Production of 16x DVD burners to start by the end of this quarter

While
some companies (like Plextor) will offer 12x DVD burners most will skip this
speed and go direct for 16x speed for their next DVD burners. According to Digitimes several drive
manufacturers prepare to start volume production of 16x DVD burners already by
the end of this quarter.

According to Taiwanese producers, Japanese companies, including Pioneer, NEC and Ricoh, are scheduled to launch 16x DVD burners by the end of the second quarter, or the beginning of the third. Taiwanese makers have been concentrating their R&D resources on developing 16X DVD burners in order to keep abreast of Japanese competitors.   Taiwanese companies appear to be competitive with Japanese companies in time to market for 16x DVD burners, partly because some Japanese brands have already stopped producing DVD burners themselves, and are assisting their Taiwanese OEMs with R&D. Another reason is that Mediatek, a leading IC design house in Taiwan, will offer 16x chipsets ahead of schedule, the Taiwanese makers indicated.

It remains to be
seen if you really will be able to burn at 16x speed (with good results) when
the drives show up as 16x media probably won't be available before Q4 this year
at the earliest so media certified only for slower speeds will have to be used.
You can read
the complete article at Digitimes here.

Source: Digitimes