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27 October 2006

Imation has announced that they've filed a Declaratory Judgment Action, asking the court to reaffirm a cross-licensing agreement between two companies. According to their press release, Philips has tried to interfere with Imation's suppliers, despite the existing agreement.

Imation Corp (NYSE: IMN) today announced that it has filed a Declaratory Judgment Action in the Federal District Court in St. Paul, Minn., requesting that the court resolve an ongoing dispute with Philips Electronics N.V., U.S. Philips Corporation, and North American Philips Corporation (collectively "Philips"). The action requests that the court reaffirm Imation's cross-licensing rights related to various optical products, including recordable and rewritable CD and DVD discs, based on a long-standing agreement between Imation and Philips.

Imation's cross-licensing agreement with Philips allows Imation to make, have made and sell various optical media products including CD and DVD discs. Based on Imation's cross-licensing rights under the existing agreement, Imation's action asks the court to stop Philips' recent attempts to interfere with Imation's ongoing business relationships with its customers and suppliers.

This is most likely due to Philips' Veeza licensing scheme. As we've reported in the past, Philips is trying to bar imports of non-Veeza discs in some of the world's major markets. More information can be found on Imation's website. Add a comment

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Optical Storage

27 October 2006

DigiTimes has reported that Sony plans to stop selling optical drives for the PC some time in 2007. The company will instead focus on optical devices, like their DVDirect series, that are not dependent upon PC's.

With the view that the market for PC optical disc drives (ODDs) in Taiwan is approaching saturation, as seen by the NT$1,500 (US$45) price for 16x DVD burners, Sony Taiwan indicated it will shift its marketing toward optical disc devices not dependent on PCs, according to Sony Taiwan.

Although half-height DVD burner technology has advanced to 18x writing speeds and will be upgraded further to 20x next year, demand for DVD burners is not expected to increase, local industry sources pointed out.

I can't say I'm too surprised. It's hard to justify buying one of Sony's drives when you can essentially get the same thing, sold under another brand for half the cost. If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment

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26 October 2006

Here's some surprising news. Due to diminishing profits, Lite-On has decided to stop selling consumer ODD products under the Lite-On brand name.

Lite-On IT, the largest Taiwan-based maker of optical disc drives (ODDs), on October 25 reported its financial results for the third quarter of this year, posting a very small net earnings per share (EPS) of NT$0.033. The company also announced it has decided to stop production of consumer ODDs, mainly DVD recorders, to be sold under its Liteon brand in the global market, while keeping OEM/ODM production of such products.

Lite-On IT's average gross margin dropped from 16.7% in the first half of this year to 13.2% last quarter. Three main reasons for this were the following: the ongoing integration of Lite-On IT's own operating resources with those of BenQ's ODD business unit (acquired by Lite-On IT in April 2006); delays in R&D works on Blu-ray Disc drives, slim-type ODDs and Xbox ODDs; losses due to consumer returns of own-brand DVD recorders sold through the Wal-Mart chain, according to company CEO Danny Liao.

It really isn't clear whether this includes all of Lite-On's ODD products or just their DVD recorders. If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes.

Update - Thanks to the Dutch website, Tweakers.net, we've learned that this only applies to Lite-On's standalone DVD recorders. Here's a translation (thanks RJW):

A moment ago Dutch Lite-On IT have communicated us that the source article of DigiTimes contained an incorrect reproduction of the facts. The brand Lite-On is still alive. Lite-On will definatly not stop with selling dvd - and cd-burners under its own brand, thus spokesman Maarten Souren. Only the standalone dvd-recorders that are sold under the lite on brand, will be removed from the Lite-On-catalog according to him.

So there you have it. Lite-On will continue to produce PC-based CD and DVD writers. Add a comment

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Optical Storage

25 October 2006

Ever wonder how HD DVD and Blu-ray media was manufactured? You're in luck. Imation Corp has released a new video titled "Imation: Into the Blue". The video includes a brief tour of Imation's Discovery Center and shows how high-definition media is manufactured.

Two versions of "Imation: Into the Blue" are available: a 5 minute streaming video clip and a 14 minute video podcast. If you have the bandwidth and the time, I highly recommend the podcast as it includes some great footage of the manufacturing process. Add a comment

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25 October 2006

Plextor Japan has released some details on their new "Super-Multi" drive, the PX-751A. This new drive features 16x DVD±R, 8x DVD+RW, 6x DVD-RW, 8x DVD+R DL, 4x DVD-R DL and 5x DVD-RAM writing speeds. Here are some of the drive's specs:

Writing Speeds: DVD+R: 16x CAV DVD+RW: 8x Z-CLV DVD+R DL: 8x Z-CLV DVD-R: 16x CAV DVD-RW: 6x CLV DVD-R DL: 6x Z-CLV DVD-RAM: 5x CLV CD-R: 48x CAV CD-RW: 32x CAV Access Times: CD-ROM: 130ms DVD-ROM: 140ms

Read Speeds: DVD-ROM (Single Layer): 16x Max DVD-ROM (Dual Layer): 12x Max DVD±R: 16x Max DVD±RW: 12x Max DVD±R DL: 12x Max DVD-RAM: 5x Max CD-R/ROM: 48x Max CD-RW: 40x Max Buffer Size: 2MB

The PX-751A is expected to hit the Japanese market in the middle of November for 8,000 Yen. More information can be found on Plextor Japan's website. Add a comment

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25 October 2006

Hitachi Maxell has announced their new 8cm DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL media. Developed for camcorders, these discs can hold 2.6GB of data or 54-55 minutes of standard quality video. Here's part of their press release, translated from Japanese:

Hitachi Maxell, Ltd. (The execution post president: Yoshito Kakuta) will put the series, 8cmDVD-R DL disk, and 8cmDVD+R DL "Easy selection" disk for the DVD video camera with the recording layer in two layers in one side of the disk on the market on November 24.

The market expands to the DVD video camera in the background of convenience that makes the best use of the feature of record type DVD like the height etc. of the random access and the reproduction interchangeability. Needs of "Take a picture for a long time" and "High-resolution taking a picture" expand more than before with the extension of the group of users, and the disk where it answers this is requested in recent years.

According to AV Watch, Maxell's 8cm media is expected to cost about 1300 Yen. More information can be found here. Add a comment

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24 October 2006

HP has announced their new 18x "Super-Multi" drive, the dvd940i. Along with support for LightScribe, this Lite-On manufactured drive features 18x DVD±R and 12x DVD-RAM writing speeds.

18X will be the new writing speed standard on HP drives. HP will launch the dvd940i: a new, high-speed internal drive with DVD±R/±RW and DVD-RAM read/write, ±R double-layer capability, and LightScribe direct disc labeling. HP will also introduce an external version of this drive: HPdvd940e.

HP's supermulti drive offers high speeds and double-layer recording, and it's LightScribe Version 1.2 - ready for high-contrast labeling. It lets users easily preserve, edit and share up to 8.5 GB of video, photos, and multimedia presentations on one double-layer disc - and quickly store back up and transport files on DVDs and Cds. The dvd940i/e records double-layer DVDs at up to 8X, recordable DVDs at up to 18X, rewritable DVDs at up to 8X and DVD-RAM at up to 12X.

The dvd940i is expected to hit store shelves in November. If you'd like to read more, HP's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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23 October 2006

Here's some good news for our European readers. The European Union has reportedly lifted a threat to impose tariffs on blank compact discs from China and Malaysia.

The EU closed an inquiry into whether Chinese and Malaysian exporters of recordable CDs sell in Europe below domestic prices or below the production cost, a practice known as dumping. Two weeks ago, the bloc ended an investigation into suspected dumping of recordable DVDs by Taiwan and China.

Punitive tariffs on blank CDs from China and Malaysia would "have substantial negative effects on importers, distributors, retailers and consumers," the EU said in a report endorsed in Luxembourg. China and Malaysia control about half the EU market for blank CDs, according to the bloc.

The EU also found that the anti-dumping duties would do little to help European manufacturers raise prices and profitability as they'd still be facing competition from countries like India. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment

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20 October 2006

As we reported earlier in the week, HP has chosen Lite-On to manufacture their new external HD DVD-ROM drive. According to DigiTimes, Lite-On is also looking to produce the company's Blu-ray Disc drives.

HP already produces PC-use HD DVD drives, with Toshiba producing the internal drives and Lite-On IT producing an external HD DVD-ROM drive (HD100), the sources indicated. For HP's planned OEM production of BD drives, Lite-On IT will compete for the orders with South Korean and Japanese makers, the sources said. Unlike its competitors though, Lite-On does not sell own-brand products in the international market and stands a good chance of being selected by HP, the sources pointed out.

The article also mentions that Lite-On will begin producing Blu-ray Disc drives for other clients later this quarter. If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment