Optiarc
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Sony getting out of PC optical drive business due to 'fierce competition'
It's being reported that Sony is closing Optiarc Inc., its company subsidiary that manufactures optical disc drives for PCs. Officials are quoted as saying that "fierce competition" forced prices down, causing the business to operate at a loss despite controlling roughly 15 percent of the market. Operations will be wound up by March of next year, with around 400 employees being offered early retirement and others being moved to other parts of the business. Don't worry about the future of your Blu-Ray and DVD player just yet though -- the company will continue to manufacture both as part of its Device Solutions Division.
Sony Optiarc garners unwanted attention from DOJ for possible Blu-ray or DVD price fixing
In a filing with the Tokyo Stock Exchange this morning, Sony has revealed a request for information from the US Department of Justice regarding its optical drive production arm, Sony Optiarc. While the same filing indicates the Japanese giant's belief that this information gathering is part of a wider investigation into competition in the optical drive market, we've yet to hear of any other companies facing the same request. If you were feeling disgruntled with the pace of Blu-ray price drops, this might just be your moment of vindication... or it could be a storm in a teacup. There's really not enough information to tell either way right now, but if we know anything about the DOJ, it's that it loves shaking down naughty corporations. We'll keep a careful eye on this as it develops.
Sony Optiarc Europe lets loose 24x AD-7240S DVD burner
While we're not totally in agreement with Sony Optiarc Europe's claim that its AD-7240S DVD burner (AD-7220 A/S pictured) is the first on the planet to achieve a 24x burn rate, we won't deny the awesomeness. Inappropriately hailed as a "speed miracle," the drive features the company's Auto Strategy Technology in order to ensure perfect burns every time. You should also know that it'll toast blank CDs at up to 48x and dual-layer DVD-Rs at 12x. Nah, it's no Blu-ray burner, but it's not like you can even afford that kind of optical media, anyway.[Via TG Daily]
SonyNEC Optiarc projects sub-$100 Blu-ray optical drives by year's end
If you'll recall, SonyNEC Optiarc was the same company that suggested BD prices would be halved by 2008 from what they were in late 2006, and while stickers are still relatively high on standalone decks, the prediction actually wasn't too far off. A new report from Tom's Hardware notes that the aforementioned outfit is expecting Blu-ray combo drives "to reach the $100 line before the holiday season." For around $50 more, it reckons you'll have access to slim-line notebook drives that handle the same duties. Granted, there's no real confirmation surrounding the assertions, and we'll be the first to blindly hope such wishful thinking comes true, but we'd say BD prices in general have a whole lot of falling to do in six short months for this one to even stand a chance.[Via TechDigest]
Optiarc rolls out Blu-ray drive for "mid-range" laptops
Optiarc (the joint venture between Sony and NEC) has already pumped out quite a few Blu-ray drives for both desktops and laptops, and it's now let loose yet another model, with this one promising to make Blu-ray accessible to "mid-range" laptop models. That accessibility comes at the expense of Blu-ray burning, although the drive (dubbed the BC-5500A) will burn CDs or DVDs at speeds ranging from 8x to 16x depending on the format. If that's not too much of a compromise for you, you should be able to grab one around $335 right now -- or, more likely, wait for some laptop manufacturers to start offering 'em as a standard option.
