James Delahunty
15 Dec 2005 6:31
Toshiba, the company leading the HD-DVD group has hinted that the next generation optical disc format, HD-DVD, may be delayed again. The company blames the delay in the finalizing of the Advanced Access Content System (AACS) for any potential delays. It said it has "completed the design of HD DVD players for the US and Japanese markets and are ready for volume production at our manufacturing facilities in Japan."
However, one more comment was made. "Toshiba will only launch its HD DVD products after AACS is finalized.... Under these circumstances, Toshiba plans to launch HD DVD players and notebook PCs with HD DVD drives in Japan promptly following the implementation of AACS into hardware and software products." HD-DVD was already delayed to Spring 2006 (Q4 2005 was original target) presumably for the same reasons.
The AACS Licensing Authority (AACSLA) published v0.9 of the AACS specification in April earlier this year and then said it would aim to make the final release, v1.0 by the end of the year. Toshiba's comments indicate that it doesn't expect AACS 1.0 to appear anytime soon. The AACS Licensing Authority (AACSLA) was co-founded by Toshiba.
Source:
The Register