Requirements for Future High-Capacity Compact-Disc Format Announced by
Computer Industry Technical Experts

San Jose, Calif., May 3, 1995 -- Technical representatives of five major
computer hardware and software companies said today that their companies
strongly encourage the adoption of one format -- not two -- for the next
generation of high-capacity compact disc for both entertainment and
computer-based applications. Moreover, new digital-video players or
compact-disc drives built for the new format should also be able to read
the millions of compact discs and CD-ROMs that corporations and
individuals already own. The next-generation compact disc is expected to
store about 10 to 15 times more data than today's.

These objectives are the first two of nine released today by data storage
systems experts from Apple Computer, Inc.; Compaq Computer Corporation,
Hewlett-Packard Company, International Business Machines Corporation and
Microsoft Corporation after examining their respective companies'
requirements for any future high-capacity compact-disc format.

In the past five months, two different -- and currently incompatible --
future compact-disc formats have been proposed: the MultiMedia Compact
Disc (MMCD) format by Sony and Philips and the Super Density (SD) format
by a group of electronics and entertainment companies led by Toshiba.

The data storage experts do not plan to choose between these proposed new
formats. Rather, in separate meetings with representatives of each format
April 20-21, they strongly urged the two groups to present a single format
that meets the needs of both the computer and entertainment industries.

The consensus of the experts is that consumers, software and content
providers and hardware manufacturers would be best served by a single
format that combines the strongest technical features from each of the two
current proposals. Such a united format must meet the requirements of both
Digital Video Disc (DVD) and computer-based applications. The technical
experts are prepared to provide further input, as each deems appropriate,
to help hasten the development of such a single format that is acceptable
to all parties.

The five computer companies' objectives are:

 1) A single interchange standard for both TV-based and PC-based
    applications.

 2) Backward read-compatibility with existing compact discs.

 3) Forward compatibility with future read/write and write-once discs.

 4) A single file system for:
     a) both entertainment and computer-based content;
     b) read-only, read/write, write-once discs and combinations
        thereof.

 5) Low cost. (I.e, comparable to current CD-ROM drives and discs,
    assuming equivalent volumes.)

 6) No mandatory container (e.g. caddy or cartridge).  This would
    minimize the cost of the basic disc and also allow for compact
    autochangers.

 7) Reliable data storage and retrieval for read-only, read/write and
    write-once media.  The average number of uncorrectable errors per
    disc should be equal to or lower than that of current compact disc
    technologies, under equivalent environmental, handling, age and
    defect conditions.

 8) High on-line capacity, extendible to future capacity enhancements,
    such as multiple data layers and shorter wavelength lasers.

 9) High performance for both sequential (e.g., movies) and
    non-sequential (e.g., random-access computer data) files.

Participation in future activities by the data storage experts is open to
computer-related companies by contacting Alan E. Bell.  (Phone: (408)
927-1506; E-mail:  bella@almaden.ibm.com.)

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