The Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported recently that Matsushita has developed a technology able to significantly reduce production costs for the next-generation DVD format Blu-ray. The technology revolves around a new way to apply a protective resin layer on discs, in which liquid resin is poured over a sloped cap placed at the center of the disc. Before, the company used special, expensive sheets on the disc's surface to ensure an even coating, which made production costs for these discs two to three times higher than existing DVDs. However, with the new technology Matsushita will be able to lower production costs to the level of current DVD discs, and will therefore be better able to compete with the HD DVD camp, which has held a cost advantage over the Blu-ray camp.