TDK's Blu-ray Discs achieve a high capacity of 25GB on a single-layer and 50GB on a dual-layer at 2x recording speed and are protected by TDK's DURABIS 2 hard coating technology

TDK today announces that is has commenced shipping mass-production samples of its bare-type (cartridge-less) BD-R (write-once type) and BD-RE (rewritable type) Blu-ray Discs. The four new products include:

'¢ BD-R25 (write once, single-side, single-layer, 25GB)

'¢ BD-R50 (write once, single-side, dual-layer, 50GB)

'¢ BD-RE25 (rewritable, single-side, single-layer, 25GB)

'¢ BD-RE50 (rewritable, single-side, dual-layer, 50GB)

To ensure the new discs will be resistant to scratches and dirt even without external cartridges, they will be coated with TDK's new DURABIS 2 hard coating. DURABIS 2 technology has been specifically formulated for Blu-ray Discs.

TDK's Chikumagawa Techno Factory, which specialises in optical discs, commenced mass production following the agreement of licensing for the bare disc by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA).

The main features of BD-R and BD-RE Blu-ray Discs include:

1. DURABIS 2 coating provides significantly greater resistance to scratches and dirt (particularly fingerprint smudges), ensuring safe use even without a cartridge.

2. Unique high-precision spin coating creates a supremely flat cover layer, resulting in highly stabilised recording and playback.

3. The BD-R disc utilises a recording layer of an inorganic material which is unaffected by exposure to light, thus offering outstanding archivability.

4. The BD-RE disc utilises a highly sensitive phase-change dye in the recording layer that realises stabilised characteristics even after as many as 10,000 rewrites.

5. High-precision stacking technology precisely overlays disc layers, delivering stabilised characteristics on both the upper and lower recording layers in a single-sided, dual-layer (50GB) disc.

Notes to editors

TDK Recording Media Europe, a subsidiary of TDK Corporation, Japan with sales of 6.2 billion U.S. dollars (Apr 04 - Mar 05 period), is a leading producer of recording and playback solutions as well as a publisher of quality entertainment software. Its product range encompasses tape and disc-based media for practically all established formats, as well as speakers and headphones. In Bascharage, Luxembourg, TDK has one of the world's most sophisticated plants for recording media products in the world. Sales and Marketing functions are located in Ratingen, Germany.

For more information about TDK Recording Media products, go to: http://www.tdk-europe.com

TDK is a trademark or registered trademark of TDK Corporation.