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Plextor Japan announced this week that it will be releasing an external version of the PlexWriter Premium2 in early June. The Premium2U reads and writes at 52x, rewrites at 32x and sports an 8MB buffer. The drive also supports Yamaha's Audio Master Quality Recording system as well as many of Plextor's advanced technologies, including GigaRec, VariRec and Q-Check.
Plextor has not announced a price yet. However, the Premium2U is expected to run about 19,980 Yen ($207US). While I can't see myself dropping that sort of cash on a CD writer based on a three year old drive design, there are probably plenty of Plextor fans and audiophiles out there that will.
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Optical disc drive manufacturers are facing yet another shortage of pick-up heads (PUHs). According to DigiTimes, the latest shortage is because Sanyo Electric, Hitachi, Sony and Sharp have not expanded the production of ODD PUHs to meet the growing demand for notebooks and desktops.
The global supply of pick-up heads (PUHs) used in optical disc drives (ODDs) has fallen into considerable short supply, which will not ease until the end of the second quarter, according to Taiwan ODD industry sources. The short supply is because Japan-based Sanyo Electric, Hitachi, Sony and Sharp, which together account for almost all of the global production of ODD PUHs, have not expanded output to meet the growing global demand for notebooks and desktops since early 2009, the sources said.
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GE’s micro-holographic discs will be able to be read and recorded on systems very similar to a typical Blu-ray or DVD player. Holographic storage is different from today’s optical storage formats like DVDs and Blu-ray discs. DVDs and Blu-ray discs store information only on the surface of the disc; holographic storage technology uses the entire volume of the disc material. Holograms, or three-dimensional patterns that represent bits of information, are written into the disc and can then be read out. Although GE’s holographic storage technology represents a breakthrough in capacity, the hardware and formats are so similar to current optical storage technology that the micro-holographic players will enable consumers to play back their CDs, DVDs and BDs.
The GE team successfully recorded micro-holographic marks approaching one percent reflectivity with a diameter of approximately one micron. When using standard DVD or Blu-ray disc optics, the scaled down marks will have sufficient reflectivity to enable over 500 GB of total capacity in a CD-size disc.
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Philips has scored another win in their ongoing legal battle with Princo. According to DigiTimes, the Taiwan Intellectual Property Court (IPC) has determined that Princo shall pay a total of 7.606 billion yen (US$77.6 million) to Philips for CD-R royalty fees and interest due to delay in payment.
The Taiwan Intellectual Property Court (IPC) on April 23 determined that Princo, a Taiwan-based maker of blank optical discs, shall pay a total of 7.606 billion yen (US$77.6 million) to Royal Philips Electronics for CD-R royalty fees and interest due to delay in payment, according to the court.
Because Princo defaulted on CD-R royalty payment for the period from the fourth quarter of 1997 to the fourth quarter of 1999 (Philips terminated CD-R licensing in the first quarter of 2000), Philips launched legal proceedings against Princo at a district court in northern Taiwan to claim the payment, according to industry sources.
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Pioneer Japan sent out a press release this morning, announcing its new slim, portable DVD writer, the DVR-XD08. This USB bus powered drive is capable of 8x DVD±R, 6x DVD±R DL, 8x DVD+RW, 6x DVD-RW and 5x DVD-RAM writing speeds and a maximum DVD read speed of 8x. The DVR-XD08 also includes features like Pioneer's PowerRead and PURE READ technologies as well as a software bundle from CyberLink. The DVR-XD08 is scheduled to ship in early May and is expected to cost about 15,000 Yen ($153US).
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Lite-On Europe sent out a press release earlier this week, announcing its new Blu-ray combo drive. The iHES208 reads single layer Blu-ray discs at 8x and is capable of 16x DVD±R, 8x DVD±R DL, 8x DVD+RW, 6x DVD-RW and 12x DVD-RAM writing speeds. The drive is scheduled to ship in April for a suggested retail price of 169 euro.
Lite-On proudly introduces its 8X internal Blu-ray Disc Combo, iHES208. The new Blu-ray Disc Reader plus DVD Writer provides consumers an all-in-one solution to playback high definition content, while maintaining the capability of archiving data onto CD or DVD.
The Lite-On iHES208 with Serial ATA interface is a great solution for enthusiasts who wish to enjoy the advanced technologies of Blu-ray in home entertainment. It will not only allow them to play high-definition content such as Blu-ray movies, it will also provide users all the advantages of a DVD Writer.
The iHES208 is capable of recording on today’s most popular DVD and CD media in the market, and playback from media such as Blu-ray Discs, DVD, and CD. The drive can read BD-R/RE/ROM discs at 8X (Double Layer at 4X). It can write DVD±R at 16X, DVD±R DL and DVD+RW at 8X, DVD-RW at 6X and DVD-RAM at 12X.
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I-O Data Japan has announced a pair of internal 24x DVD writers based on the Sony Opitarc AD-7240S. The DVR-SN24GS (white) and DVR-SN24GSB (black) are capable of 24x DVD±R, 12x DVD-RAM, 8x DVD±R DL, 8x DVD+RW and 6x DVD-RW writing speeds and a maximum DVD read speed of 16x. The two drives come bundled with WinDVD and DVD MovieWriter 5 SE from Corel as well as Nero Express 8 Essentials. The DVR-SN24GS and DVR-SN24GSB should hit store shelves at the end of April for about 5,800 Yen ($58US).
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The new Verbatim/MKM UDO2 WORM media can be used with Plasmon brand libraries and drives, now developed, manufactured and serviced by Alliance Storage Technologies (www.plasmon.com), HP and other UDO2 drives and optical libraries
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To the delight of creative consumers and professional authoring providers, Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. today introduces its new BDR-2203 Blu-ray Disc®/DVD/CD internal computer writer. Delivering on the promise of a comprehensive solution for large file storage and high definition film functionality, the new device features an impressive 8X write speed capability for dual-layer BD-R Blu-ray Disc media. With the new writer, users can take advantage of the substantial 50 gigabyte (GB) storage capacity from Blu-ray Discs to ensure fast and successful preservation of standard and high definition data content along with the confidence that comes with using a Pioneer® optical disc product. The multi-format BDR-2203 comes packaged with specialized software to fulfill the array of creative and professional needs of PC users. The Pioneer BDR-2203 Blu-ray Disc internal computer writer begins shipping in April for a suggested price of $249.99.
Through extensive write speed testing, the company’s engineering group found that it will take users approximately 15 minutes to write 25 GB of information to a single-layer BD disc and about 30 minutes to write 50 GB worth of information (the equivalent of more than 10 single-layer DVD-R discs) when using the new writer.
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Moser Baer, the world’s second largest optical media manufacturer, now brings to you a range of world class Blu-ray discs (BDR) with full printable surface. The full surface printable Blu-ray discs are available in both Inkjet and Thermal variants and make Moser Baer India the first company outside Japan to offer such an exclusive and niche product.
Full surface printable BDR discs are made using utmost care and advanced technology at OM&T, Moser Baer’s Netherlands-based subsidiary.
BDR full surface printable discs are available for the entire range of BDR discs offered by Moser Baer India: BDR 1-4x, BDR 1-6x & BD RE 1-2x.
