Verbatim Blu-Ray, HD DVD Media Set For July
By Geoff Duncan
June 09, 2006
Verbatim has announced it plans to begin shipping 25 GB 2x recordable and rewriteable Blu-ray and both 15 and 30 GB dual layer HD DVD-R media to market in July.
Verbatim announced yesterday that it will begin shipping 25 GB 2x recordable and rewriteable Blu-ray media beginning in July—which, at the rate things are going, might be before most interested users can set hands on a Blu-ray burner. The company also announced 15 GB HD DVD-R dual layer blank media will begin shipping to the Japanese market early in July (with the rest of the world to follow once burners become available. Verbatim also plans to produce 30 GB HD DVD-R media once an official specification is available.
The company's Blu-ray media is being produced at MKM's optical disc plant in Mizushima, Japan, which also makes blue-laser ultra-density optical (UDO) disks. UDO isn't common in the consume sector, but you do see it in industry and government operations, as well as industries which generate substantial amounts of data, such as financial markets, health care, and communications.
Verbatim's BD-R media uses a new metal nitride recording layer which improves performance even when drive power fluctuates or the disc is smudged. Verbatim's BD-RE media uses Super Eutectic Recording Layer (SERL) technology previously used in Verbatim's DVD+RW and DVD-RW blank media. Both disc types use a proprietary hard-coat finish similar to coatings used on eyeglasses and laptop screens to protect against dust and scratches.
Verbatim's HD HDVD media is being produced in Singapore at the same facility which current manufacturers dual-layer DVD media, and the company developed a new recording dye specifically for HD DVD-R media which offers long life, stability, and a wide power margin to help the discs read correctly even through smudges and power fluctuations from drives. The company expects to be the first to being 30 GB HD DVD-R media to market once the specification is formalized.
No pricing or additional availability information is available yet, but isn't it good to know that you'll be able to archive those HD "home movies" to high-capacity blank media sometime soon?