Samsung has announced that they've started shipping the world's first 22x DVD writer, the SH-S223. Along with support for Serial ATA, the SH-S223 features 22x DVD±R, 16x DVD+R DL, 12x DVD-R DL and 12x DVD-RAM writing speeds.

Samsung Electronics Ltd., the worldwide digital consumer electronics and information technology leader, announced today shipment of the industry’s fastest DVD burner the new Super-WriteMaster SH-S223. The SH-S223 drive offers a powerful over-speed performance features that enable consumers to burn data at high speeds -- even on low speed media. With over-speed recording, users can write at 22X speeds on 16X media and 12X speeds on 8X media. As lower speed media is more cost-effective, users can save money while burning discs at faster speeds.

The SH-S223 drive provides blazing recording speeds across a gamut of different data media types including: 22X DVD±R recording, 12X DVD-RAM recording, 16X DVD+R Dual Layer recording, 12X DVD-R Dual Layer recording, 8X DVD+RW recording and 6X DVD-RW recording. It enables consumers to burn 4.7GB on a DVD±R disc in approximately 4 minutes and 26 seconds, a 6 percent increase in speed compared to a 20X DVD writer. It also takes less than 12 minutes to burn 4.7GB in DVD-RAM format, which is a 30 percent increase in speed over a 20X DVD drive.
No word yet on pricing or availability. As we find out more, we'll let you know. In the mean time, Samsung's entire press release can be found here.