DigiTimes has reported that both CMC Magnetics and Ritek plan to launch Blu-ray Discs in the 3Q of this year.
With Japan-based TDK and Panasonic recently announcing their production plans for Blu-ray Disc (BD) discs, Taiwan-based CMC Magnetics and Ritek indicated that they are currently sampling next-generation BD discs with customers, with mass productions for both companies slated for the third quarter of 2006.
Hopefully this means that the price of Blu-ray Disc media will come down some. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment
Primera and TDK have announced the world's first inkjet printable BD-R Blu-ray Disc media. On display now at the NAB Show, these discs are optimized for use in Primera's line of BD-R Disc publishing and duplication products.
Primera Technology, Inc., the world's leading developer and manufacturer of CD/DVD/BD duplication and printing equipment and TDK, a world leader in digital recording solutions, today announced the introduction of the world's first inkjet printable BD-R Blu-ray Disc media.

Using a DVD/CD compatible inkjet printer, users can print custom text and graphics directly on each disc's label-side surface. The discs, which incorporate TDK's advanced DURABIS 2 hard coating technology, are on display at Primera booth #SL1233 and TDK booth #C10741 at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show, which is taking place at the Las Vegas Convention Center, April 24-27, 2006. Primera and TDK have partnered to optimize TDK's printable surface BD-R media for use with Primera's world renowned line of inkjet BD-R disc publishing and duplication products.
Primera and TDK will offer inkjet printable 25GB BD-R media in the 3Q of 2006. The two companies also plan to introduce dual-layer, 50GB discs during the same time. If you'd like to read more, the entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
Earlier this week, Hitachi Maxell unveiled their new stacked volumetric optical discs (SVOD) technology. By stacking 100 ultra thin optical discs, they are able to fit 940GB of data in a cartridge only 6.5 cm thick.


Hitachi Maxell, Ltd. has developed an optical storage technology "stacked volumetric optical discs (SVOD)" that can boost per-volume capacity by using a film-type disc medium with a thickness of 92 μm. The prototyped disc is a recordable disc with a diameter of 12 cm which is equivalent to that of DVDs. It includes two 92 μm thick disc media that are bonded with each other, and the capacity on both sides totals 9.4 GB.

Based on the new technology, the company has succeeded in the development of a high-capacity optical storage system having 940 GB by accommodating 100 newly developed discs in a dedicated cartridge (thickness: 6.5 cm; width: 13.3 cm; depth: 16.1 cm). The system has an advantage that its size can be significantly reduced compared to the typical DVD library systems for the same capacity.
Hitachi Maxell plans to introduce SVOD as early as the beginning of 2007. The company also hopes to boost the capacity to as high as 5 TB by utilizing a blue-violet laser. More information can be found here. Add a comment
Panasonic has announced that they will release their first Blu-ray disc drive, the LF-MB121JD, on June 10. Along 8x DVD±R, 8x DVD+RW, 6x DVD-RW, 4x DVD±R DL and 5x DVD-RAM writing speeds, the LF-MB121JD can write to both BD-R and BD-RE media at 2x.


Panasonic, the brand for which Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. is known, today announced that the company will introduce a half-height internal Blu-ray Disc (BD) drive for desktop computers* in Japan on June 10, 2006. The LF-MB121JD BD drive can read and write single- and dual-layer BDs as well as DVDs and CDs. Prior to the introduction of the BD drive, Panasonic releases 2x-speed 25 GB and 50 GB non-cartridge BD-R and BD-RE discs for PC drives on April 28.

Increasing data volume on personal computers and the rapid and continued growth of high definition (HD) television have accelerated consumer demand for an optical drive that can read and record massive PC data as well as HD content at home. The new BD drive and discs will meet this growing demand.

The LF-MB121JD, complied with Blu-ray Disc Association's BD-R, BD-RE and BD-ROM standards, can read and write single-layer 25 GB and single-sided, dual-layer 50 GB BDs. Supporting the three generations of optical discs, the 41.3-mm high internal BD drive is compatible with 11 different writable optical discs and 13 different readable optical disc formats**.
While Panasonic has not announced a price, its not going to be cheap, especially considering I-O DATA's LF-MB121JD based drive, the BRD-AM2B is going for 105,000 Yen ($899US). If you'd like to read more, Panasonic's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
The high price of oil is hurting more than just car owners. According to DigiTimes, it may also drive up the price of polycarbonate in the 3Q of this year.
Global prices of optical-grade polycarbonate (PC), a key material for making optical discs, have fallen from above US$3 per kilogram at the end of last year to US$2.80 per kilogram this quarter, but the recent hikes in the price of crude oil to more than US$70 per barrel might push the price of PC to US$3 or even higher next quarter, according to local makers of optical discs.
If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment