Ricoh Europe has announed the launch of the world's first 16x DVD+R DL media. The discs have already been certified by the DVD+R/+RW Verification Laboratories Group and will ship to hardware manufacturers on March 7th, 2007.

With its recently launched 16x DVD+R Double Layer, Ricoh has significantly raised the standards for fast DL blank discs. At the same time this milestone has once again revealed the company's high level of technical competency in the field of innovative high-speed media development. This is confirmed by the certificate issued by the Verification Laboratories Group which sets the official standards for the new Double Layer DVD+R media with write speeds of up to 16x. Delivery of the first samples for hardware manufacturers started on 7th March 2007.
No word on price. However, Ricoh plans to start sales in summer of 2007. If you'd like to read more, Ricoh's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
Back in January, we reported that Philips had filed a complaint with the European Union over Taiwan granting compulsory licensing of their CD-R patents to local disc manufacturers. DigiTimes has reported that the European Union has finally responded to Philips' complaint and is launching an in-depth investigation.
The European Commission announced on March 1 that it has launched an in-depth investigation into the WTO consistency of the granting of compulsory licenses by Taiwan for recordable compact discs (CDRs) under the Trade Barriers Regulation...

...The case is a result of a July 2004 ruling by the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO), under the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), that called for the compulsory licensing of five Royal Philips Electronics' CD-R disc patents to Gigastorage, a second-tier optical disc maker in Taiwan. TIPO based its decision on the fact that Philips had refused to renegotiate the CD-R fixed royalty charge rate of US$0.035 per disc, despite the fact that OEM prices had fallen from US$5 in 1997 to US$0.19 in the first half of 2003.
While Taiwan has agreed to cooperate in the investigation, Philips has gone ahead and appealed to the Taipei High Administrative Court in an attempt to cancel the compulsory licensing of its patents. Either way, this is going to get messy. If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment
Earlier this week, there were some reports that Toshiba had submitted their new 51GB HD DVD disc to the DVD Forum for approval. Some even went as far to say that the format had been approved and would be launched by the end of the year. InfoWorld has now reported that none of this is true. According to their article, Toshiba's 51GB HD DVD disc is still in development and has not been submitted for approval.
In the last few days a number of Web sites and blogs have reported the format has been submitted for approval to the DVD Forum and some have said that approval has been received, but Toshiba says nothing of the sort has happened.

"We're puzzled ourself by where these reports came from," said Junko Furuta, a spokeswoman for the company in Tokyo. She said Toshiba hasn't made any further announcements about the disc since CES, and it wasn't submitted to any steering committees during this week's DVD Forum meetings in Tokyo.

When Toshiba first announced the disc in January, it said it hoped to get approval for the disc some time in 2007.
Sorry HD DVD fans. It looks like Blu-ray still has the upper hand in regards to capacity, at least for the time being. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment
The RW Products Promotion Initiative (RWPPI) has announced that they've completed the fourth round of DVD compatibility tests. According to their press release, forty seven companies have participated with a total of 164 product models being tested.
The RW Products Promotion Initiative (RWPPI, Representative Director: Koki Aizawa) and the Recordable DVD Council) RDVDC, Chairman: Bon-Guk Koo) have completed their DVD compatibility tests jointly conducted since June 2006. These tests were conducted on products compatible with recordable DVD: 6x to 12x DVD-RAM, 8cm DVD-RW, 16x speed DVD-R, and 4x and 8x DVD-R DL (Dual Layer). The test results were jointly announced on 23rd February at Conference Square M+ (M plus) (Marunouchi, Tokyo). The current round of compatibility tests was the fourth round of the compatibility tests jointed conducted by RWPPI and RDVDC. In the previous round, tests were conducted on 5x DVD-RAM, 6x to 12x speed DVD-RAM (tester only), 6x speed DVD-RW and 16x speed DVD-R, and their results were announced in April 2006. Detailed results of these tests are available at the website of RWPPI and RDVDC.
The RWPPI and RDVDC plan to continue their compatibility tests when faster DVD media is developed. If you'd like to read more, the RWPPI's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
Imation sent out a press release morning, announcing the industry's first water-resistant, inkjet printable Blu-ray media. Thanks to Imation's AquaGuard technology, these new discs are resistant to both water and smearing.
Imation Corp (NYSE: IMN), a worldwide leader in removable data storage media, today announced the world's first inkjet printable and water-resistant Blu-ray media. Optimized for professional disc duplication, users can record high-definition video, gaming, data and other content on Imation Inkjet Printable BD-R Media with AquaGuard(TM) technology, then print water- and smear-resistant graphics and text right on the disc's surface. The discs are compatible with Blu-ray disc players and recorders, including the Primera(R) Bravo XR-Blu Disc Publisher and the Bravo SE Blu, the world's first automated burn and print devices to support high-capacity Blu-ray media. Imation Inkjet Printable Media with AquaGuard technology also is ideal for reliable business backup of high-capacity digital files.
Imation's Inkjet Printable BD-R Media with AquaGuard technology is shipping now for a suggested retail price of $24.99 per disc. More information can be found here. Add a comment
The Nichia Corporation has announced that they've developed a high power blue-violet laser diode for Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD recording. According to their press release, the new diode can write to dual layer media at speeds up to 10x and quad layer media at 2x.
Nichia Corporation succeeded in developing high power blue-violet semiconductor laser diodes corresponding to a double-layer disc at more than 10 X record speed/ a quad-layer disc at more than 2 X record speed applied for the next generation DVD recorders.

