VOA常速英语2008年-Washington State Manufacturer Embraces Blu-Ray

By Mike O'Sullivan
Los Angeles
12 March 2008

The battle between two rival high definition formats² for video disks has been decided³ in favor of Blu-ray, which was jointly⁴ developed by Sony, Samsung, Philips and other companies. Mike O'Sullivan reports, a U.S. manufacturer based in Washington State has embraced the new technology, and sees a bright future for it.

Last year, Erick Hansen of Blu-ray Technologies set up an independent plant in Spokane, Washington, to manufacture disks in two high definition formats, Blu-ray and HD DVD.

Each had its backers. Toshiba had developed the HD DVD format¹, partnering with NEC and a number of Hollywood studios, which agreed to use the format for their high definition releases. But Blu-ray got more backers. After major retailers⁵ such as Wal-Mart and Best Buy made the switch to Blu-ray, Toshiba gave up the fight last month and said it would no longer make or market HD DVD equipment.

Both Blu-ray and HD DVD encode data on high-density disks using a violet-blue laser. But Hansen says Blu-ray disks hold more information, and retrieve⁶ it faster.

"We have an analogy that we use at our facility," he explained. "We basically say, if you're a banker and you can get your money faster to a client without loss, without any problems, you're basically going to win the loan war. That's what Blu-ray does and that's what it did, and that's why anybody that actually understood the technology knew that Blu-ray would be the winner in the end."

Hansen was a pioneer in the DVD business, and still produces DVDs and compact disks. In the 1990s, he manufactured them outside Los Angeles, but says costs were high, so in 2006 he chose the city of Spokane in Washington State for his new plant.

Costs are much lower there for electrical power and workers' compensation insurance, which covers employees injured on the job. He also keeps his expenses down by working with the environment and not against it, for example, using the earth to cool the high-tech⁷ clean room where the disks are made.

"The first thing we did was, we took our clean room and put it underground. We built it in a basement," explained Hansen. "When I had the facility in California, we spent about $20,000 a month on air conditioning. Now we spend maybe $300 or $400 by building it at 65 degrees in a basement, in an environment that we could control."

That temperature of 18 degrees Celsius⁸ is just right for the process.

The disk-molding machines generate heat, which he says he puts to use.

"We take that excess heat, redirect it back up into the first, second and third floors of the building (it's a four story building) and heat the rest of our building with the waste energy that we create," he said.

Hansen uses water to cool the machines, and as the water heats up in the process, he pipes it through the ground to chill it naturally. He sells polycarbonate scraps⁹ from the disk making process to an automaker for tail lights.

He says new technologies are creating business opportunities for entrepreneurs like him. And he says as American companies learn to keep their costs down, they can manufacture at home, instead of outsourcing to countries like China.

Manufacturers of Blu-ray disks and equipment must still persuade consumers to invest in high definition television sets and video players. That battle continues, while new technology such as high-speed digital downloads over the Internet may make even Blu-ray disks obsolete¹⁰ someday.

1 format   

n.设计，版式；[计算机]格式，DOS命令:格式化(磁盘)，用于空盘或使用过的磁盘建立新空盘来存储数据；v.使格式化，设计，安排

参考例句：

• Please format this floppy disc.请将这张软盘格式化。
• The format of the figure is very tasteful.该图表的格式很雅致。

2 formats   

n.（出版物的）版式( format的名词复数 )；[电视]电视节目的总安排（或计划）

参考例句：

• They are producing books in all kinds of different formats. 他们出版各种不同开本的书籍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A true GUI includes standard formats for representing text and graphics. 真正的图形用户界面包括表示文字和图形的标准格式。 来自互联网

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 jointly   

ad.联合地，共同地

参考例句：

• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。
• She owns the house jointly with her husband. 她和丈夫共同拥有这所房子。

5 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

6 retrieve   

vt.重新得到，收回；挽回，补救；检索

参考例句：

• He was determined to retrieve his honor.他决心恢复名誉。
• The men were trying to retrieve weapons left when the army abandoned the island.士兵们正试图找回军队从该岛撤退时留下的武器。

7 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

8 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

9 scraps   

油渣

参考例句：

• Don't litter up the floor with scraps of paper. 不要在地板上乱扔纸屑。
• A patchwork quilt is a good way of using up scraps of material. 做杂拼花布棉被是利用零碎布料的好办法。

10 obsolete   

adj.已废弃的，过时的

参考例句：

• These goods are obsolete and will not fetch much on the market.这些货品过时了，在市场上卖不了高价。
• They tried to hammer obsolete ideas into the young people's heads.他们竭力把陈旧思想灌输给青年。