Panasonic to introduce world’s first 4x write-once Blu-ray discs

Panasonic, the leading global manufacturer of consumer electronics and home appliances, has announced that it will launch Write-Once Blu-ray Discs (BD-R) with 4x writing speed in the Middle East. Single-layer discs with 25GB capacity (LM-BR25LDE) will be available this month while dual-layer with 50GB capacity (LM-BR50LDE) will be available in September.

In conjunction with the launch of 4x BD drives, the new discs have the capability of 4x speed writing and reading, allowing users to handle large amount of data or High Definition content with greater convenience. Panasonic is the first company to announce the market introduction of 4x BD-R Discs.

“Since introducing the world’s first dual layer 1xBD-RE Disc in 2004, Panasonic has continued to lead the market and develop the Blu-ray Disc technologies to meet the growing demand for high-speed reading and writing of massive volumes of data.&'12288;The new 4x Discs have the maximum data transfer speed of 144Mbps, which means they can copy a 1GB folder in just one minute, while a DVD-RW(2x data transfer speed) needs 6 minutes,” said Yasuo Kimoto, Product Manager, Panasonic Marketing Middle East.

The high data transfer speed is achieved by the application of new phase-change recording technology which was realized through Panasonic‘s 35-years of experience in Optical Disc development. The result is precise and stable recording even when writing at 4x high speed.

Panasonic succeeded in applying this technology to not only single layer Discs but also to dual layer Discs, allowing users to write massive 50GB data at 4x high-speed without turning over the Disc. With its advanced dual-layer technology, Panasonic, which was the world’s first to launch 50GB BD discs with 2x speed, is now bringing the 4x speed model to market as well for the first time in the industry.

Also, the newly developed recording layer has a wide power margin at any writing&'12288;speed from 1x to 4x. This enables high quality recording, even if the drive’s laser power fluctuates, resulting in greater overall drive compatibility.

The new Discs offer extremely low error rate thanks to the newly developed film forming technology which minimizes dust generated in the sputtering process. The error rate is reduced to 1/10 that of a conventional Disc, ensuring high reliability and a high quality recording.

Best known by its Panasonic brand name, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. is a worldwide leader in the development and manufacture of electronic products for a wide range of consumer, business, and industrial needs. Based in Osaka, Japan, the company recorded consolidated net sales of US$77.19 billion for the year ended March 31, 2007. The company's shares are listed on the Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and New York (NYSE:MC) stock exchanges.