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Philips Lite-On Digital Solutions (PLDS), a joint venture between Royal Philips Electronics and Lite-On IT for the production and marketing of optical disc drives (ODDs), aims to be among the top two ODD suppliers in the world in terms of shipment volume, according to general manager Charlie Tseng for the Optical Disc Drive Business Unit of PLDS.The article also points out that PLDS has had some troubles integrating the engineering staff at Philips, BenQ and Lite-On IT. Now that they've created a cohesive team, they're expecting the business to take off. If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment
Lite-On IT took over BenQ's 49% stake in Philips BenQ Digital Storage, the predecessor of PLDS, for NT$260 million (US$7.8 million) at the end of 2006 to complement its own resources, according to industry sources in Taiwan. Hitachi-LG Data Storage (HLDS) is currently the world's largest supplier and OEM/ODM maker of ODDs, with its 2007 shipment volume estimated to be 80 million units, the sources said.
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Call/Recall Inc., a pioneer in affordable, ultra-high-capacity optical disk storage, today announced availability of licensing for its patented 2-photon recorded 3D optical storage technology that can provide 40 times the capacity of Blu-ray and over 200 times the capacity of DVD optical storage technology. Call/Recall's innovative optical storage technology is based on the work of company co- founder, Dr. Peter Rentzepis. A former head of Bell Laboratories, Rentzepis is a world-renowned scientist who authored approximately 85 patents; his innovations are referenced as prior art by 45 of the world's top optical technology providers, including IBM, Panasonic and Hitachi.While Call/Recall's 2-photon 3D technology sounds impressive, it will ultimately come down to cost. Hopefully, by using commercially available, off-the-shelf components, they'll be able to offer it at an affordable price. If you'd like to read more, Call/Recall's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
Call/Recall is recording a 1TB disk and has established a product roadmap delivering solutions capable of storing multiple terabytes of information per disk. The versatile 2-photon 3D technology can be applied to solutions such as a 100+ terabyte optical library using DVD-size disk for enterprise data storage, or a 1-inch diameter 50 GB disk for consumer electronics devices such as cell phones, portable media players, and game systems. Using the Call/Recall technology, manufacturers of consumer electronics devices as well as large-scale enterprise and government customers can store and manage more data in less space while reducing cost and improving overall I/O performance.
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The lower than expected demand for CD-R discs is mainly because brand and retail channel clients in the US and Europe had replenished their inventories in the first quarter of 2007 and therefore placed few OEM orders this quarter. Additionally, the unexpectedly strong sales of digital music players around the world has diminished demand for CD-R discs, the sources pointed out.These prices probably won't last long. The article points out that the cost of optical-grade polycarbonate is slowing increasing due to the price of crude oil. If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment
In response second-tier makers in Taiwan have cut prices to compete for few OEM orders resulting in the low OEM price levels, the sources indicated. In addition to CD-R discs, they have reduced OEM prices for blank 4-8x DVD+R/-R discs to as low as US$0.12, the sources noted.
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With Pioneer unveiling its first Blu-ray Disc (BD) Combo drive (BDC-S02) in May for sale at a recommended retail price of US$299, Lite-On IT plans to start production of its BD Combo drives in the fourth quarter of this year, according to industry sources in Taiwan.The only BD combo drive I have heard of is the DH-2E1S which, according to some sources at Lite-On, is already available. I guess we'll have to wait and see. If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment
The sources cited Lite-On IT's relationship with Royal Philips Electronics as the rational for entering the business. The two companies are partners in a joint venture for producing optical drives (Philips & Lite-On Digital Solutions) and Philips is a charter member of the BD Association.
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Samsung Electronics, at a press conference in New York on June 19, introduced its Super WriteMaster SH-S203 DVD burner featuring a write speed of 16x for DVD+R DL (single-sided double-layer) and that of 20x for DVD+R/-R. The device is expected to push up demand for DVD burners capable of 16x DVD+R DL recording as well as 16x DVD+D DL discs, according to industry sources in Taiwan.The article also mentions that Pioneer, Sony and Lite-On plan to release drives capable of writing to DVD+R DL media at 16x later this year. If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment
While the DVD+RW Alliance released specifications for 12x and 16x DVD+R DL formats in early April of this year, Samsung took the initiative among global leading DVD burner brands/makers to bring the 16x DVD+R DL into commercial use, the sources indicated. While 8-12x, currently the mainstream writing speeds for DVD+R DL, takes 15-20 minutes to burn a disc, 16x requires less than 10 minutes, the sources pointed out.
