After negotiations stretching over more than a year, 10 electronics firms from Japan, the U.S. and Europe have finally agreed on standardized DVD formats for rewritable and write-once applications, a consortium of companies said April 14.

The standardization for rewritable DVDs, called DVD-RAM, and for write-once DVDs, known as DVD-R, will help manufacturers develop and sell new large-capacity storage devices for personal computers and audiovisual equipment as early as this year, according to DVD forum officials. DVD is seen as a potential replacement for current compact discs, CD-ROMs, laser discs and even conventional videotapes, and the DVD device market is expected to reach 3 trillion yen by 2000.

"The specifications were optimized following intensive consideration of industry requirements, and with full consideration for compatibility with and the future expandability of the overall DVD format," the forum said in a statement. The officials said format books explaining the detailed specifications will be issued April 22.