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With Pioneer unveiling its first Blu-ray Disc (BD) Combo drive (BDC-S02) in May for sale at a recommended retail price of US$299, Lite-On IT plans to start production of its BD Combo drives in the fourth quarter of this year, according to industry sources in Taiwan.The only BD combo drive I have heard of is the DH-2E1S which, according to some sources at Lite-On, is already available. I guess we'll have to wait and see. If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment
The sources cited Lite-On IT's relationship with Royal Philips Electronics as the rational for entering the business. The two companies are partners in a joint venture for producing optical drives (Philips & Lite-On Digital Solutions) and Philips is a charter member of the BD Association.
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The lower than expected demand for CD-R discs is mainly because brand and retail channel clients in the US and Europe had replenished their inventories in the first quarter of 2007 and therefore placed few OEM orders this quarter. Additionally, the unexpectedly strong sales of digital music players around the world has diminished demand for CD-R discs, the sources pointed out.These prices probably won't last long. The article points out that the cost of optical-grade polycarbonate is slowing increasing due to the price of crude oil. If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment
In response second-tier makers in Taiwan have cut prices to compete for few OEM orders resulting in the low OEM price levels, the sources indicated. In addition to CD-R discs, they have reduced OEM prices for blank 4-8x DVD+R/-R discs to as low as US$0.12, the sources noted.
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While DVD burners will continue to be the dominant volume product of the optical/removable storage market until 2011, due to commodity prices and almost universal compatibility, next-generation drives are ramping up, according to IDC. Significant momentum is building behind the blue laser formats: HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc (BD). Marketing activities of both camps are accelerating, and more and more companies are joining one of the two or both format groups.While Hollywood would like us all to run out and buy a Blu-ray or HD DVD player, the standard DVD isn't going away anytime soon. More information on IDC's new study can be found here. Add a comment
"Similar to DVD and DVD burners, blue laser DVD will need a three- to five-year ramp to reach mass-market volumes," said Wolfgang Schlichting, research director for Removable Storage at IDC. "HD DVD needs to aggressively push volumes to neutralize BD's advantage in support from consumer electronics (CE) and content companies."
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Samsung Electronics, at a press conference in New York on June 19, introduced its Super WriteMaster SH-S203 DVD burner featuring a write speed of 16x for DVD+R DL (single-sided double-layer) and that of 20x for DVD+R/-R. The device is expected to push up demand for DVD burners capable of 16x DVD+R DL recording as well as 16x DVD+D DL discs, according to industry sources in Taiwan.The article also mentions that Pioneer, Sony and Lite-On plan to release drives capable of writing to DVD+R DL media at 16x later this year. If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment
While the DVD+RW Alliance released specifications for 12x and 16x DVD+R DL formats in early April of this year, Samsung took the initiative among global leading DVD burner brands/makers to bring the 16x DVD+R DL into commercial use, the sources indicated. While 8-12x, currently the mainstream writing speeds for DVD+R DL, takes 15-20 minutes to burn a disc, 16x requires less than 10 minutes, the sources pointed out.
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The supply of half-height 18x and 20x DVD burners in Taiwan has been tight since the beginning of May due to increasing demand for such burners in the US and European markets, according to sources in the retail channel in Taiwan, who noted that retail prices rose by NT$30-50 (US$0.91-1.52), or 3%, in May and by NT$20-30, or 2%, in June.While 2-3% isn't much, it can add up over time. If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment
Because of the tight supply, the time from order placement to delivery took 7-10 more working days in May while the additional time decreased to seven working days in June as the tight supply has somewhat eased, the sources indicated. Since the beginning of May, the general inventory level for H/H 18x and 20x DVD burners in Taiwan has fallen from 2-3 weeks to about one week, the sources pointed out.
