Dual-focus optical picku¥will read CDs and super-density videodisks

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. (Osaka, Japan) has developed a dual-focus optical picku¥capable of reading existing audio compact disks (CDs) and new super-density (SD) format digital videodisks (DVDs). The development follows the announcement earlier this year of the SD format by Toshiba (Tokyo, Japan), Matsushita, and Time Warner Inc., backed by a coalition of six other firms. Development of the optical picku¥reportedly took about two years because researchers had to contend with many differences between the two formats. These differences include substrate thickness, pit sizes, and storage densities. A company spokesman said that the simple configuration of the optical picku¥means that only the lens of a conventional CD picku¥needs replacing. The picku¥is scheduled for incorporation into SD-format DVD players by the end of 1996.