Who says piracy doesn't pay? According to DigiTimes, media manufacturers are seeing an increased demand for DVD+R/-R DL discs. This increase is due in part to a hack for the Xbox 360 which allows for the playback of pirated games.
Sources at Taiwan optical disc makers makers indicated demand has been warming up for DVD+R/-R DL (single-sided double-layer) discs recently, following the increased availability of a modding hack that allows for the playing of pirated games on Xbox 360 consoles.

According to various media reports, the hacked games need to be burned onto a dual-layer DVD using a special process before they can be played.
The article also mentions that global shipments of DVD+R/-R DL discs are expected to reach 100 million in 2006 and should double in 2007. If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment
I-O DATA Japan has announced a new series of drives based on Sony NEC Optiarc's 18x "Super-Multi" drive, the AD-7170A. Along with 18x DVD±R and 12x DVD-RAM writing speeds, these internal and external drives are confirmed to work with Windows Vista. Here are some of the specs:



Writing Speeds:
DVD±R: 18x
DVD±R DL: 8x
DVD+RW: 8x
DVD+R DL: 8x
DVD-RW: 6x
DVD-RAM: 12x
CD-R: 48x
CD-RW: 32x

Read Speeds:
DVD-ROM (Single): 16x Max
DVD-ROM (Dual): 12x Max
DVD±R: 16x Max
DVD±RW: 13x Max
DVD±R DL: 12x Max
DVD-RAM: 12X Max
CD-R/ROM: 48x Max
CD-RW: 40x Max

The internal DVR-AN18GS and external DVR-UN18GS should hit store shelves in late November for ¥8,348 ($71US) and ¥12,075 ($102US) respectively. More information can be found here and here. Add a comment
The European Union's antidumping tariff will finally be coming to an end next year. DigiTimes has reported that this will benefit many of Taiwan's manufacturers as they will have an easier time marketing their CD-R discs in Europe.
The European Union (EU) in March of 2002 decided to impose a five-year 37% antidumping duty on blank CD-R discs exported by leading Taiwanese makers, including CMC Magnetics, Ritek and Prodisc Technology, and the expiration of the punitive tax in early 2007 is expected to help Taiwanese makers market CD-R discs in Europe, according to Taiwan industry sources.

However, the expected benefit for CMC and Ritek should be less significant than for second-tier or smaller makers in Taiwan, since the two makers have been shifting part of their CD-R manufacturing to production of blank discs for DVD+R/-R and other DVD formats, the sources pointed out.
The article also points out that manufacturers will need to sign up for Philips' Veeza licensing system. If they don't, their products will be banned from the European market. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment
While Sony NEC Optiarc has only recently begun shipments of optical disc drives, the company expects to become the world's largest supplier by the end of 2007.
Sony NEC Optiarc, a joint venture between Sony (55% stake) and NEC (45% stake), has begun shipments of optical disc drives (ODDs) for use in IT products and game consoles as well as audio/video optical disc devices, and expects to become the world's largest supplier for such products by the end of 2007, according to the Kyotaro Imamura, general manager of the Computer Peripherals & Optical Media Devices Division of Sony Taiwan.

Sony NEC Optiarc, which began operations in April of this year, can offer total solutions which include Sony's optical pick-up heads and NEC's DSP (digital signal processor) chipsets as well as economical OEM/ODM production by Taiwan-based partners, Imamura pointed out. In addition, Sony and NEC are each leading names in IT, audio/video consumer electronics and game console products, Imamura said.
If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment
Plasmon sent out a press release this morning, announcing that they've started shipping their new UDO-DMD drives and media to HD DVD content management and mastering solution providers.
Plasmon (LSE: PLM - News), the trusted source in data archiving, today announced that they have begun initial shipments of their new UDO-DMD (Ultra Density Optical - Digital Master Disk) drives and media to HD DVD content management and mastering solution providers for testing and integration. The UDO-DMD format is part of a technology and business alliance between Mitsubishi Kagaku Media (MKM), Memory Tech Corporation (MTC), and Plasmon to provide secure distribution and long-term storage of HD DVD content between authoring studios and disc mastering facilities.

