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Compatibility with DVD-ROM drives could give Rewritable CD (CD- RW) a leg up on existing CD-R technology and turn the heads of businesses looking to purchase the latest erasable high-capacity storage platform.
But compatibility can only be assured if all companies making drives agree on standards, and major DVD players Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. and Toshiba America Information Systems Inc. have not committed to supporting MultiRead CD, the interchangability specifications being backed by Philips Electronics and Sony Corp..
Hewlett-Packard Co., with the help of Mitsubishi Chemical Corp., Philips, Ricoh Company Ltd. and Sony, is leading the effort to make upcoming CD-RW drives a universal data-interchange medium by pushing for the adoption of MultiRead by the Optical Storage Technology Association. (OSTA). If incorporated into CD-ROM and DVD-ROM drives, MultiRead would enable those drives to read CD-RW discs. Seven companies have committed to supporting MultiRead in future CD- ROM and DVD-ROM players: Hitachi Ltd., Mitsumi Electronics Corp., Philips, Pioneer Electronics Corp., Sanyo Electric Co....