Well dual layer recordable DVDs have been around for about 18 months now, without too much happening with them. With their expense (still over $8 each here in Australia), their use has been difficult to justify. Might as well just split a movie over two single layer discs.
But the good news is that dual layer consumer DVD recorders are now arriving. Both NEC and Sony are introducing models supporting DVD+R DL, while Pioneer’s new range are supporting the new DVD Forum standard, DVD-R DL. I was going to put more details about all these models, but the Internet — at least my view of it — is extremely flaky this afternoon.
Dual layer recordable DVDs have a capacity of 8.5GB rather than the single layers’ 4.7GB. (In this context, a GB = 1,000,000,000 bytes, not 1,073,741,824 bytes.)
Given that dual layer discs are so expensive, why is this good news? Because these recorders will make dual layer discs more popular. The broader their use, the cheaper they will become. At last, we will be able to look forward to significant price reductions in dual layer recordable DVDs.