BenQ to launch 8x DVD+RW and dual format DVD-recorders

June 20, 2003

After reporting that Lite-On will release an 8x DVD-recorder in the fourth quarter of this year, the company BenQ has now also announced it will release a 8x DVD+RW recorder in the second half of this year. Besides the 8x DVD+RW recorder, BenQ will also start shipping 8x dual format (DVD±RW) recorders around that time:

BenQ, a major optical storage drive maker in Taiwan, recently started shipping a 4x half-height DVD+RW drive and expects to launch 8x half-height DVD+RW and DVD-Dual drives in the second half of this year, with volume production of the 8x DVD+RW drive expected to start in September, the company said.

Initial monthly shipments of the 4x DVD+RW drive, the DW400A, have been less than 20,000 units due to tight supply of key components. But total quarterly shipments of the company's DVD+RW products are expected to reach 400,000-500,000 units in the third quarter on improved component supply, according to BenQ.

Since BenQ has started a joint venture with Royal Philips, both their DVD+RW and DVD-Dual drives will adopt chip sets and pick-up heads (PUHs)
provided by the Philips company.

Source: DigiTimes