Hidemi Yoshida Member of the Board, Chief Technology Officer

IT media evolves on a daily basis, developing so quickly that hardware technology is often in danger of being left behind. The 1 MB floppy disk sold 20 years ago was replaced by the 700 MB CD, which in turn was superseded by the 4.7 GB DVD.
  This spring, the new “HD-DVD” and “Blu-ray Disc” media, with 15 GB and 25 GB of capacity in a single layer respectively, were introduced in the market. Mitsubishi Kagaku Media (MKM), who has been a leader in the development, production and sales of recording media for the last 20 years, discusses the secrets of the development success..

What kind of company is MKM/Verbatim?
MKM is a group company of Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation, and is involved in the development, production and sales of recordable optical media. Domestically, our products are sold under the Mitsubishi brand. Outside of Japan, they are sold under the Verbatim brand. The 2005 global shipment report by the Santa Clara Consulting Group shows that the Mitsubishi Kagaku Media/Verbatim Group has the largest market share in both CD and DVD media. This indicates that we are a strong, well-positioned brand throughout the world.

Please tell us about the new HD-DVD and Blu-ray Discs.
Both formats have three to five times more storage capacity than a current DVD. They are next-generation optical storage discs. The Blu-ray Disc (BD) will hold 25 GB of data on one side and the HD-DVD will hold 15GB of data (single type media).
  All TV broadcasts in Japan will be digitized by the year 2011 and use high definition (HD) pictures. However, a conventional DVD can only store 25 minutes of an HD TV program.
  Storing HD contents will require higher storage capacities, and these new types of media will satisfy the requirement. The HD-DVD and Blu-ray standards have already been established for both the recordable and rewritable type of disc. The HD-DVD and Blu-ray Disc will go into mass production this year, joining the currently popular DVD. We expect the DVD to continue to increase in sales. But, we also know our customers are awaiting the HD-DVD and Blu-ray Disc, and we want to respond with both of these products.

Long-accumulated dye techology helps assure leadership in next-generation DVDs (prototypes shown above)

From CD-R to DVD and on to the next-generation DVD, what are your secrets for successful product development when demand for products changes so rapidly?
I believe there are several different factors, but one of them is the accumulation of basic technology from the past. The accumulation of different technologies within the Mitsubishi Chemical Group has been utilized efficiently; like dye, which today is used as a recording layer material for recordable optical media.
  The same approach can be seen in optical technology development as well. The characteristic of the optical media is how accurately it records data. The recording mechanism of recordable media is that a laser light hits the recording layer consisting of dye, causing a chemical reaction in the layer, leaving a bit mark behind. Thus, the recorded signal quality depends on the quality of dye itself, especially at higher speed recordings. Therefore, the chemistry technologies are key. The recording method does not change, even if the media changes from CD to DVD to next-generation DVD. It is our core technology in dye chemistry that supports the development of new products.

Technological capability aside, what are some differences between you and your competitors?
I believe it is the good combination of our technological policy of “Something a bit advanced” and our sales policy of “Something different.” Our salespeople look for things that are different from those of other companies, and our engineers go above and beyond other companies when it comes to research. When it comes to next-generation media, we are the only company developing both the HD-DVD and the Blu-ray Disc simultaneously. In the areas of optical recording products with large capacity, high speed, and portability, we will continue to challenge ourselves to develop new media that meets our customers’ needs and to lead the world in this area of technology.