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16 March 2006

Sony sent out a press release this afternoon, announcing their upcoming Blu-ray Disc based products. Along with their first Blu-ray Disc player, the BDP-S1, Sony plans to offer both desktop and notebook computers equipped with Blu-ray Disc drives. Sony has also provided some information on their new internal Blu-ray writer, the BWU-100A.

The BWU-100A, an aftermarket internal Blu-ray Disc drive for computer use, will support recording of 25GB and 50GB BD-R (write once) or BD-RE (rewritable) discs at 2X max speed. It is capable of burning a full 25GB disc in about 30 minutes. The drive will also support recording of standard single layer 4.7GB DVD+R/+RW, Double/Dual Layer 8.5GB DVD+R, DVD-RAM and CD-R/-RW media, making it a true all-in-one "tri-mode" recorder/reader.

The new drive can be installed in a standard half-height computer bay with a parallel ATAPI (P-ATA) interface. Comprehensive authoring software will be included for capturing, editing, and burning high-definition personal content captured by an HDV format camcorder, keeping the video in native 1080i HD format for playback on a Blu-ray Disc player. Video can also be "down-converted" to standard-definition (SD) resolution for burning onto a DVD disc.

While Sony plans to ship the BDP-S1 Blu-ray Disc player and the VAIO RC desktop computer in July, we have not heard when the BWU-100A will be available or how much it will cost. As we find out more, we'll let you know. In the mean time, Sony's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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16 March 2006

Ciba sent out a press release late yesterday, announcing that they've filed a lawsuit against RiTEK and its European subsidiaries. The lawsuit claims that RiTEK's CD-R media infringes upon Ciba's patented CD-R dye technology.

Ciba Specialty Chemicals has filed a patent infringement suit in Germany and the Netherlands against RiTEK Corporation and its European subsidiaries Conrexx Technology B.V. (also known as Traxdata), RME Manufacturing GmbH, RiTEK Media Europe, and PrimeDisc Technologies GmbH. Ciba claims that RiTEK and its named subsidiaries import and sell RiTEK-manufactured CD-R which infringe Ciba's patented CD-R dye technology. Ciba IRGAPHOR Ultragreen is globally recognized by the industry as the optical dye of choice for CD-R manufacturing known for high quality and consistency. "We will not tolerate that our technology is illegally copied and counterfeit products are spread in the market. Therefore we are carefully and continuously monitoring the media market. We are prepared to vigorously defend our intellectual property and will not hesitate to take legal action against infringers", a Ciba spokesperson said.

It's going to be interesting to see what happens. If you'd like to read more, Ciba's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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16 March 2006

For the second year in a row, Verbatim has been named the "leading supplier of recordable CD and DVD media worldwide" by the Santa Clara Consulting Group.

Verbatim Corporation announced today that for the second year in a row it has been named the leading supplier of recordable CD and DVD media worldwide by the Santa Clara Consulting Group (SCCG). The Group's 2005 CD and DVD reports show that Verbatim and its parent company, Mitsubishi Kagaku Media (MKM), not only maintained the Number One position worldwide but also increased global market share of recordable CDs and DVDs. Their worldwide dominance in the DVD media markets was evident in the report's Unit Shipments section, which lists Verbatim/MKM shipments of recordable DVD media in 2005 as 531.249 million—23.3 percent more than its nearest competitor.

Of the five DVD formats tracked in the report, DVD-R was the most significant DVD format in 2005 with 59 percent of DVD recordable disc sales. Verbatim/MKM leads the global DVD-R market with a 17.01 percent market share for all of 2005.

While I'm a big fan of Verbatim's media, I must admit that I am a little surprised by some of these numbers. I kind of expected Ritek to be top supplier of media as they are one of the largest manufacturers. In any case, Verbatim's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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15 March 2006

According to an article at Reuters, TEAC and Pioneer have agreed to work together to develop DVD drives for laptops.

TEAC Corp. said on Wednesday it and electronics maker Pioneer Corp. had agreed to co-develop recordable DVD drives for laptop computers, in the latest move by Japanese electronics makers to counter the tough price competition in the industry.

TEAC, a maker of floppy disk and CD-ROM drives, said in a statement the two companies will work on the details of the agreement and would also consider expanding their ties to other areas.

I thought TEAC and Pioneer had signed this agreement months ago, but I guess not. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment