Announced almost a year ago, FVD (Forward Versatile Disc) is based on the same red-laser technology used in today's DVD and CD players. Unlike DVDs, FVDs can store HD content, thanks to the use of Microsoft's Windows Media Video 9 codec, which allows 135 minutes of HD video to be stored on an FVD. The format uses WMA for audioFVD is competitive enough with HD-DVD in video quality but FVD products may be as much as ten times less expensive than similar HD-DVD models, OES general director Yung-sheng Liu claimed. FVD can attain definition of 1920 x 1080i and storage capacity of 5.4-6GB for single layer and 9.8-11GB for double layers on a single side, Liu said. The format adopts ASE (Advanced Encryption Standard) content protection system for copy right,The Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), a research body supported by Taiwan's government is preparing to demonstrate the Forward Versatile Disc (FVD)--a new optical disk format for storing high-definition video--developed by ITRI's Opto electronics, Systems Laboratories and the Advanced Optical Storage Research Association, a part of ITRI organized group of 29 Taiwanese companies.Also Philips crackdown on DVD royalties issue will benefit FVD

Julius Liu.