MCC presently represents about 40% of cd-rw disk production. Hopefully they will be a licensee soon, for both cd-rw and these dvd+rw disks.
DVD+RW and DVD-R Media Launch by MCC/Verbatim, Leaders in High-Capacity Optical Media Development
CHARLOTTE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 16, 1999--Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation and its subsidiary, Verbatim Corporation, announced today the release of two new media types for recordable DVD drives: DVD+ReWritable (DVD+RW) -- a rewritable media with a capacity of 3GB -- and DVD-Recordable (DVD-R) -- a write-once media with a capacity of 4.7GB.
DVD+RW media is a first-generation product which offers users a large capacity of 3.0GB and the convenience of rewritability. The media offers a minimum of 100,000 rewrite cycles and is fully compliant with the ECMA 274 and ISO/IEC 16969 specifications.
"MCC is an active member of the group of companies which developed the DVD+RW standard. The 3.0GB DVD+RW specifications have already been approved by several international organizations," said Dr. Yoshimitsu Kobayashi, General Manager of MCC's Information Storage Products Department.
"Applications include extension to hard disk capacity and desktop backup or archiving, but DVD+RW is also ideal for multimedia presentations or home video production."
Offering customers the familiar look and feel of CD-type media (i.e., no cartridge), DVD+RW media will ship to OEM customers and development partners in June 1999. Media will be available to the distribution channel through Verbatim Corporation in September of this year.
MCC's new DVD-R media has a capacity of 4.7GB on one disc surface and is designed for use in DVD-Recordable drives announced by drive manufacturers earlier this year. Incorporating MCC's proprietary Metal Azo dye, renowned for protection against stray ultra-violet light, MCC's 4.7GB DVD-R media is already shipping to OEM customers.
DVD-R media is designed to be read-compatible in today's DVD-ROM drives and DVD-Video players. DVD-ROM drive shipments are expected to exceed 20 million units this year alone, offering a significant installed base of readers for DVD-R media.
"MCC has installed a monthly production capacity of 200,000 pieces each of DVD+RW media and DVD-R media," continued Dr. Kobayashi. "The products will initially be manufactured at our Singapore facility, and production capacity will be increased as demand grows."
About MCC
Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation, a $13-billion corporation, is Japan's largest chemical company and the 8th largest chemical company worldwide.
Its Information Storage Products Department (ISP) is a leading developer and manufacturer of storage media for use in the computer industry and potentially the consumer audio/video industry (CD-Recordable, CD-Rewritable, DVD-Recordable, DVD-ReWritable, Magneto-Optical, and hard disk media). MCC currently manufactures approximately 13 million CD-R and CD-RW discs per month.
About Verbatim
Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Verbatim Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation. Its strategic role is to promote, market and sell MCC's information storage and imaging products through distribution sales channels and OEM partners. Verbatim is a worldwide market leader in DVD, CD-R, CD-RW, Magneto-Optic, tape and removable magnetic media products.
CONTACT:
Verbatim Americas
Tim Clatterbuck, 704/547-6500
tclatterbuck@verbatimcorp.com
or
Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation
Gerry Kelly, 81-3-3283-6760
4202867@cc.m-kagaku.co.jp
or
Marken Communications, Inc. for Verbatim
Andy Marken, 408/986-0100
marken@cerf.net
KEYWORD: NORTH CAROLINA INTERNATIONAL ASIA PACIFIC
BW0031 JUN 16,1999
3:45 PACIFIC
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