New High-speed DVD Burners, Compatibility and Low-Cost DVD-R Media Set Stage
for Explosive Recordable DVD Growth

LAS VEGAS, NV (November 18, 2002) - Sharing the podium at the Comdex Recordable
DVD Council (RDVDC) press conference today, Andy Parsons, senior vice president
for Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc., and Tony Jasionowski, North American RDVDC
managing director, took a "no smoke, just fire" approach to presenting the facts
about the new milestones that are driving DVD burner sales. After making their
presentations, Parsons and Jasionowski left little doubt that the new DVD drives
eliminate the performance, compatibility and price barriers to creating and sharing
home movies and personalized videos.

In addition to providing read and write support for two or more recordable DVD
formats established by the DVD Forum (DVD-RAM, DVD-R, DVD-RW), the multi-format
DVD burners also provide CD-R/RW read/write support and play back commercially
recorded DVD videos. Recently introduced multi-format DVD burners also offer
the new 4x DVD-R write-once technology (equivalent to 36x CD-R performance),
a rewriteable format, and very aggressive pricing.

"Products incorporating the DVD Forum standards were available for nearly three
years before proprietary formats emerged," said Jasionowski. "The majority of
recordable DVD products in use today are based on DVD Forum formats. In addition,
the DVD Multi drives are produced by five big-name manufacturers, not just one.
And," he continued, "according to IDC reports on the first two quarters of this
year, DVD Forum-based products are maintaining their lead. Delivering what we
promise, when we promise it and ensuring backward compatibility with earlier
format versions have been key factors in drawing new customers and building channel
relationships."

Multi-function drives that support the DVD Forum formats are already on retail
shelves with street prices below $300, and some media manufacturers are shipping
DVD-R discs that retail for $1 or less. With 4x DVD-R support, the new drives
can fill a 4.7GB 4x DVD-R disc to capacity in about 15 minutes. The recorded
discs can be played by most PC and TV DVD players.

Parsons emphasized that the drives he and Jasinowski were talking about are actually
shipping and aren't just reference designs. He also noted that DVD-R is the common
denominator among the vast majority of DVD writers available now and those that
are soon to enter the market. To illustrate his point, Parsons provided attendees
with new data showing that DVD-R media represents 75 percent of all blanks manufactured.

IDC has predicted that shipments of recordable DVD drives will increase from
more than 3 million drives this year to nearly 50 million in 2006. While video
editing is one of the most popular home applications and the primary application
used with DVD burners, part of the projected growth in recordable DVD sales will
come from computer data storage applications, including high-speed backup and
archiving.

After describing some of the applications and the worldwide support for the Forum-standard
recordable DVD formats, Jasionowski encouraged press conference attendees to
visit the Recordable DVD Pavilion, where more than 30 firms are displaying the
latest advancements in DVD hardware and software solutions. Products range from
DVD recorders, DVD drives and DVD camcorders to applications that include AV
entertainment and business document/digital asset management.

The recordable DVD standards established by the DVD Forum and the logos that
confirm compliance with these standards have been key factors in gaining support
from Hollywood as well as the leading computer and software producers. The DVD
Forum is an industry association whose 200+ members include all major DVD manufacturers
as well as the leading DVD software developers and DVD media producers around
the world.

About RDVDC
The RDVDC is a coalition of nearly 100 leading DVD technology developers and
manufacturers who are working to expand the use of recordable DVD technologies
(DVD-RAM, DVD-R, DVD-RW) that comply with the recordable DVD formats established
by the DVD Forum. For more information on the RDVDC, contact Tony Jasionowski,
North American managing director at 201.348.7777 or jasionowskit@rdvdc.org.
Visit the Council's website at http://www.rdvdc.org/english.