The Advanced Optical Disk (AOD) is similar to the blue ray disk: a CD size (5.25" or 120mm) optical data storage media, that uses a blue laser at 405 nm wavelength.
It has a capacity of 15 GB and does not use a caddy.
The cover layer is like the DVD 0.6mm thick (unlike the blue-ray disk at 0.1mm).
The AOD is promoted by Toshiba and NEC and is a direct competitor of the blue ray disk.
On November 19, 2003, the DVD-Forum has decided with eight to six votes, that the AOD will be the HDTV successor of the DVD. The current specification is version 0.9, the final version is expected first quarter of 2004, the first devices are expeced Q4 2004 and mass production shall start in Q1 2005. A vote in June 2003 did not get a majority for AOD, instead the Blue ray disk was promoted.
To compensate the lack of storage space (15GB instead of Blue ray disks 25GB) is to be compensated with a better codec, here Windows Media 9 or H.264.