Optiarc and Buffalo each drop new Blu-ray drives
Those of you itching to take arms in the epic struggle for Blu-ray glory have a few more options today, as both Buffalo and Optiarc announced that they're shipping their second generation of BD drives. The Buffalo units (pictured) use the Pioneer BDC-202 mechanism we've seen popping up lately, so while they can't author Blu-ray discs, they'll read BD-ROM, BD-R and BD-RE discs at 5x, dual-layer recordable Blu-ray discs at 2x and write to the various CD and DVD formats at 1-32x. The ¥53,000 ($436) BRC-5125U2 is the internal model, while the ¥63,700 ($525) BRC-5125FBS-BK comes in a monolith-looking USB 2.0 external case. Both prices seem a bit high to us, since you'll be able to score the exact same drive labeled as the Pioneer BDC-2202 for like $300 next month, but maybe all that CyberLink software Buffalo bundles is worth the extra coin to you -- after all, it's not like Vista supports Blu-ray out of the box.On the other hand, if your needs involve Blu-ray authoring, the Sony / NEC joint venture Optiarc's got you covered with the BD-M100A, which we first saw previewed at CeBit. The internal drive writes BD at 2x, DVD at 8x, CD-R at 24x, CD-RW at 16x and reads at speeds up to 32x. Being able to burn BD will set you back, though -- Optiarc says the BD-M100A will cost around £400 ($789) plus VAT -- ouch. Both companies are saying these drives will be available imminently, so better start saving those pennies.Read - Buffalo BRC-5125U2Read - Buffalo BRC-5125FBS-BKRead - Optiarc BDM100A
Optiarc unveils first Blu-ray players -- HD DVD says "uh oh"
The Optiarc mashup between Sony and NEC has spawned a new brood of DVD and Blu-ray Disc drives. For HD DVD lovin' NEC already seen dabbling in dual-format underpinnings, the addition of Blu-ray Disc drives to their product roster is a notable development in the format war and yet another possible sign of Blu-ray's emerging dominance. No less than four new Blu-ray devices for laptops were launched at CeBIT: the BD-5710S, the BD-5600S, the BD-5500S, and the BD-5500A. The BD-5500A (pictured above) writes at 2x to both single- and dual-layer BD-R, 2x BD-RE DL, 4x DVD-R DL and reads BD at 2x. Also notable is the AD-7191A 20x DVD burner which is also capable of 12x DVD-RAM, 8x DVD±R DL/+RW and 6x DVD-RW. With Sony owning 55% of the joint venture, we're not holding our breath for Optiarc HD DVD drives anytime soon. All the drives are expected to hit in the July timeframe.
Blu-ray disc drive prices to be halved by 2008?
Sure, it's no surprise to see bleeding-edge tech plummet in price soon after the initial craze is over, but Sony NEC Optiarc is estimating that Blu-ray disc drive prices will "drop 50 percent from current levels amid aggressive development" by other manufacturers. Shuji Minami -- the product business group's general manager -- is suggesting that increased production by alternative manufacturers will open up the currently tight supply line. We've heard Sony blaming the overwhelming shortage of Blu-ray components for its Playstation 3 supply quandaries, and we've assumed the inclusion of such a drive somewhat justifies (or not) the staggeringly high pricetag, but we can't say we're sharoosed that prices will be dramatically lower in just over 12 months. Regardless, the firm is touting Window's forthcoming Vista operating system as encouragement for more producers to hop on the (nearly empty) bandwagon, so if you're cool with holding out on (questionably beneficial) 1080p flicks for another year or so, you'll (unsurprisingly) find yourself a lot richer for it. But for you European blokes who'll be suffering the same launch day madness that we're still surviving next year, we highly doubt Sony will cut you any slack, especially considering how much dough they're already losing.
Sony intros new 18x DVD burners, and a slimline model to boot
Sony has unveiled a new line-up of 830 series DVD burners which somehow have the ability to burn 16x media at 18x speeds, or a whole 4.7GB DVD in around 5 minutes. The new burners come in three different enclosures: firstly, the $90 DRU-830A, a internal drive that comes bundled with Nero 7 authoring software; secondly, the $130 DRX-830U, which is an external drive running off USB 2.0; and finally, the $150 DRX-830UL-T, which comes with Toast 6 Lite and a FireWire port to cater to Mac users. Sony has also announced a new external slimline model called the DRX-S50U -- a $130 drive capable of 8x single-layer DVD writing from inside its diminutive 4/5-inch thick enclosure. Mail-in rebates will be available on the 830 series drives, and all but the Mac-compatible DRX-830UL-T will be available in October -- Mac users will have to wait until December to get their burn on.
Sony NEC Optiarc joint venture set to release 18x DVD burner
The optical drive industry has been dominated by joint ventures lately, ranging from the Hitachi-LG partnership to the Toshiba-Samsung mashup, so both Sony and NEC knew that they'd better get in bed together if each wanted to remain competitive in the marketplace. The first product resulting from the new Sony NEC Optiarc, an 18x DVD burner called the AD-7170A, is set to hit the market next month -- but competition will still be fierce, as 20x burners are just beginning to see the light of day. Sources quoted by DigiTimes indicate that soon the actual drive manufacturing will be outsourced to Lite-On IT, whose prowess in volume production should complement Sony's skill at developing optical pick-up heads and NEC's chipset design capabilities to allow the JV to produce attractive products at higher margins. Or something like that -- either way, we'll bring you more on this inaugural product (including pics) when it becomes available.[Via TG Daily]
