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25 October 2006

Hitachi Maxell has announced their new 8cm DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL media. Developed for camcorders, these discs can hold 2.6GB of data or 54-55 minutes of standard quality video. Here's part of their press release, translated from Japanese:

Hitachi Maxell, Ltd. (The execution post president: Yoshito Kakuta) will put the series, 8cmDVD-R DL disk, and 8cmDVD+R DL "Easy selection" disk for the DVD video camera with the recording layer in two layers in one side of the disk on the market on November 24.

The market expands to the DVD video camera in the background of convenience that makes the best use of the feature of record type DVD like the height etc. of the random access and the reproduction interchangeability. Needs of "Take a picture for a long time" and "High-resolution taking a picture" expand more than before with the extension of the group of users, and the disk where it answers this is requested in recent years.

According to AV Watch, Maxell's 8cm media is expected to cost about 1300 Yen. More information can be found here. Add a comment

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23 October 2006

Here's some good news for our European readers. The European Union has reportedly lifted a threat to impose tariffs on blank compact discs from China and Malaysia.

The EU closed an inquiry into whether Chinese and Malaysian exporters of recordable CDs sell in Europe below domestic prices or below the production cost, a practice known as dumping. Two weeks ago, the bloc ended an investigation into suspected dumping of recordable DVDs by Taiwan and China.

Punitive tariffs on blank CDs from China and Malaysia would "have substantial negative effects on importers, distributors, retailers and consumers," the EU said in a report endorsed in Luxembourg. China and Malaysia control about half the EU market for blank CDs, according to the bloc.

The EU also found that the anti-dumping duties would do little to help European manufacturers raise prices and profitability as they'd still be facing competition from countries like India. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment

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24 October 2006

HP has announced their new 18x "Super-Multi" drive, the dvd940i. Along with support for LightScribe, this Lite-On manufactured drive features 18x DVD±R and 12x DVD-RAM writing speeds.

18X will be the new writing speed standard on HP drives. HP will launch the dvd940i: a new, high-speed internal drive with DVD±R/±RW and DVD-RAM read/write, ±R double-layer capability, and LightScribe direct disc labeling. HP will also introduce an external version of this drive: HPdvd940e.

HP's supermulti drive offers high speeds and double-layer recording, and it's LightScribe Version 1.2 - ready for high-contrast labeling. It lets users easily preserve, edit and share up to 8.5 GB of video, photos, and multimedia presentations on one double-layer disc - and quickly store back up and transport files on DVDs and Cds. The dvd940i/e records double-layer DVDs at up to 8X, recordable DVDs at up to 18X, rewritable DVDs at up to 8X and DVD-RAM at up to 12X.

The dvd940i is expected to hit store shelves in November. If you'd like to read more, HP's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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20 October 2006

As we reported earlier in the week, HP has chosen Lite-On to manufacture their new external HD DVD-ROM drive. According to DigiTimes, Lite-On is also looking to produce the company's Blu-ray Disc drives.

HP already produces PC-use HD DVD drives, with Toshiba producing the internal drives and Lite-On IT producing an external HD DVD-ROM drive (HD100), the sources indicated. For HP's planned OEM production of BD drives, Lite-On IT will compete for the orders with South Korean and Japanese makers, the sources said. Unlike its competitors though, Lite-On does not sell own-brand products in the international market and stands a good chance of being selected by HP, the sources pointed out.

The article also mentions that Lite-On will begin producing Blu-ray Disc drives for other clients later this quarter. If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment