This was posted sometime ago, but it has interesting information "...In a packed press conference at the CES Show in Las Vegas, major manufacturers backed the DVD-R / -Rw recordable DVD format and launched a massive consumer awareness campaign called "Real DVD". As the average price of a DVD player sank below $135 in the US, manufacturers like Samsung, Toshiba, Hitachi and Panasonic are desperate to add value to the market with a unified recordable format..." They are all backing the so-called multi-format recorders that use DVD-R, DVD-Rw and DVD-Ram, leaving only Philip's as the big name solely supporting DVD+R and +Rw.

The US Consumer awareness campaign is headed up by the Recordable DVD Council, which has 97 members including JVC and Matsushita.

Chairman Bon-Guk Koo of Samsung Electronics told the press conference: "DVD recorders that incorporate DVD-Ram/-R have consistently dominated sales in Japan, especially hard disc drive and DVD recorder hybrid products. We stand behind 'Real DVD' now and for the future."

Mr Koo said that the primary objective of the RDVDC was to spread the word about DVD recordable formats that have been specified by the DVD Forum before there is mass-market confusion. He admitted that the lack of compatibility between competing formats had already caused some degree of confusion over interoperability.

With DVD recordable products launching on almost every major manufacturer's stand, even Sony - not a member of the RDVDC - backed DVD-Ram/-Rw albeit in addition to its DVD+R/+Rw products. Samsung and Panasonic unveiled a raft of DVD-Ram/-R machines.