DVD+RW 8X Disc Specification Ready for Distribution to Licensees; World's Fastest DVD Rewriting with DVD+RW.

EINDHOVEN, The Netherlands -- The DVD+RW Alliance, a voluntary association of industry-leading personal computer, optical storage and consumer electronics manufacturers that support the Plus format for DVD recording, has announced the release of final draft specifications for 8X rewriting on DVD+RW media by HP, MKM, Philips, Ricoh, Sony and Yamaha.

DVD+RW media and writers designed to this specification will able to rewrite a full 4.7 GB DVD+RW in less than eight minutes. The new 8X DVD+RW discs will be based on very "fast" phase-change materials, which can be rewritten at high speed. The laser of the drive must be able to deliver short high power write-pulses to achieve the right thermal balance between the erase and write steps. New DVD+RW writers and recorders that are designed to write according to the 8X rewrite specification are expected to become available from various manufacturers in the following months.

"8X DVD+RW rewriting is the next step in the DVD+R/+RW format roadmap after bringing write-once DVD+R to the maximum achievable 16X recording speeds," said Frank Simonis, Chair of the DVD+RW Alliance Product Promotions Group and Strategic Marketing Director for Philips Optical Storage. "It reflects the intrinsic strength of the DVD+R/+RW format to evolve rapidly in new functionality and performance, anticipating and meeting customer speed requirements."

About DVD+R/+RW

The DVD+R/+RW format is capable of recording up to 8.5 gigabytes of digital video, images or data. This equates to the storage capacity of up to eleven CD discs and the potential to store thousands of digital photographs or approximately four hours of digital video. The primary benefit of DVD+R/+RW is its two-way compatibility, meaning that DVD+R, DVD+R DL and DVD+RW media can be played in most DVD video players and DVD-ROM drives.

About The DVD+RW Alliance

The DVD+RW Alliance is a voluntary group of industry-leading personal computer, optical storage and consumer electronics manufacturers. The companies promote the universally compatible, rewritable DVD+R/+RW format that enables true convergence between personal computing and consumer electronics products. Over 70 companies have formally joined DVD+RW Alliance to support DVD+R/+RW technology. Further details about the DVD+RW Alliance and member companies can be found at http://www.dvdrw.com. Product or service names mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners.