Submitted by: kirkland on Monday December 29th, 2003 at 04:41 PM EST

One side of the ongoing recordable DVD format battle is expected to be first with products that nearly double the amount of data held on one disc. But that victory may not put an end to the feud.

The DVD+RW camp, which includes Hewlett-Packard, Dell and Philips, plans to put so-called "double-layer" DVD recording devices on the market by next spring. Discs on these systems are expected to hold 8.5GB, or four hours of DVD-quality video (16 hours of VHS-quality video). That's about the same amount as the DVDs studios use to issue movies.

But the so-called "dash" camp promoting the DVD-R and DVD-RW formats also is working on dual-layer recording, which involves writing data on two separate surfaces, layered like coats of paint, on a DVD. And unlike in the videotape-standard battle between VHS and Betamax, "plus" and "dash" may be able to coexist for some time to come, observers say.

"I would put my money on the plus camp" in bringing out dual-layer DVD recording first, said Pete Gerr, an analyst with research firm Enterprise Storage Group. But when it comes to the overall format struggle, "it continues to be a skirmish for as long as Pioneer wants to stay in it," Gerr said. Pioneer is a major advocate of the dash format.

"I do believe that the plus guys are going to get there first," said Robert DeMoulin, marketing manager for branded optical products at Sony Electronics. Sony, like some other manufacturers, makes DVD recorders that combine both plus and dash technology.

DeMoulin pointed out there are plenty of older dash recorders on the market. "I just don't see that the dash format is going away anytime soon," he said.

» Read more @ C|Net