Plasmon has passed a major milestone with the initial shipment of DMD to application providers in the high density content mastering market. Two strategic solution providers currently working with DMD are DCA - the optical industry's leading provider of world-class signal processing technology, and MTC - who together with Toshiba developed the original HD DVD technology. Both companies have already been shipped evaluation DMD drives and media for system testing and integration into their applications. First generation DMD30 (30.2GB) is designed for the distribution and archive of new HD DVD and existing DVD content. Second generation DMD60 (60GB) is scheduled to launch in mid 2007 and will also support Blu-ray.
If you'd like to read more, Plasmon's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
Facing pression from TSST and Hitachi-LG Data Storage, Lite-On has reportedly lowered its OEM/ODM prices for 16x DVD burners to US$27-28.
Lite-On IT, the largest Taiwan-based maker of optical disc drives (ODDs), has lowered its OEM/ODM prices for half-height (H/H) 16x DVD burners to US$27-28, but some expected orders were shifted to Toshiba Samsung Storage Technology (TSST), the company's main competitor, because TSST offered prices as low as below US$25, according to industry sources in Taiwan.
The article also mentions that the competition for OEM/ODM orders is expected to continue and that prices may drop even further. If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment
Sunland International sent out a press release this morning, announcing the DIGISTOR DW-ISD081. This new slim-line drive features 8x DVD±R, 4x DVD±RW and 2.4x DVD+R DL writing speeds.
Sunland International (SLI), a leading distributor of optical and data storage products, today announced they will expand their product offering to include the new DIGISTOR Slim-line Internal DVD Writer. DIGISTOR's new drive, DW-ISD081, will offer an industry leading 24 month warranty.

Designed with the needs of notebook and server manufacturers in mind, the DW-ISD081 offers the ability to record DVD±R/RW+RDL with speeds of up to 8X as well as CD-R/RW at up to 24X. The new drive is also fully compliant with the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directeive 2002/95/EC of the EU.
The DW-ISD081 will begin shipping on November 10th. More information can be found here. Add a comment
According to an article at DigiTimes, Lite-On is expected to begin shipping 18x LightScribe DVD burners to HP later this month. As we reported in the past, these new drives will support version 1.2 of HP's LightScribe technology.
While Lite-On IT is expected to start shipping 18x DVD burners to Hewlett-Packard (HP) this month, the growing tension in competition between Lite-On IT, Hitachi-LG Data Storage (HLDS) and Toshiba-Samsung Storage Technology (TSST) facilitated OEM prices to further drop, according to sources at Taiwan-based optical disk drive (ODD) makers.

The sources detailed that this month, Lite-On IT starts shipping internal (940i) and external (model 940e) models of 18x DVD burners to HP. Both burners support the latest 1.2 version of HP's LightScribe technology.
If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment
If you thought that the DVD-RAM format was going the way of the dodo, think again. DigiTimes has reported that for the month of August, Super-Multi drives accounted for more than 66% of the world's DVD burner shipments.
Super Multi DVD burners have surpassed DVD Dual burners in global shipment volume with 12x DVD-RAM set to become mainstream in 2007, according to Kenji Koishi, director for the Compatibility Working Group of the Recordable DVD Council (RDVDC) at a symposium held in Taipei on October 31.

Of about 12 million DVD burners shipped globally in August of this year, eight million units, or 66.7%, were Super Multi models and four million were Dual ones, Koishi cited survey statistics as saying. The proportion of Super Multi for August of 2005 was less than 40%, Koishi indicated.
With Maxell deciding not to sell their 12x DVD-RAM media outside of Japan, its going to be hard for it to become mainstream. If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment
BenQ sent out a press release this morning, announcing two new DVD writers, the DW1800 and DW1680. While the DW1680 can write to DVD's at 16x, the DW1800 is equipped with 18x DVD±R and 12x DVD-RAM writing speeds.
BenQ today expands its optical storage lineup with the DW1800 and DW1680 DVD Re-Writer. The DW1800 and DW1680 offer 18x and 16x writing speed respectively and both feature BenQ's exclusive SolidBurn technology and convenient QSuite application package. The DW1800 offers a fast DVD RAM writing speed of up to 12x, currently the fastest available on the market and supports both DVD+R and DVD-R Double Layer recording at 8x.

Equipped with BenQ's exclusive SolidBurn technology, the DW1800 & DW1680 DVD Re-Writer offer superior optical writing with over-speed burning while maintaining at an excellent burning quality. Users can take advantage of the QSuite application package which includes a variety of convenient functions such as QScan function and Test Write function.
No word on pricing or avaialability. As we find out more, we'll let you know. In the mean time, BenQ's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment