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On this year's IFA, from 1-6 September in Berlin, Lite-On will present its first High Definition playback devices. Besides a previously announced Blu-ray Disc player, Lite-On will also show an HD-DVD player. This means that in the "battle" of the two new formats, Lite-On takes a neutral position. Lite-On believes that both formats will stay in the market for some time, and therefore decided to support both. In the end, the market will decide which format, if any, will win.Now we just need a player that supports both formats. No word on price. However, Lite-On is planning on launching the BDP-X1 and HDP-Z1 in the first half of 2007. If you'd like to read more, Lite-On's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
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The OEM version of the AWG170A drive is available now in four color variations. More information can be found here. Add a comment
Sony Europe's IT Peripherals division today announced its AWG170A DVD-RAM compatible DVD writer - the first Sony drive developed by Sony NEC Optiarc Inc, as part of the newly established joint venture. The AWG170A offers the industry's fastest level writing capability, supporting 18x DVD±R overspeed* writing on 16x single layer media. The Sony drives now also offer 12x DVD-RAM write/read speed, an increase of over 50%.
The AWG170A supports all DVD+R/RW and DVD-R/RW media including the latest double and dual layer DVD Recordable discs as well as DVD RAM. The Sony AWG170A delivers swift performance with over 400 tested and supported media types, including 8x recording of both DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL double/dual layer discs. Rewriteable DVDs are recorded at 8x (DVD+RW) or 6x (DVD-RW) speed but can be read at up to 13x. The drive also supports CD-R writing/reading of 48x CD Speed. The AWG170A is an Ultra DMA66 Mode 4 ATAPI device.
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The new LG GBW-H10N fared a lot better in this aspect than the few early Blu-ray drives in the market, but it is still not the perfect Blu-ray solution despite its ability to burn BD-R media at an unprecedented speed of 4x. This positive achievement was dampened by the drive's lack of support for dual layer Blu-ray. A single layer 25GB Blu-ray disc support is the most you can hope on this LG drive though we are not sure if a future firmware update will add support. Fortunately, compared to the very first Blu-ray drives, which had only DVD/Blu-ray support, the LG at least supports writing to all existing formats, including less popular ones like DVD-RAM, though write speeds are not as fast as most consumers are used to.While the lack of dual layer BD media support is a little disappointing, the ability to write to 2x BD-R media at 4x is a plus. If you'd like to read more, the entire review can be found here. Add a comment
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No 12X-DVD-RAM-Medien for Europe Maxell, one of the most important medium manufacturers for DVD-RAM, will not sell DVD RAM media, which can be described and read with 12X or 16X in Europe. As reason Maxell indicated serious compatibility problems among other things as Toshiba drive assemblies. The high-speed media (DVD-RAM2 called) are incompatible generally to the past DVD-RAM, which is specified to 5X. In older drive assemblies the Discs is not recognized not only, they could put also the entire computer lamely and in exceptional cases even the hardware damage.I can't see Maxell selling their 12x DVD-RAM media in the US either as the demand is even smaller than in Europe. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment
Maxell estimates the problem as extremely serious, it has however nothing with the quality of the media to do. Since the European market for DVD-RAM is very small eh, one will sell the fast DVD-RAM2-Discs exclusively in Japan.
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We still have not heard when the GBW-H10N will be availble in the US. If you'd like to read more, LG's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
LG's Blu-ray RW, the Super Multi Blue (GBW-H10N), can store up to 25 GB of data on a single disc.
The Super Multi Blue can write to Blu-ray Recordable Discs at 4x, which is the world's first, and Blu-ray Rewritable Discs at 2x. It is compatible with Blu-ray discs of all sizes and is also backward compatible with standard CDs and DVDs.
LG will initially sell the Super Multi Blue in Korea and major European markets including Germany and France.
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Memorex, the leading brand of optical media at U.S. retail and a portfolio brand of Imation Corp. (NYSE: IMN - News), brings double the recording time to its Mini DVD-Rs, with a simple flip of a disc. Memorex Double-Sided Mini DVD-R media, the latest in Memorex's broad line of home video products, offers the highest capacity in the mini DVD format, providing up to one hour of recording time or 2.8GB of storage capacity for preserving precious memories and valuable data.Memorex's Double-Sided Mini DVD-R media is available now in packs of five for a suggested retail price of $19.99. More information can be found here. Add a comment
Ideal for home video enthusiasts and professional videographers alike, Memorex Double-Sided Mini DVD-R discs provide the convenience of one disc for capturing twice the video, photos, music and data. For superior ease-of-use, Memorex Double-Sided Mini DVDs are compatible with most of the direct-to-disc camcorders on the market. For added protection, both sides of each disc feature Memorex's DuraLayer(TM) Technology, a special scratch-resistant hard coating that protects media from dust, debris and rough handling. Each package also includes a DVD cleaning cloth to keep the discs spotless for peak performance and ultimate longevity during on-the-go recording and frequent disc swapping.
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In this review we'll take a look at some of the features found on the BRD-AM2B/U and see how it compares to the Pioneer BDR-101A. Does I-O DATA's Blu-ray Disc writer have what it takes? You'll have to read the review to find out.
If you have any comments or questions about this review or the I-O DATA BRD-AM2B/U, please post them in the forum by clicking the link below. Add a comment
I-O DATA BRD-AM2B/U Blu-ray Disc Writer
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Microsoft plans to launch external HD-DVD drives for Xbox 360 consoles in North America, around the end of this year, but the drive will be not be made available in Asia, according to Microsoft Taiwan.If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment
This is because the external HD-DVD drive is designed to play back movies pre-recorded on HD-DVD blue-laser discs, and the supply of HD-DVD movies in Asia is not sufficient to support the sale of such hardware, for the time being at least, Microsoft Taiwan pointed out.
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Since manufacturers of blue laser diodes are still unable to improve yield rates, the shortage may result in pushing back the competition between Blu-ray Disc (BD) and HD-DVD optical disc drives in the market to the first quarter of 2007, according to sources at optical disc drive (ODD) manufacturers.The article also mentions that Sony has suspended shipments of blue laser diodes to other customers so that they can use them in the PS3. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment
Although several vendors, including Royal Philips Electronics, Hitachi-LG Data Storage (HLDS), Sony, Matsushita Electric, Lite-On IT and BenQ, already announced BD or HD-DVD drives, only Pioneer and Plextor are currently able to maintain actual shipments, according to the sources. Toshiba may soon join them, with volume shipments planned to kick off in September, the sources added.
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Judging by their specs, these drives are based on the AD-7170A from Sony NEC Optiarc. While I have not seen any reports of these drives showing up at local stores, they can be purchased through SonyStyle.com. Add a comment
Writing Speeds: DVD+R: 4X CLV, 8X P-CAV, 16X, 18X CAV
DVD+RW: 2.4X, 4X CLV, 6X, 8X Z-CLV
DVD+R DL: 2.4X, 4X, 6X, 8X Z-CLV
DVD-R: 4X CLV, 8X P-CAV, 16X CAV, 18X CAV
DVD-RW: 2X, 4X, CLV, 6X Z-CLV
DVD-R DL: 2X, 4X CLV, 6X, 8X Z-CLV
DVD-RAM: 5X, 6X CLV, 8X, 10X, 12x P-CAV
CD-R: 8X ~16X CLV, 24X ~40X P-CAV, 48X CAV
CD-RW: 4X ~ 16X CLV, 24X ~ 32X Z-CLVRead Speeds: DVD-ROM: 16X Max
Access Times:
CD-ROM: 48X MaxCD-ROM: 130ms
Buffer Size: 2MB
DVD-ROM: 140ms
