PHILIPS TAKES DUAL APPROACH TO DVD+RW UPGRADE

Issue came to head recently with class-action lawsuit against +RW Alliance member Hewlett-Packard (HP) over lack of upgrade that would enable its first-generation DVD+RW drive to record less expensive and more widely compatible write-once DVD+R media. Complaint filed April 25 in Nev. Dist. Court, Las Vegas, by Nev. resident Tony White alleged HP had offered drives “with the representation that they would be able to write the less expensive DVD+R discs once those discs were released.” Suit said “those promises began to ring hollow in April 2002, when the DVD+R discs were introduced into the marketplace and the defendant admitted that the formats are not compatible.”

Complaint cited May 2001 announcement by +RW Alliance claiming firmware or other solution would be available to upgrade early DVD+RW recorders for write-once operation. It said HP reproduced notice on its Web site, but later deleted it. Suit also quoted FAQ that was on +RW Alliance Web site until Jan. 2002, saying software upgrade for DVD+R would be available from HP and Philips last fall. Complaint charged that “prior to launching sales of the product, the defendants realized that the product would never be compatible with the DVD+R product.” It said that when HP learned its DVD100i drive couldn’t be upgraded, company “simply and quietly purged the false representations as to the universal compatibility of the product.”

HP’s Web site posted offer April 15 to replace original drives with new, DVD+R capable DVD200i for $99 payment and trade- in of existing model. In posting, company conceded support for DVD+R was “neither planned nor technically feasible” for DVD100i. Offer is valid May 1 through June 30 in U.S., and HP said it planned to offer exchange in other markets soon -- including on DVD+RW drives installed OEM in its Pavilion PCs. Spokesman for HP told us $99 fee was to cover necessary software that accompanied DVD200i, which carried no charge for exchanging customers. HP has yet to comment on lawsuit. Exchange will be extended to Europe also, HP in U.K. said. “To upgrade the DVD100i to DVD+R would involve a costly and intricate mechanical change to the optics,” HP said: “HP is developing a trade-in and trade-up program for its European customers to exchange their DVD100i for a DVD200i at nominal cost.” Cost to consumer has yet to be disclosed.

When developing DVD+RW, Philips and HP assumed users wouldn’t want to burn write-once disc if rewritable blanks were cheap enough. That overlooked quick price drops for write-once disc as well as desirable applications for disc that couldn’t be erased accidentally or intentionally. In March 2001 Philips announced development work on write-once DVD+R option. Subsequent statements from +RW Alliance suggested or implied first-generation hardware would be firmware ungradable for DVD+R. That’s case with Philips’ consumer home video recorders, ungradable by free CD-ROM that loads new firmware into home deck. Until early this year Philips said it still was hoping to find upgrade for DVDRW208 PC drive but since has conceded that’s impossible.

Philips spokeswoman told us it had made no clear upgrade pledges on DVDRW208 PC burner in Europe, but in U.S., some drives were sold in packaging that mentioned DVD+R. Philips concedes DVDRW208 was “mislabeled” in U.S. and will “take corrective action, case by case,” spokeswoman told us. In Europe, though, early adopters are out of luck. “The European drives were correctly labelled,” Philips said. “The consumer got what was described and there is nothing wrong with it.” Company wouldn’t be more specific on manner of redress for DVDRW208 owners in U.S., but 2nd generation DVDRW228 with DVD+R capability is due out next month. Message on Internet bulletin board by U.S. owner of Philips DVDRW208 said company told him it would replace drive at no charge when new drive shipped. Philips wasn’t named in class-action suit, which otherwise cited 10 “Doe” individual and 10 “Roe” corporate defendants to be named during discovery.