Spy Report - Lite-On Product Roadmap

[Ian]

Thanks to one of our spies, Lite-On's latest product roadmap ended up in the 'Labs. While we cannot post the files or give you the model names, we can give you an idea of what to expect for the rest of 2007 and the first half of 2008.

HD DVD and Blu-ray - This summer, Lite-On will launch internal and external 4x Blu-ray Disc writers as well as HD DVD-ROM and BD-ROM drives. The company also has plans to introduce 8x Blu-ray disc writers in the spring of 2008 and by the fall, a dual format Blu-ray/HD DVD writer. All of these drives will support Serial ATA.

DVD Writers - Lite-On has a number of half height and slim DVD writers on the way. This spring, the company will introduce their "3H" series. While otherwise very similar to the "1S" series that is currently available, they will support 2x DVD-RW DL writing speeds. By fall, we can expect to see Lite-On's "4A" and "5S" series. Building upon the "3H" series, these drives will support 2.4x DVD+RW DL writing speeds. In the case of the "5S" series, we'll also see 16x DVD+R DL and 12x DVD-R DL writing speeds.

Lite-On's slim DVD writers won't be getting any speed boosts. However, we can expect to see drives with 2.4x DVD+RW DL and 2x DVD-RW DL writing speeds this fall.

CD-RW and Combo Drives - While CD-RW and combo drives are going the way of the dodo, Lite-On is giving them one last hurrah. Expect to see new 48x and 52x drives later this year, available with either PATA or SATA interfaces. Lite-On also has new CD-ROM and DVD-ROM drives on the way. However, most of the latter seem to be destined for the Xbox 360.

Please keep in mind that these plans could change at any time. As we've seen in the past, development days can push back a drive for months or cause it to be dropped from a company's product lineup altogether. Please feel free to leave a comment in the forum.

[Ian]

No comments? I figured you guys would either tell me I was full of it or ask me for specifics.

[vio_man]

My comment: I don't see why companies still invest in CD-R(W) burners. All DVD writers in the market support CD-R(W) reading/writing and I don't think many people are still buying these drives especially when they can get a DVDRW one with almost the same money. The same applies to DVD-ROM drives, most DVD writers read much better than DVD-ROM drives and the price difference is almost negligible.
As for the used interface, I think the SATA is the way to go. PATA will eventually disappear, most mobo's only have 1 PATA channel with external controller and up to 8 SATA channels.

And now one remark specifically about Liteon: they used in the past a different tray opening mechanism, I don't know how is called, but now they have returned to the unreliable belt system.

[Ian]

Yeah, I think CD-RW and combo drives are on their way out. I think the only reason we're seeing new models from Lite-On is due to demand for SATA. If the product roadmap is any indication, these will be the last we'll see from Lite-On.

The loading mechanism will be changing again from the "Loader-HP1" currently being used (belt?) to what Lite-On calls the "Loader-HV1". I have no idea what the difference is.

[Dartman]

OK, lets hope they don't screw it up like they did to BenQ when they bought em out. A combo burner would be nice that can do both hd formats, just like some of the players that are starting to come out. They did it with dvd, they'll do it with hdburners too till either one wins or they coexist forever.

[Wesociety]

1) No HD DVD burners this year from LiteOn??? Ouch.
2) Dual format Blu-ray/HD DVD writer by fall 2008? Awesome! But it seems so far away...
3) DVD+RW DL, very interesting!
4) I knew those 16x DVD+R DL capable drives had to be on the way.
5) CD-RW/combo drives, who cares...

[Grain]

I'm excited about DL+RW's! Other than that, playing the waiting game on the HD format war before investing.

[vio_man]

I'm excited about DL+RW's!

They will be very expensive, that's my guess.

[Ian]

They will be very expensive, that's my guess.

I'd be very surprised if they make it to large retail chains like Best Buy. Look how long DVD-R DL media has been available and its had very little market saturation.

[Grain]

They are bound to carry a premium, but if they intend to sell any at all they'll have to be somewhat reasonable. Luckily for me, I'll only have use/need for a few(3). Ultimately I don't see them being a big success as I can't see many people/business using them in any kind of quantity.