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Optical Storage
Sony Europe has announced the launch of their new 18x "Super-Multi" drive, the AWG170A. The first Sony drive developed by Sony NEC Optiarc, the AWG170A offers 18x DVD±R and 12x DVD-RAM writing speeds.

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.
The OEM version of the AWG170A drive is available now in four color variations. More information can be found here. Add a comment

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HardwareZone has put together a review of LG's new Blu-ray Disc writer, the GBW-H10N. Here's a sample of what they had to say:
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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Optical Storage
The German website, heise online, has reported that Maxell will not be selling their 12x DVD-RAM media in Europe due to incompatibilities with Toshiba drives. Instead, it will be sold exclusively in Japan. Here's part of their article, translated from German:
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.

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.
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

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Earlier this week, LG launched their first Blu-ray Disc products. Along with their new Blu-ray Disc writer, the GBW-H10N, LG has will offer a series of Blu-ray compatible desktop PC's. The company also plans to release a Blu-ray player by the end of the year.

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.
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

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Optical Storage
Memorex sent out a press release this morning, announcing their new Double-Sided Mini DVD-R media. Ideal for camcorders, these 8cm discs are recordable on both sides and can hold up to 2.8GB of data.
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.

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.
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

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Today, CDRLabs brings you an in depth look at I-O DATA's new Blu-ray Disc writer, the BRD-AM2B/U. Based on the Panasonic SW-5582, the BRD-AM2B/U supports both single and dual layer BD-R and BD-RE media, giving it the ability to store up to 50GB of data or four hours worth of HD video onto a single disc. I-O DATA's new drive can also be used to play Blu-ray Disc movies and can read and write to all major CD and DVD formats, including DVD-RAM.

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.


I-O DATA BRD-AM2B/U Blu-ray Disc Writer
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

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Home Entertainment
Bad news for Asian XBox 360 owners. DigiTimes has reported that the external HD-DVD drive for the Xbox 360 will not be available in Asia.
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.

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.
If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment

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According to DigiTimes, a shortage of blue laser diodes may push back the competition between Blu-ray and HD-DVD until early 2007.
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.

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.
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

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Optical Storage
Sony has released some details on their new 18x "Super-Multi" drives, the DRU-830A, DRX-830U and DRX-830UL/T. These new drives features 18x DVD±R, 8x DVD+RW, 6x DVD-RW, 8x DVD±R DL and 12x DVD-RAM writing speeds. Here are some of the drives' specs:


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-CLV

 Read Speeds:

DVD-ROM: 16X Max
CD-ROM: 48X Max

Access Times:

CD-ROM: 130ms
DVD-ROM: 140ms

Buffer Size: 2MB
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

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Software
Here's an interesting bit of news. Corel has announced that it will buy InterVideo for $196 million in cash.
Canadian software company Corel Corp. said Monday it is buying InterVideo Inc., a provider of multimedia DVD software, for about $196 million in cash.

The acquisition values InterVideo at $13 per share. The company's stock closed at $9.60 on Friday, and is up $3.04, or 31.7 percent, to $12.64 in morning trading on the Nasdaq.

Corel said the acquisition gives it access to Asian markets, including China, Taiwan and Japan, that the company had been eyeing for expansion.
While transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year. More information can be found here. Add a comment

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