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Leading and second-tier Taiwan-based optical discs makers have had their production capacities for blank DVD+R/-R discs fully occupied for the fourth quarter of 2007, but corresponding OEM prices have remained unchanged at US$0.15 for 16x discs and US$0.11-0.12 for 8x discs, according to industry sources in Taiwan.The article also points out that CD-R discs have fallen short of expectations. As a result, first tier manufacturers have lowered their quotes to compete with second-tier manufacturers. If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment
The fully book capacity is mainly due to increased order volume from retail channels in the US and Europe as well as emerging markets in Latin America and Russia, the sources pointed out. Despite booming sales, leading makers including CMC Magnetics, Ritek and Prodisc Technology have not adjusted OEM quotes, making second-tier makers unable to raise their prices, the sources indicated.
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The BWU-200S burns single and double-layer Blu-ray discs at up to 4x speed, and DVD media at up to 16x speed. It needs around 45 minutes to write a 50 GB BD-R - which is only half the time required by the predecessor model, the BWU-100A. Up to 230 minutes of video film in HD quality can be recorded on a 50 GB Blu-ray disc.The BWU-200S, DRU-190S and DRU-190A are now available from retail outlets. Full details can be found here. Add a comment
BD-REs are processed by the BWU-200S at double speed. It processes DVD+R blanks at 16x speed and DVD+RW media at 8x speed, DVD-RAMs at 5x speed and DVD+R discs in double-layer versions at 8x write speed. The BWU-200S has a SATA interface and is supplied with CyberLink BD authoring software for Windows, which inputs video recordings in 1080i and provides editing functions. The software also supports video playback, including DVDs in AVCHD format.
In addition to the BWU-200S, Optiarc starts to distribute two new multi-write DVD burners in retail outlets. The DRU-190S and the DRU-190A achieve up to 20x write speed on single-layer DVD blanks. They burn rewritable and double-layer DVDs at up to 8x DVD speed, and DVD-RAMs at a maximum of 12x speed. The DRU-190S is connected up via a SATA interface which enables even faster data transfer. The DRU-190A has an E-IDE interface.
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Japan's Taiyo Yuden Co Ltd said on Monday it has filed a patent suit in the United States against two Taiwanese makers of DVD discs for violation of manufacturing technology for DVD-R discs.If you'd like to read more, the entire report can be found here. Add a comment
Taiyo Yuden, an electronic parts maker, filed a suit at a California district court against Prodisc Technology Inc on Oct. 30 and Ritek Corp on Nov. 21, Taiyo Yuden spokeswoman Rieko Kimoto said.
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The worldwide demand for single-side dual-layer DVD+R/-R discs will increase in 2008, according to sources at disc makers and research firms.If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment
Since Ritek and CMC Magnetics expanded their 2.4x dual-layer DVD production capacity starting in 2007, pricing has dropped from NT$70-80 (US$2.17-2.48) to NT$55-60, which has helped to boost market demand, according the market sources.
The demand for dual-layer DVDs in 2007 is to be around 190 million units and is expected to go up to 400 million units in 2008, according to disc makers citing a report from BOC.
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Global demand for Write-once DVDs - Global demand for write-once DVDs in 2008 will increase by 12% from 2007 to 6.195 million units and 2% in 2010 to 6.649 million units. Although the growth rate will fall into single digits in 2009, demand will continue to expand. Write-once DVDs are the easiest-to-use media for PC and DVD recorder users and they are inexpensive, making them highly appealing. In addition, the expansion of the terrestrial digital broadcasts in Japan is driving the demand for CPRM media that can be used for copy controlled digital television broadcasts, and it is expected that the addition of "Dubbing 10" function to DVD recorders will further stimulate the demand. The forecast of demand declining in 2010 takes into consideration the appearance of blue laser disks.The JRIA also expects that the demand for blue laser (Blu-ray and HD DVD) will reach 24 million units in 2008 and 215 million units in 2010. If you'd like to read more, the entire forcast can be found here. Add a comment
Global demand for Re-writable DVDs - Global demand for re-writable DVDs will increase by 6% in 2008 to 487 million units but will decrease by 3% in 2010 to 476 million units, and is expected to continue decreasing after 2010. The mainstream re-writable DVDs are still 2X and 4X speed, and there is a substantial difference from write-once DVDs, which are maily 16X speed. There are also strong indications that competition with other storage media including USB memory devices will decrease re-writable DVDs demand for PC applications.
