Spec to add digital output capability to DVD products
 TOKYO — The DVD Forum is putting the finishing touches on specs that will let DVD products output digital signals. Guidelines for a 1394 interface implementation that directly links DVD players to output appliances such as digital TV sets and digital audio amplifiers are close to being finalized, a forum official said.
DVD players handle digital signals, but their output is now restricted to analog only. "The principal mission is to create a 1394 recommendation for playback-only DVDs," said Hideki Mimura, group manager at Toshiba Corp.'s data-storage development center, and chairman of a DVD Forum DVD-Video working group that is crafting the 1394 interface.