TDK To Join Blu-ray Disc Founders

Jeff Malester -- TWICE, 3/22/2004

Hanover, Germany — TDK is joining Blu-ray Disc Founders Group (BDF), the first recording media manufacturer to make this move.

In collaboration with other BDF members — from March of this year — TDK is set to actively engage in advancing the technical development and activities to determine specification policies for the Blu-ray disc, thereby contributing to its growth.

Other manufacturers already involved in BDF are Dell, Hewlett-Packard, LG Electronics, Matsushita Electric Industrial, Pioneer, Royal Philips Electronics, Samsung Electronics, Sharp and Sony.

Among the technical developments credited to TDK, at its entry point into BDF, are hard-coating technology, that enables the Blu-ray disc to be produced "bare," in that it doesn’t need a protective cartridge. Freeing the disc from a cartridge will reduce costs, but provide users with the convenience of being able to handle Blu-ray discs in the same manner as the current DVD.

TDK’s multiple layering technology will make possible increased disc capacity, while high-speed recording layer technology will enable faster disc and writing operations.

TDK expects all three technologies to make significant contributions to expanding the range of future applications.