Las Vegas
A host of new devices that push the envelope on data storage speed and capacity were on display at the Comdex Fall 2001 technology exposition here.
In what it said is a world first, Pioneer Electronics Inc. launched a combination DVD/CD recordable drivethe DVR-A03aimed at digital video recording and data archiving applications.
According to Long Beach, Calif.-based Pioneer, the new drive reads four recordable formats–DVD-R, DVD-RW, CD-R and CD-RW. It also offers up to 4.7 gigabytes (GB) of storage capacity per DVD disc side. The new drive is capable of recording DVD-R discs at twice the normal speed.
DVD-R is a write-once format compatible with most DVD players and DVD drives, the company explained. DVD-RW is a re-recordable format that allows users to record, erase and re-record their own DVD discs more than 1,000 times.
Product specifications for the new drive include 2X (two times normal music CD speed) recording speed for DVD-R, 1X for DVD-RW, 8X for CD-R and 4X for CD-RW, said Pioneer. Read speeds are 4X for DVD-ROM and 24X for CD-ROM.
The new drive is priced at $649, Pioneer said. Further details are available at www.pioneerelectronics.com.
Speed was also the key for two new internal storage products from Acer Communications & Multimedia America Inc. The Acer DVP 1648A has the fastest data transfer rate on the market, Acer claimed, with 16X DVD-ROM and 48X CD-ROM. The 2410A is Acers fastest internal CD-RW drive, with speeds of 24X write, 10X rewrite and 40X read.
According to City of Industry, Calif.-based Acer, the DVP 1648A also offers "a low vibration mechanism," low noise design and DVD playback software.
The 2410A features a 2MB buffer, anti-vibration system, emergency eject, dust protection design and compatibility with Microsoft Windows 2000, 9x, NT 4, ME and XP.
The units are currently shipping at manufacturers suggested retail prices of $99 for the DVP 1648A and $149 for the 2410A, said Acer. Details are available at www.acercm.com.
Meanwhile, Vivastar announced that it would begin shipping DVD-R storage media in December.
Vivastar, based in Zug, Switzerland, said its 4.7GB DVD media features exclusive in-house "metalized" dye and manufacturing techniques, resulting in "superior burn-in and playback."
"Vivastar is aggressively addressing DVD as the new platform of choice for all kinds of general purpose, storage-intensive consumer and professional uses, from movies and video/audio archival to data warehousing and graphics/photo storage," said Adrian Garulay, president and CEO of Vivastar USA.
The new DVD-R media can accommodate 120 minutes of high-quality video material, and can be written to at 1X or 2X speeds, the company noted. Estimated street price is $11 each. More information is available at www.vivastar.com.
