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With the news items about the battle between Blu-ray and HD-DVD all over the internet, one can easily get the impression that the DVD standard is dead. But in fact, the opposite is true. According to Tokyo based Techno Systems Research (TSR), who are monitoring the worldwide optical storage market for many years already, the quantity of DVD-RW devices sold worldwide will continue to grow for the next three years to come. According to TSR (May 2006 research) 66% of all optical storage devices sold in 2009 will be DVD-RW drives, while Blu-laser drives (Blu-ray & HD DVD combined) will account for only 12% in that year.

One of the two biggest manufacturers of optical storage devices in the world is Taiwan based Lite-On IT. Having taken a neutral position in the format war, Lite-On IT is ready for the future: they have already introduced a Blu-ray Disc Triple Writer (LH-2B1S) as well as an external HD DVD-ROM drive (under HP license: hd100e). But in the meantime the company is still focusing very much on DVD-RW drives and is introducing new innovative features in their product range.

“The DVD standard is still very much alive,” says Jelmer Veldman, marketing manager for Lite-On IT in Europe. “You can still see many interesting developments in this market. Additional features are introduced on DVD-RW drives, for example LightScribe disc labeling technology, Lite-On’s own patented EZ-DUB function for one-touch operation and now Lite-On is the first brand in the world to launch 20X DVD±R writing speeds. As a world leading provider of optical storage solutions, Lite-On IT is obliged to stay in front with new technological breakthroughs.”

Commenting on this latest breakthrough, Jelmer says Lite-On IT is pushing the limits of writing speeds further then one would expect a year ago with 20x DVD±R writing. “The new drives are equipped with the so called SmartWrite function which allows overspeeding certain media to 20x, even though there is no 20X (or even 18X) media existing”, he says. “Besides that, SmartWrite also significantly improves the quality of writing sessions on lower quality media brands through a self-learning mechanism that detects and memorizes the best strategy to write the media. I believe developments like these will definitely add to the popularity of DVD storage until either HD DVD or Blu-ray takes over.”

Due to the current format war, high prices and the slow adoption of HD TV in Europe, it will probably take years before Blu-ray and/or HD DVD will become mainstream standards. DVD is expected to remain the mainstream standard for the next three years as it is a relatively cheap and very popular format with a wide range of applications in the market.

For more info on all kinds of DVD-RW drives and technologies, visit www.liteonit.com