DVD+RW Alliance Member Companies Announce DVD+R Feature in Latest Products

DVD+RW Alliance Announces Several New Members and Availability of Mount Rainier Specifications
HANOVER, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 14, 2002--Several executive members of the DVD+RW Alliance, a voluntary association of industry-leading personal computer manufacturers, optical storage and consumer electronics manufacturers, today announced new DVD+RW products with DVD+R (write once) functionality. Hewlett-Packard Company, Mitsubishi Chemical/Verbatim, Philips Electronics, Ricoh and Sony have announced new DVD+RW/+R products.

''With U.S household penetration of DVD players, including PC units, at nearly 36 percent1, DVD has quickly become the consumer's choice for home entertainment. DVD+R represents the next evolutionary step in the DVD+RW format as the best choice for video and data storage,'' said John Spofford, vice president and general manager, HP Consumer Entertainment Solutions and chairman of the DVD+RW Alliance. ''Based on collective years of CD-R/RW experience, the Alliance companies know that consumers want a simple, creative and flexible choice in creating custom DVDs.''

''DVD+R offers the performance that customers demand by allowing permanent storage and archiving of critical data, home videos, and photos,'' continued Spofford. ''DVD+R discs provide excellent compatibility with existing and future DVD-ROM drives and DVD video players, making it ideal for sharing recorded DVD discs between a number of components.''

Many industry analysts agree that the DVD+R write once feature adds strength and flexibility to the DVD+RW format.

''As seen with CD technology and dynamic digital convergence adoption, in addition to rewritable technology, consumers want the ability to record to a write once or recordable only disc,'' said Mary Craig, principal analyst, Optical Storage Worldwide, Gartner Dataquest. ''Write once capability holds the promise of achieving the highest level of compatibility available, making recordable DVD products even more attractive to consumers.''

Mount Rainier Specification Finalized for DVD+RW

The DVD+RW Alliance also announced the availability of the final Mount Rainier specification for rewritable DVD. This specification is already approved by the Mount Rainier Group, led by industry leaders Compaq, Microsoft, Philips Electronics, and Sony. Building on the successful implementation in CD-RW systems, the specification is ready for incorporation into DVD+R/+RW drives and the PC's operating system. The specification is designed to increase compatibility and interchangeability by providing consumers the familiar `drag-and-drop' functionality, making operation as simple and fast as in the CD-R environment.

New DVD+RW Alliance Members

Recently, FUJI PHOTO FILM, Hitachi Maxell, and TDK Corporation announced plans to release DVD+RW media products and have joined the DVD+RW Alliance. Additionally, Ritek Corporation and CMC Magnetics Corporation announced commitments to DVD+RW technology. Also hardware manufacturer SANYO Electric Co., Ltd. Semiconductor Company recently joined the DVD+RW Alliance.

DVD+RW Alliance Executive Member Products

-HP DVD Writer dvd200e/200i -- HP has announced plans to ship the HP DVD Writer dvd200e (external) and HP DVD Writer 200i (internal) super combination drives that allow consumers to create custom CDs and DVDs using one drive. The HP DVD Writer dvd200 drives have DVD+R (write once) and DVD+RW (rewritable) features and include DVD authoring software, which enables editing directly on DVD+RW discs. Additionally, HP DVD+R and DVD+RW discs are available in retail stores with 4.7 GB storage capacity.

-Philips DVDRW228 DVD+RW PC drive and DVDR985/DVDR980 recorders -- Philips has announced plans to ship its DVDRW228 DVD+RW/+R PC drive, a combination drive that is optimized for both video and data storage, allowing customers to read and write CDs and DVDs. In addition, Philips has also introduced the DVDR985 and DVDR980, both living room DVD+RW/+R recorders. In addition to DVD+R, DVD+RW and DVD Video discs, the DVDR985/DVDR980 are compatible with CD, CD-R, CD-RW, S-VCD and VCD discs. Philips is also currently shipping 4.7 GB capacity DVD+R and DVD+RW discs.

-Ricoh MP5125A-DP -- Ricoh has announced plans to ship the MP5125A-DP DVD+RW/+R Super Combo internal writer, which has DVD+RW/+R and CD-R/RW writing capability. The MP5125A-DP drive is able to record video and data on both DVD+RW and DVD+R media at 2.4x speed. Ricoh's proprietary JustLink buffer underrun error prevention technology provides excellent reliability. Additionally, Ricoh 4.7 GB DVD+R and DVD+RW discs are shipping for use with video and data storage.

-Sony DRU-120A/DRX-120L -- Sony Corporation has announced plans to ship its second-generation DVD+RW/+R drives. The Sony DRU-120A/DRX-120L drives can write on DVD+RW, DVD+R, CD-RW and CD-R media and includes a bundled software suite that allows end-users to create data and video discs with ease. The Sony DRU-120A is an internal ATAPI drive while the Sony DRX-120L is the external version with i.LINK (IEEE1394) connection. The Sony DPW-120 is the 4.7 GB DVD+RW disc media optimized for both data and video applications.

-Verbatim DVD+R/+RW media -- Verbatim Corporation announced it DataLifePlus® 4.7 GB DVD+R media -- a companion product to DVD+RW, which was introduced in October 2001. Like Verbatim's DVD+RW media, the new DVD+R discs are certified for 2.4x recording speed. Verbatim will begin shipping DataLifePlus DVD+R media in March.

About DVD+RW/+R

The DVD+RW/+R format is capable of recording up to 4.7 gigabytes of digital video, images or data. This equates to the storage capacity of seven CD-R/RW discs and the potential to store thousands of digital photographs or approximately two hours of digital video. The primary benefit of DVD+RW/+R is its two-way compatibility, meaning that DVD+RW/+R media can be played in most DVD video players and DVD-ROM drives in use today. In addition, the DVD+RW format supports write once DVD+R capability.

About The DVD+RW Alliance

The DVD+RW Alliance is a voluntary group of industry-leading personal computing manufacturers, optical storage and electronics manufacturers including Dell (Nasdaq: DELL), Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE: HWP), MCC/Verbatim, Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG), Ricoh Company, Ltd. (ADR: RICOY), Sony Corporation, Thomson Multimedia (NYSE: TMS) and Yamaha Corporation. The companies promote the universally compatible, rewritable DVD+RW format that enables true convergence between personal computing and consumer electronics products. DVD+R and DVD+RW discs written on DVD+RW/+R recorder can be read and played in most DVD video players and DVD-ROM drives. More than 50 additional companies have formally pledged support for DVD+RW/+R technology. Further details about the DVD+RW Alliance and supporting companies can be found at www.dvdrw.com.