has made the rounds with the prototype, and claims the response has been favorable from the few who have seen it. Anticopy concerns, however, are still unresolved.
"Some of the studios are looking at this as a new business model," according to another Pioneer executive at the demonstration.
However, the business model may be unclear because of the competition among three groups of hardware manufacturers espousing as many incompatible standards of DVD recordability.
Pioneer, which belongs to the 33-member RW Products Promotion Initiative, hopes to have its first recordable DVD in the United States by years end or early 2001. Meanwhile, seeking more converts, RWPPI opens a U.S. office at Pioneer headquarters in Long Beach, Calif., on Oct. 1
How long incompatibility will divide manufacturers is anyone's guess, Pioneer acknowledged. Asked whether steps were underway to end the impasse, Pioneer New Media Technologies senior v.p. Andy Parsons responded, "We're really not prepared to answer that. It's very difficult to discuss."
Pioneer Electronics is developing a DVD application that could bump VHS from its dominant position as an off-air recording device and give Hollywood new copyright concerns.
At a Sept. 18 advanced DVD technology demonstration in New York, Pioneer showed a mockup of a player with a built-in high-density disc, which will be able to record and store broadcast and cable shows, including movies. The unit can also transfer programming to a removable DVD disc that can be watched and archived.
Pioneer North America hopes to introduce the unit in 2002 at a price that has not yet been determined, said group business development v.p. Bob Niimi.
The current generation of digital video recorders, like TiVO and ReplayTV, are either stand-alone devices or built into cable or satellite receivers. Programs can be moved to tape, but without the clarity or convenience of DVD, Pioneer says.
Others are taking steps in the same direction. Philips, for example, reportedly wants a DVR with a removable hard disc that would be used in much the way Pioneer proposes. At present, DVR discs can't be removed; after reaching capacity, they're recorded over.
Philips, Pioneer and anyone else interested in making off-air copies have to overcome another obstacle: Hollywood, which demands maximum protection for its movies. DVD, in paticular, had been considered especially vulnerable by some studio executives.
"We'll try to meet expectations," Niimi said. Pioneer has made the rounds with the prototype, and claims the response has been favorable from the few who have seen it. Anticopy concerns, however, are still unresolved.
"Some of the studios are looking at this as a new business model," according to another Pioneer executive at the demonstration.
However, the business model may be unclear because of the competition among three groups of hardware manufacturers espousing as many incompatible standards of DVD recordability.
Pioneer, which belongs to the 33-member RW Products Promotion Initiative, hopes to have its first recordable DVD in the United States by years end or early 2001. Meanwhile, seeking more converts, RWPPI opens a U.S. office at Pioneer headquarters in Long Beach, Calif., on Oct. 1
How long incompatibility will divide manufacturers is anyone's guess, Pioneer acknowledged. Asked whether steps were underway to end the impasse, Pioneer New Media Technologies senior v.p. Andy Parsons responded, "We're really not prepared to answer that. It's very difficult to discuss."
09-27-00, 08:11 PM
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And the price? One miiiiiiiiiiiiiillion dollars! 
I'm anxious as hell for a stand-alone recordable DVD player though I'm not even sure what I'd want to record. Fox is putting out The X-Files is season box sets so there's nothing else I can think of right now. 
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I'm anxious as hell for a stand-alone recordable DVD player though I'm not even sure what I'd want to record. Fox is putting out The X-Files is season box sets so there's nothing else I can think of right now. ------------------
"Please don't kill me Mr. Ghostface. I wanna be in the sequel."
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09-28-00, 12:33 AM
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Moving to Hardware Forum
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09-28-00, 09:17 AM
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Pioneer displayed a WORKING PRE-PRODUCTION
PROTOTYPE DVD-Recorder back in January 2000
at CES, Las Vegas. One big setback the unit
I saw had was that it had NO PROVISION for
recording ANY kind of digital audio bitstream
as the ONLY inputs it had were regular stereo
2-channel analog!
PROTOTYPE DVD-Recorder back in January 2000
at CES, Las Vegas. One big setback the unit
I saw had was that it had NO PROVISION for
recording ANY kind of digital audio bitstream
as the ONLY inputs it had were regular stereo
2-channel analog!
