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Japanese electronics maker Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. said Tuesday it plans to close operations at its Panasonic AVC Networks Germany GmbH unit at the end of March 2007 due to increased global competition and sharp price declines.While DVD recorder development will be shifted to Japan, production will continue at the Matsushita's Panasonic AVC Networks Slovakia s.r.o. subsidiary. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment
The division was primarily responsible for manufacturing and product development for the European DVD recorder market.
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Lite-On IT will begin volume production of 18x DVD burners in July and plans to start production of 20x DVD burners in the fourth quarter of this year, according to Michael Gong, the company's Optical Disc Drive Business general manager, at a press conference following the company's 2006 shareholders meeting on June 15.The article also mentions that Lite-On will start volume production of Blu-ray Disc and HD-DVD optical drives in August. If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment
As OEM prices of 16x DVD burners drop further due to intense competition, the switch to production of more profitable 18x and 20x DVD burners is aimed at keeping overall gross margins from falling, Gong indicated.
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The article also mentions that BenQ has a Serial ATA drive (DW180S) in the works. However, it was not on display at Computex. At this time, not much is know about these drives. As we find out more, we'll let you know. In the mean time, PC Watch's Computex report can be found here. Add a comment
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The global supply of DVD+R/-R discs currently exceeds global demand, but the oversupply will begin to diminish next quarter and largely decrease or even disappear in the fourth quarter of this year, according to Ritek CEO Gordon Yeh, who spoke at a press conference following the company's 2006 shareholder meeting on June 14.If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment
Although global DVD+R/-R demand is estimated to grow from four billion discs in 2005 to six billion discs this year, fast expansion of production around the world has resulted in the current oversupply, Yeh pointed out. But because leading makers of DVD+R/-R discs are shifting part of their production capacity for 4.7GB (single-sided single-layer) discs to making 8.5GB DL (single-sided double-layer) discs, the global oversupply is being reduced, Yeh indicated.
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Samsung Electronics Ltd., the worldwide digital consumer electronics and information technology leader, continues to set the pace in the optical storage industry as the first manufacturer to market an 18X rewritable DVD and 12X DVD-RAM writable drive with is new WriteMasterÔ SH-S182D. This high-end drive offers blazing-fast 18X multi-format DVD recording, a five percent recording time improvement over the industry's current 16X drives.The SH-S182D is expected to ship later this month for an estimated street price of $69.99. More information, including a full list of specs, can be found here. Add a comment
"As a world technology leader and innovator, Samsung looks for exciting products that improve the technology experience for our customers," said Richard Aguilera, western regional sales manager, Samsung Storage Division. "The 18X DVD offers consumers a high-end, performance-based drive with industry-leading speed and technology, which is a sure-fire winner for business and home users alike."
The SH-S182D features a speedy 8X double layer recording and quick 12X DVD-RAM recording, providing a five-minute improved RAM writing time over current drives.
