Hitachi, Sanyo set sights on 14Gb optical disk

Hitachi and Sanyo are working together on an optical disk technology that will store up to 14Gb of data on a disk the size of a CD. This is three times the capacity of a single-sided Digital Video Disk, and 20 times the capacity of a CD-ROM.

The two companies say they plan to market a PC computer memory medium and a moving image player within three years. Hitachi will work on further innovation of the disk, while Sanyo will develop equipment capable of recording and playing back data.

The 12cm discs will be compatible with CD-ROM discs but capable of storing up to five hours of movies. Hitachi and Sanyo say the picture quality matches that of DVD.