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No word yet on pricing or availability. As we find out more, we'll let you know. In the mean time, Lite-On's entire press release can be found here.
Philips & Lite-On Digital Solutions (PLDS) USA, world leaders in optical storage solutions, announced today it has redesigned the exterior of its best-selling EZ-DUB optical drive to create a compact, more elegant appearance while maintaining all the features and functions that have made it a favorite among consumers and business professionals alike.
The new Lite-On DX-20A4PU EZ-DUB model distinguishes itself from other DVD writers with two new, and very distinct, “touch sensitive” buttons on the top of the unit marked “DUB” and “FILE.” These buttons, which glow neon blue when in operation, can be used as shortcuts to the most commonly used functions with most optical drives: DUB for duplicating a disc and FILE for backing up files from a computer.
Update: The DX-20A4PU will be available in mid-October for a suggested list price of $99. Add a comment
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The adoption of blue-laser optical disc drives (ODDs), Blu-ray Disc (BD) and/or HD DVD, built into desktop and notebook PCs will increase from less than 1% of all PCs in 2007 to 10% in 2008, according to general manager Masayuki Kozuka for the Storage Device Business Strategy Office of Matsushita Electric Industrial (Panasonic).If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment
In the case of BD burners, OEM price levels have dropped from US$1,000 in 2006 to US$800 in 2007 and may further fall to US$500 in 2008 mainly because of increasing yields and production capacity of BD pick-up heads and chipsets, Kozuka pointed out. This has increased the willingness of international PC vendors, including Hewlett-Packard (HP), Dell, Acer and Asustek Computer, to adopt blue-laser burners or drives, Kozuka indicated.
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Call/Recall Inc., a pioneer in affordable, ultra-high-capacity optical disk storage, today announced that it has developed and tested the industry’s first terabyte optical disk, and is entering into product design and discussion with leading manufacturing partners. This new disk, the latest implementation of the company’s 2-Photon-3D technology, offers unprecedented value for the growing enterprise storage archiving and consumer markets.If you'd like to read more, Call/Recall's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
A relatively new optical disk technology, 2-Photon-3D uses a special “near-field” lens and fluorescent media technology to record hundreds of layers three-dimensionally; in comparison, Blu-ray records to the surface. 2-Photon-3D offers more than DVD recording because the near-field lens can precisely and dynamically focus into the depth of the fluorescent media, taking advantage of the full depth of standard 120mm, DVD-size media to achieve recording densities as good as or better than holographic technologies.
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As usual, Pioneer is reserving a special drive for the Japanese market. Along with a nicer looking bezel, the DVR-A15J supports LabelFlash and Pioneer's new PowerRead and PURE READ technologies. Both of these technologies are designed to cope with discs that may be scratched or dirty and, in the case of PURE READ, deliver the best music quality possible. Add a comment
The DVR-115D is a dual-format ATAPI DVD writer (writing to DVD-R/+R, DVD-RW/+RW and CD-R/RW media). Also available are two SATA drives: the DVR-215D writes to an identical range of media as the DVR-115D whilst the DVR-215 is a multi-format unit that adds DVD-RAM writing capabilities.
All models offer read-support for DVD-RAM discs and the ability to write at 20X speed on DVD-R/+R discs. They include our original technologies to enhance reading and writing performance and are available in three colours, beige, black and silver.
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The TruDirect SE-S204S can also function as an external DVD writer and is capable of 20x DVD±R, 16x DVD+R DL and 12x DVD-RAM writing speeds. The drive is shipping with a street price of $159.99. More information can be found here. Add a comment
Samsung Electronics Ltd., the worldwide digital consumer electronics and information technology leader, introduces a powerful new optical disc drive, TruDirect SE-S204S, which allows consumers to create DVDs and burn digital content through a PC without the need for a hard drive. The TruDirect SE-S204S provides easy and fast real-time recording from nearly any digital device.
With camcorder and digital camera sales skyrocketing, predicted to be nearly 100 million units sold in 2008, consumers can now conveniently create DVDs in record time. Similar to VCR recording, users can connect a digital device such as a camcorder, digital camera or Web cam to their PC or notebook, and then connect the Samsung TruDirect SE-S204S to the computer to burn DVD movies directly.
