According to DigiTimes, NEC is offering their DVD burners for less than $30 on the European market. The catch is that they don't come with any burning software.
NEC has offered its own-brand DVD burners without burning software for sale in the European market at an average price of below US$30, lower than the US$33-35 quoted by Taiwanese OEM makers, according to Taiwanese makers of optical disc drives (ODDs).

DVD burners without burning software are not packaged for retail sale and thus 10-20% cheaper than DVD burners of the same models for retail sale, the sources pointed out. DVD burners that don't include burning software are generally supplied to international and regional PC brands but sometimes available for sale through retail channels, the sources indicated.
The article also mentions that NEC may be trying to clear out their inventory before Sony NEC Optiarc goes into operation. If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment
TDK sent out a press release this morning, announcing that Pioneer Electronics is bunding their 25GB Blu-ray Disc media with the BDR-101A.

TDK, a world leader in digital recording solutions, today announced that Pioneer Electronics is bundling TDK Blu-ray Disc media with the Pioneer BDR-101A Blu-ray Disc drive, the world's first commercially available Blu-ray Disc writer. Each BDR-101A includes TDK's 25GB Blu-ray Disc media, the ideal media for recording high-definition video and archiving large amounts of data. Featuring TDK's DURABIS hard coating technology, TDK's Blu-ray Disc media is setting new standards in recording and playback by offering unprecedented capacities, fast transfer rates and revolutionary durability.

"Pioneer is very pleased to include TDK Blu-ray Disc media with our BDR-101A Blu-ray Disc drive," said Andy Parsons, Senior Vice President at Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. "The high performance recording solution represented by combining the BDR-101A and TDK's rewritable Blu-ray Disc media puts Pioneer's customers on the cutting edge of optical disc technology."
We already have TDK's BD-R and BD-RE media in the 'Labs and will be using it in our upcoming Blu-ray drive reviews. If you'd like to read more, TDK's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
DigiTimes has reported that CMC Magnetics recently received certification for their 4x DVD-R DL media. According to the article, they are the first Taiwanese manufacturer to do so.
CMC Magnetics, the largest producer of optical discs in Taiwan, recently obtained certification from international vendors for 4x DVD-R DL (single-sided double-layer) discs, the first among Taiwanese makers and the second in the world next only to Japan-based Mitsubishi Kagaku Media (MKM), according to industry sources.
The article also mentions that due to cost considerations, Verbatim/MKM may release OEM orders for 4x DVD-R DL discs to CMC. If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment
Pioneer Electronics has announced that they've started shipping their first PC based Blu-ray Disc drive, the BDR-101A. Here's part of their press release:

Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. is now shipping the industry's first Blu-ray Disc (BD) computer drives. The new Pioneer BDR-101A will change the way digital and high-definition media are stored by increasing disc capacity and performance capability. By utilizing shorter wavelength blue lasers, the BDR-101A can burn up to 25 gigabytes (billion bytes) of information on a single layer Blu-ray Disc.

The BDR-101A will be bundled with Sonic Solutions'(R) Roxio(R) Blu-ray Disc software and blank media by TDK that will enable end-users to store data and recorded content.

Blu-ray Disc is an ideal format for storage and distribution of high definition content. "As we move deeper into the transition to high-definition content creation and distribution, increasing storage capacity will become more and more critical," said Andy Parsons, senior vice president at Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. "Blu-ray Disc technology fulfills the rapidly growing need for additional storage space and Pioneer is proud to be one of the first companies bringing it to market through the BDR-101A."
The retail version of the BDR-101A comes with a software bundle from Sonic and BD-RE media from TDK. More information can be found here. Add a comment
Fuji Photo Film U.S.A. has announced that their 25GB single layer Blu-ray Disc media will hit the US market in June. Here's part of their press release:
Fuji Photo Film U.S.A., Inc., a subsidiary of the leading global imaging and information technologies company, today announced that Fujifilm-branded Blu-ray media would be available in the U.S. marketplace this June.

Increasing data volume on personal computers and the steady, continuing growth of high definition (HD) television has accelerated consumer demand for higher capacity optical recording devices for storing all this digital data. The Fujifilm Blu-ray discs will be available with 25GB storage capacity, in both write-once (BD-R) and re-writable (BD-RE) formats, which can be used in Blu-ray drives with 1-2X writing speed.
If you'd like to read more, Fuji's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment