Introducing the Forward Versatile Disc
As if we needed any more competing disc formats, you can add FVD, or Forward Versatile Disc, to the growing list that now includes DVD, EVD, Magneto-Optical, HD-DVD, Blu-ray, Professional Disc, and probably a few others we're forgetting. A dual-layer FVD can hold up to 11GB of data, or more than twice what a regular DVD holds. And though that's far less than the up to 50GB that Blu-ray discs might hold, since the discs use Microsoft's Windows Media Video 9 format they can store over two hours of high-definition video. The other advantage of FVD players is that they're cheaper to make since they use red lasers rather than the more expensive blue laser that you have to use to read a 50GB a disc. A few Taiwanese manufacturers, including BenQ and Mustek, say they're going to get behind the new format, but we doubt that many studios will bother releasing their movies in FVD.
