Verbatim's parent company, Mitsubishi Chemical, has announced that they've developed a new type of CD-R media for people with weak or no vision at all. These new discs feature a special surface where information like the type, capacity and rated speed are printed in braille code. Here's part of their press release, translated from Japanese:

Mitsubishi chemical media corporation (head office: The tokyo Minato-ku, president: Otsuka it is heavy virtue and below “MKM”), the Braille attachment CD-R which can grasp the letter of the disk surface with feeling (postscript type) we sell the disk in this year 8 end of the month. Besides the fact that the Braille convex (with densely) by the fact that letter is printed on the disk surface, standard and capacity etc of the disk can be read, the identification of the inside and outside becomes easy.
No word on price or availability. If you'd like to read more, Mitsubishi's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
Good news for our European readers. vnunet.com is reporting that Philips & Lite-On Digital Solutions plans to drop the price of its Blu-ray Disc writer to about €549.
Joint venture company Philips & Lite-On Digital Solutions has announced plans to cut the price of its internal Lite-On Blu-ray Disc Drive LH-2B1S in Europe.

The company said that the move was prompted by the greater availability of Blu-ray lasers.

Lite-On launched its LH-2B1S in November 2006, but due to an early global shortage of the actual Blu-ray lasers, prices of Blu-ray writers remained high relative to alternative systems and pricing had not moved since these were introduced.
Europe isn't the only place seeing price cuts. Here in the US, we've already seen the LH-2B1S go for less than $300. The Taiwanese market has also experienced a 20% price drop. However, due to the price of media, drive sales are still very slow. Add a comment
Sony sent out a press release this morning, announcing their latest DVDirect recorder, the VRD-MC5. This new model offers a number of new features including the ability to transfer high-definition videos to DVD.

Sony Electronics today debuted its next-generation multi-function DVDirect DVD recorder which can quickly transfer high-definition home videos and digital photos to DVD discs without using a computer.

The new VRD-MC5 model can now transfer AVCHD quality videos to DVD discs in their native 1080i HD resolution when connected directly to a Sony hard drive or Memory Stick Handycam camcorder. The resulting DVD can be played back on compatible Blu-ray Disc devices, including players and computer drives as well as PlayStation 3 (PS3) computer entertainment systems.

The VRD-MC5 recorder can also transfer standard-definition home videos to DVD without the complexity of using a computer from virtually any camcorder, VCR or digital video recorder. The new model includes Digital Video (i.LINK/FireWire/IEEE-1394), S-Video, Composite Video inputs, and USB (for Sony hard drive, DVD, and Memory Stick Handycam camcorders). DVD video discs recorded in this manner are playable in most consumer DVD players.
Sony's new DVDirect is expected to ship in August for a suggested retail price of $230. Full details can be found here. Add a comment
LG Germany has announced that they will be showcasing the GGW-H20N at IFA 2007. While details are still a bit sketchy, this new Super Multi Blue drive supports both Blu-ray and HD DVD and features 6x BD-R and 4x BD-R DL writing speeds. Here's part of their press release, translated from German:

LG breaks the next record in the discipline Blu ray to technology: The new GGW-H20N burns BD-R-disks with 6x speed. Like its predecessor GGWH10N the new LG super Multi Blue describes not only Blu ray disks, but reads also the second High definition format HD DVD. The full unformattedness becomes besides gradually payable: The new internal hybrid Sprinter is not to cost any more than 400 euro (UVP). Beside all usual CD and DVD formats inclusive DVD dual and double Layer reads and writes the GGW-H20N also DVD-RAM and supports doppellagige BD-media, whose storage capacity amounts to 50 GB. The drive assembly is attached over an SATA interface and comes in the third quarter on the market.
We haven't heard much from our contacts at LG USA. However, the GGW-H20N should hit the European market during the 3Q of 2007 and is expected to cost only 400 Euro (~$551US). More information can be found here. Add a comment
TDK Japan has announced that they will be releasing their new 4x BD-R media to the Japanese market on July 25th. The company also plans to ship 4x BD-R DL media in late September.Here's part of their press release, translated from Japanese:

TDK marketing corporation (president: Matsui national rapture), the blue ray disk BD-R for the data which this each time corresponds to 4 time fast record (postscript type) single sided 1 layer (25GB) with single sided 2 layer (50GB) 2 types are merchandised, 1 layer type sells on July 25th. 2 layer type, the ink jet printer corresponding disk (1 layer type), we plan the sale September 20th.
According to AV Watch, TDK's 4x BD-R and BD-R DL media is expected to cost about 1,700 Yen ($14US) and 4,000 Yen ($33US) respectively. More information can be found here. Add a comment
Pioneer announced this week that they've started shipping their new Blu-ray Disc combo drive to retail stores. The BDC-2202 comes with Corel's digital media software and is expected to cost about $299.99.
Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. is now shipping the highly anticipated BDC-2202 combination Blu-ray Disc BD-ROM/DVD/CD computer drive to retail stores. The product can also be purchased online at pioneerelectronics.com. The new drive comes bundled with Corel Corporation’s digital media software for playback of multiple Blu-ray Disc (BD) formats, including new commercial film titles. Corel’s digital media software also provides enhanced reading and high-speed archiving of personal content to DVD and CD formats. The Pioneer BDC-2202 is available for a suggested price of $299.99.

“Our new Blu-ray Disc combo drive is one of the most exciting introductions for Pioneer, as it is one of the industry’s most advanced optical drives for business and consumer users,” said Andy Parsons, senior vice president at Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. “With BD-ROM compatibility, the new drive enables users to play Blu-ray Disc movies and explore their impressive new interactive features on their PC. We’ve also included a solid software bundle from Corel that allows creative individuals to assemble and preserve their own video, photo and music projects onto CDs and DVDs.”
If you'd like to read more, Pioneer's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
Atmel has announced the availability of their new ATR0881 laser diode driver. While small in size, the ATR0881 can connect up to three laser diodes, giving drives the ability to support DVD and CD as well as blue laser formats like Blu-ray or HD DVD.
Atmel(R) Corporation(Nasdaq: ATML) announced today the availability of the ATR0881 laser diodedriver IC for use in combined HD-DVD/Blu-ray, DVD, and CD drives. TheATR0881 is housed in a 4 mm x 4 mm QFN24 package. This is the industry'ssmallest laser diode driver solution and is especially suited for smallslim drives used in notebook computers as well as for half-height drives indesktop PCs and consumer DVD recorders.

The ATR0881's QFN housing is a lead-free paddle-up package with theexposed paddle on top to improve heat dissipation. A bottom-located exposedpaddle, as found in conventional QFN packages, causes difficulties due toits inaccessibility for circuit design, particularly in optical pick-upproducts. This design restriction is eliminated with Atmel's ATR0881.
Samples of the ATR0881 are nowavailable and are priced at US $5.00 in quantities of 10k. If you'd like to read more, Atmel's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
Advanced Media sent out a press release today, announcing their new RIDATA Double-Sided 8x DVD-R media. With a capacity of 9.4GB, these double sided discs can hold four hours of DVD-quality video, 16 hours of VHS-quality video, or over 120 hours of MP3 audio.
Advanced Media, Inc., manufacturer and marketer of the popular RIDATA brand of recordable CD and DVD media, electronic storage products, and digital media accessories, is adding a Double-Sided 8x DVD-R disc to its comprehensive DVD product line. With an amazing 9.4GB of storage capacity, the advanced, double-sided disc is a cost effective solution for virtually any business or household application.

"Our new double-sided discs now in both the +/-R formats solve the storage need for those who don't own a dual layer DVD recorder, but would appreciate a larger storage capacity per disc. They are the ideal solution for the ongoing recording of a TV series or DVD quality movies. Users of the RIDATA 8x DVD-R Double-Sided medium, and its dramatically increased storage capacity, will enjoy fast, reliable storage with a wide range of playback options." stated Harvey Liu, Advanced Media president. "We are pleased to expand our offering of this cost effective product."
Advanced Media's Double-Sided 8x DVD-R media is available now for a suggested retail price of $0.59 per disc. If you'd like to read more, Advanced Media's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
Plextor LLC sent out a press release this morning, announcing their new external "Super Multi" drive, the PX-810UF. Along with support for both FireWire and USB 2.0, the PX-810UF features 18x DVD±R, 10x DVD±R DL and 12x DVD-RAM writing speeds.

Plextor LLC, a leading developer and manufacturer of high-performance digital media equipment, today announced the immediate availability of the PX-810UF DVD Super Multi Drive. This external drive combines the 18X DVD+/-R and 12X DVD-RAM performance of Plextor's PX-810 Series drives with the convenience and portability of USB and FireWire interfaces.

The PX-810UF features a dual interface with Hi-Speed USB and IEEE 1394 (FireWire), enabling users in a small office or professional studio to share a single external high-performance DVD/CD burner among multiple Apple Macintosh and Microsoft Windows-based PCs. Burst data transfer rates of 480 Mbps (USB 2.0) or 400 Mbps (FireWire) allow a user to burn a 4.7 GB DVD+R disc in approximately six minutes.
The PX-810UF is scheduled to ship later this month for a suggested retail price of $139.00. More information can be found here. Add a comment
Panasonic announced today that they will be introducing the world's first 4x Write-Once Blu-ray Discs. Available in 25GB and 50GB capacities, these new discs offer extremely low error rates and a wide power margin enabling writing speeds from 1x to 4x.

Panasonic, the leadingbrand by which Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. is known, announcedtoday that the company will globally introduce Write-Once Blu-ray Discs(BD-R) with 4x writing speed.

The new discs will be available in both 25GB and 50GB, which will beintroduced in the market this July and September respectively.

In conjunction with the launch of 4x BD drives, the new discs have thecapability of 4x speed writing and reading, allowing users to handle largeamount of data or High Definition content with greater convenience.Panasonic is the first company to announce the market introduction of 4xBD-R Discs.
While details are still a bit sketchy, Panasonic is also developing a new Blu-ray Disc drive capable of writing to BD-R and BD-R DL media at 4x. According to their press release, this unnamed drive can write an entire 25GB BD-R disc in as little as 23 minutes. Add a comment