We confirmed that estimated life time exceeded 10,000 hours and stable operation was achieved for 1000 hours with the condition of 320 mW pulsed operation at 80°Ccase temperature.
While quad layer media is aways off, this new diode should help boost the recording speed of Blu-ray and HD DVD writers. More information can be found on Nichia's website. Add a comment
Doug Carson & Associates, Inc. has announced that the first 3X DVD-ROM was cut using their equipment. A variant of the DVD-ROM format, 3X DVD-ROM supports UDF 2.5 and HD video, allowing the discs to be played back on an HD DVD player.
Doug Carson & Associates, Inc. (DCA) is proud to announce that the first 3X DVD-ROM disc was successfully mastered & replicated at Sonopress' North Carolina facility using DCA's MIS 8.5 DVD formatter software on January 17, 2007.

The title was produced through a partnership with Sonic Solutions, the leader in authoring products.

3X DVD-ROM is a variant of DVD-ROM, allowing for HD video & UDF 2.5 on the DVD format. 3X DVD-ROM discs are played back in HD DVD players. Several manufacturers are looking to 3X DVD-ROM as a low cost entry into the HD video market.
If you'd like to read more, DCA's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
Plextor Europe has announced a new 18x multi-format DVD writer, the PX-800A. Along with 18x DVD±R and 8x DVD±R DL writing speeds, the drive can write to DVD-RAM media at 12x. Best of all, Plextor claims that the PX-800A will be "priced cost-effectively."

Plextor, the personal storage and high reliability optical drive manufacturer, today announces the first DVD-RW drive from its new PX-800 series: the ATAPI/IDE PX-800A. At 18x it is still one of the fastest drives in the world (Plextor was the first to launch 18x products with the PX-760 series).

It also incorporates multi-format (DVD+/-R & DVD-RAM) technology to satisfy the demand for high end drives from enthusiast/professional users. In fact, it is Plextor's first drive capable of 12x DVD-RAM.

Even though this high reliability drive comes from Plextor, the market leaders in quality, it will be priced cost-effectively. The drive is in line with Plextor's high quality product requirements, and supports burning quality technologies like Buffer Underrun proof technology, which prevents buffer underrun errors.
Is the PX-800A a new design or one of the Lite-On manufactured drives we've been hearing rumors about? I guess we'll have to wait until the end of March when they hit store shelves. In the mean time, Plextor's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
The Japanese company, Buffalo, has announced a new 18x "Super-Multi" drive with a Serial ATA interface. Based on the Pioneer DVR-212, the DVSM-X1218FBS features 18x DVD±R, 10x DVD±R DL and 12x DVD-RAM writing speeds. Here are some of the specs:



Writing Speeds:
DVD±R: 18x
DVD±R DL: 10x
DVD+RW: 8x
DVD-RW: 6x
DVD-RAM: 12x
CD-R: 40x
CD-RW: 32x

Read Speeds:
DVD-ROM (Single): 16x Max
DVD-ROM (Dual): 12x Max
DVD±R: 12x Max
DVD±RW: 8x Max
DVD±R DL: 8x Max
DVD-RAM: 12X Max
CD-ROM/CD-R: 40x Max
CD-RW: 32x Max


The DVSM-X1218FBS should hit store shelves in the beginning of March for 8,500 Yen ($71US). More information can be found here. Add a comment
Traxdata sent out a press release earlier today, announcing the launch of their new 25GB Blu-ray Rewritable (BD-RE) media.

Traxdata, a leading brand of flash and optical media storage products, has today announced the availability of its first Blu-ray rewritable (BD-RE) Disc. The single layer disc can store a huge 25GB of any form of digital data including photos, music, computer games, video or documents, enabling users to easily store and categorise all their data.

Due to the vast storage capacity necessary to support HD quality video, Blu-ray media is the perfect medium to support the highest quality HD video available today (up to 1920 x 1080 at 40Mbit/sec). When played-back with a Blu-ray Disc player the media provides image sharpness, digital surround sound, improved contrast and vivid colours for a superior cinema quality viewing experience.
If you'd like to read more, Traxdata's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment