Sony has officially announced their first Blu-ray Disc burner, the BWU-100A. This aftermarket, internal drive can burn up to 50 GB of data or 4 hours of HD video using BD-R or BD-RE discs.

The new drive(model BWU-100A) supports up to 50 GB of data on BD-R (write once) or BD-RE (rewritable) discs or up to four hours of high-definition video using HDV 1080i on a BD-RE 50GB disc. The new drive is capable of burning a full 25GB disc in about 50 minutes.

For personal content captured on a HDV camcorder, the BD drive is optimized for keeping the video in the native HDV 1080i for playback on home players compatible with BD-AV format and PCs with BD drives installed.

Sony's BD drive also supports recording of standard single layer 4.7GB DVD+R/+RW/RAM discs, 8.5GB DVD+R Double/Dual Layer Discs, and CDs, making it a multi-format burner.
The BWU-100A is expected to ship in August for about $750. If you'd like to read more, Sony's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
The high price of oil is hurting more than just car owners. According to DigiTimes, concerns about the increased cost of optical-grade polycarbonate has pushed the stock price of CMC Magnetics, Ritek and Prodisc to record lows.
The stock price of CMC Magnetics and Ritek, the top two makers of optical discs in Taiwan, and Prodisc Technology, a leading second-tier maker, on July 17 hit their lowest levels of NT$8.18 (US$0.25), NT$7.20 and NT$2.85, respectively, since their listing on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE) due to concerns about the increased cost of optical-grade polycarbonate (PC) arising from price hikes of crude oil, according to industry sources.
If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment
TEAC Japan recently unveiled a new "Super Multi" drive for the desktop market. Along with 16x DVD±R and 8x DVD±R DL writing speeds, DV-W516GDM can write to DVD-RAM media at 5x.



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: 8x Z-CLV
DVD-RAM: 5x CLV
CD-R: 48x CAV
CD-RW: 24x CAV

Access Times:

DVD-ROM: 160ms
CD-ROM: 160ms

Read Speeds:
DVD-ROM (Single): 16x CAV
DVD-ROM (Dual): 8x CAV
DVD-Video: 6x CAV
DVD±R: 16x CAV
DVD±RW: 12x CAV
DVD±R DL: 8x CAV
DVD-RAM: 5x P-CAV
CD-ROM: 48x CAV
CD-DA (DAE): 48x CAV

Buffer Size: 2MB


Not much else is known about TEAC's new Super Multi drive. As we find out more about the DV-W516GDM, we'll let you know. Until then, a list of specs can be found on TEAC Japan's website. Add a comment
Nero sent out a press release this morning, announcing that its Nero Vision application has recieved the Blu-ray Direct to Disc certification.
Nero, leaders in digital media technology, today announced it has received BD-RE/BD-AV Direct to Disc certification for its Nero Vision application. With this certification, Nero 7, the company's premier digital media software suite in which Nero Vision resides, guarantees consumers that the software is fully compatible with Blu-ray Disc specifications.

Nero Vision enables the recording of video content directly onto rewriteable Blu-ray Discs (BD-RE) with full image resolution. Video may be recorded directly from a DV camcorder or video inputs on the customer's PC in real time. Discs recorded in BD-AV format can contain up to 6 hours of full-quality video on a single layer 25GB rewritable BD-RE.
If you'd like to read more, Nero's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
According to article at DigiTimes, Ritek has started producing LabelFlash CD-R and DVD+R/-R discs for Fujifilm.
Ritek has begun OEM production of LabelFlash CD-R and DVD+R/-R discs for Fujifilm, with an initial small shipment volume of several million discs a month, according to industry sources. LabelFlash technology allows users to directly burn a label onto an optical disc.

Following Plextor's launch of the world's first LabelFlash-enabled DVD burners in the first quarter of this year, NEC, Pioneer, LG Electronics and I-O Data Device have subsequently offered such DVD burners, boosting the adoption of LabelFlash, the sources indicated. Fujifilm is currently the sole supplier of LabelFlash discs, and has outsourced production to Ritek because its own production capacity is not sufficient, the sources pointed out.
Plextor offering a LabelFlash enabled DVD burner? I think someone has their facts mixed up. In any case, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment
According to Reuters, Disney currently plans to develop original content for Blu-ray. These short films will be shot in high-definition and will accompany films the company plans to release in the Blu-ray format.
Raising the bar in the Blu-ray Disc vs. HD DVD battle, Walt Disney Co. is creating a series of short films to be shot in high-definition to accompany select films the company will release in the Blu-ray format.

It's the first move by any studio to develop original content for the Sony-developed Blu-ray, a step observers feel is critical to giving the format the upper edge over Toshiba's rival HD DVD.
Disney's Blu-ray titles are expected to begin shipping on September 19th and will come in two waves. Out of the initial nine titles, five of them will come with the exclusive shorts. More information can be found here. Add a comment
Sonic Solutions sent out a press release today, announcing that Movielink has licensed their DVD-on-Demand technology. With DVD-on-Demand, Movielink subscribers can now burn their downloaded movies to disc and play them back on DVD players.
Sonic Solutions (NASDAQ:SNIC - News), the leader in digital media software, and Movielink (www.movielink.com), the leading broadband video-on-demand (VOD) service, announced today a licensing agreement for technology that, when authorized for use by content providers, will enable consumers to burn downloaded movies onto recordable discs in a protected format for playback on standard DVD players. As part of the agreement, Movielink has licensed Sonic's DVD-on-Demand technology to permit home users to securely download, format and burn movies to recordable DVD media. Additionally, Sonic will include the Movielink Service within its Roxio CinePlayer(TM) and other Sonic software applications distributed through OEM and retail channels.
If you'd like to read more, Sonic's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
DigiTimes has reported that Lite-On will unveil their 18x DVD burner models this quarter or early next quarter and plans to offer 20x DVD burners in the 4Q of this year.
Lite-On IT, given the fact that several global leading brands will follow Japan-based Plextor and unveil 18x DVD burner models this quarter or early next quarter, is preparing to offer 20x DVD burners in the fourth quarter to enhance its competitiveness, according to industry sources.

Toshiba-Samsung Storage Technology (TSST), NEC, Hitachi-LG Data Storage (HLDS), Pioneer and I-O Data Device are among the brands expected to release 18x DVD burners soon, the sources indicated.
If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment
According to an article at DigiTimes, quotes for 16x DVD burners have continued to fall during the 2Q of 2006 due to competition from manufacturers like Foxconn Electronics and NEC.
The quotes for 16x DVD burners have fallen 5-10% during the second quarter of 2006 amid competition from makers such as Foxconn Electronics (the registered trade name of Hon Hai Precision Industry) and NEC, according to Taiwan-based optical disc makers.

Sources said Foxconn was competing for orders by initiating a price war for the 16x DVD burner segment while other sources said NEC was strategically dumping products to clear out inventory, causing market quotes to sink to a new low.
The article also mentions that several manufacturers are shifting to "Super Multi" drives or 18x DVD burners to raise their average selling price. If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment
Imation sent out a press release this morning, announcing the availability of its Blu-ray Disc media. Available in recordable (BD-R) and rewritable (BD-RE) formats, these single layer discs can store up to 25 GB of data.
Imation Corp (NYSE: IMN - News) today announced the availability of its Blu-ray media to major IT and data storage channel partners at its "Blue Technology" conference. Imation designed the conference and tour of its new advanced optical manufacturing facility at Imation world headquarters in Oakdale, Minn. to educate Imation channel partners on blue-laser optical technologies, and their application for high definition media in the enterprise. These leading optical media distributors and their customers know the challenge of keeping up with today's exploding data storage requirements, which are expected to triple by the end of the decade. Now, with Imation Blu-ray media, professionals have a simple solution for managing their growing quantity of critical data storage. Available in recordable (BD-R) and rewritable (BD-RE) formats, Imation Blu-ray discs store up to 25 GB of digital files -- five times the capacity of standard DVDs -- and are ideal for reliable business backup, including medical and government imaging, photography, videography, as well as high definition video recording.
Imation's Blu-ray recordable (BD-R) and re-writable (BD-RE) media will be available in August for a suggested retail price of $19.99 and $29.99, respectively. More information can be found here. Add a comment