Sony announces the 810 series burners with 8x DVD+R DL

August 17, 2005

Tenth
Generation of Dual Format DVD Burners Tout Industry's Fastest Speed With 8X
DVD+R Double Layer Recording

SAN
JOSE,
Calif.,
Aug. 16, 2005 - Sony Electronics has once again raised the bar on the
DVD recording speed front with the introduction of its tenth generation of DVD
burners.

The
internal DRU-810A and external DRX-810UL models support the industry's fastest
8X DVD+R Double Layer (DL) recording speed, and can burn up to 8.5GB of video,
data, music or images on compatible media in about fifteen minutes.

The 810
series of DVD burners also features 4X DVD-R DL, 16X DVD±R, 8X DVD+RW, 6X
DVD-RW, 48X CD-R and 32X CD-RW recording.

The
drives come bundled with a feature-rich software package suite from NeroÂ® for
burning, authoring and editing home movies, creating digital scrapbooks, and
backing up critical data.

"Sony
continues to hold the leadership position for retail market share of the
industry's double layer DVD drives, and our 810 series is further testament to
our commitment to innovate where our users value it the most '” in the drive's
performance," said Robert DeMoulin, marketing manager for branded storage
products in Sony Electronics' IT Products Division. "In addition, users want the
ability to select from a host of options when it comes to DVD burning and by
providing both dual and double layer recording, we enable them to choose what
media will best address their needs."

Sony's
810 series of DVD burners is designed at the optimum price/performance for
consumers wanting to store and share home movies, digital photos, and music;
businesses deploying DVD video-based training and sharing large files; and
filmmakers creating prototypes on recordable/rewritable DVD discs before
proceeding with mass replication.

The
internal DRU-810A drive comes with an ATAPI interface for easy installation
inside a PC and includes a black replacement bezel for those with black-colored
PC cases. The external DRX-810UL drive features an award-winning,
space-efficient vertical design and offers connectivity with both i.LINKÂ® (IEEE
1394) and hi-speed USB (USB 2.0) digital interfaces for simple set-up and
maximum flexibility.

Double
Layer vs. Dual Layer

There
are currently two formats on the market that support recording to two layers of
a DVD disc. The first was presented by the DVD+RW Alliance for the plus ("+")
format and given the formal name "Double Layer." The DVD Forum followed with its
own standard for the dash format ("-"), which it dubbed "Dual Layer." For now,
drives are only available in write-once formats called DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL.

"Sony
has a rich history with double layer and dual layer formats for our DVD
burners," added DeMoulin. "As a pioneer of the dual format DVD burners that
support both plus and dash standards coupled with our experience in introducing
Double Layer recorders for the PC, we continue to drive this market by offering
burners that address a plethora of user requirements."

DVD
and CD Software Suite

The
burners come bundled with award-winning Nero DVD video authoring software, as
well as with DVD/CD burning software for creation of data, music, and video DVDs
and CDs. The comprehensive software suite also includes packet-writing software
for users to easily record files and folders by dragging to the icon of a
DVD+RW/CD-RW disc. All tasks and applications are accessible via the Nero
StartSmart launcher, which serves as a command center and gives the user
one-click access to all programs in the package. The software suite includes:

Nero
Burning ROM 6 SE and Nero ExpressÂ® 6 CD/DVD mastering software for data, audio
and CD/DVD writing and copying;

Nero
VisionExpress 3 VCD/SVCD and DVD authoring software for advanced video
capturing, authoring, full video editing and photo slideshow creation. Users
can crop, clean up, add special effects to photos and then add transitions and
a soundtrack, as well as cut, edit, dub, and turn videos into Hollywood-style
masterpieces;

Nero
InCDÂ® 4 packet writing software for formatting rewritable discs so they can be
used like large floppy disks with drag-and-drop capability;

Nero
ShowTime™ DVD-Video playing software for viewing DVD movies and personal video
projects, along with MPEG-4 compatibility;

Nero
PhotoSnap/PhotoSnap Viewer captures digital photos right from a digital camera
or scanner and provides basic image editing as well as a viewer
utility;

Nero
MediaHome streaming media server allows sharing of media files over a home
network;

Nero
Recode2 DVD-Video converter makes backup copies of unprotected DVDs - ideal
for making copies of home movie DVDs to share with friends and family. Can
also compile multiple DVD discs into a single DVD;

Nero
BackItUp backup software for complete PC backup, with an easy-to-use wizard
interface for multiple backup modes, automatically scheduled backups, and
backups spanning several CDs or DVDs;

Nero
MediaPlayer / Wave Editor management/jukebox software and audio editing
software for audio file creation with various filters and effects;

Nero
Cover Designer disc label creation software for creating individual CD/DVD
covers and labels; and

Nero
Toolkit drive tool software for critical media and drive analysis used by
drive manufacturers worldwide.

Availability
and Pricing

The
internal DRU-810A will be available next month for about $100, while the
external DRX-810UL is expected to ship in October for around $150. Sony DVD/CD
rewritable drives are sold through SonyStyle.com, at Sony Style retail stores
(www.sonystyle.com/retail) and at Sony Electronics authorized
resellers and retailers nationwide, mail order catalogs, and select online
shopping sites.

Sony
supports what it calls "worry-free" installation, along with easy operation in
addition to toll-free customer and technical service, Monday through Saturday,
from 8 a.m.
to 8 p.m. CT. The company also provides a one-year limited warranty from the
original date of purchase.

Specification
for Sony's New 810 Series of Dual RW Drives

Sony
DRU-810A DVD/CD Rewritable Drive

ATAPI
(EIDE) internal interface

DVD+R
DL: 8X P-CAV (max.) writing

DVD-R
DL: 4X CLV (max.) writing

DVD+R:
16X CAV (max.) writing

DVD+RW:
8X Z-CLV (max.) rewriting

DVD-R:
16X CAV (max.) writing

DVD-RW:
6X CLV (max.) rewriting

DVD-ROM
reading (single layer): 16X CAV (max.)

DVD-ROM
reading (dual layer): 12X CAV (max.)

CD-R:
48X CAV (max.) writing

CD-RW:
32X P-CAV (max.) rewriting

CD-ROM:
48X CAV (max) reading

Dimensions:
146 x 41.2 x 172.5
mm - excluding bezel (W x H x L)

Compatible
with MicrosoftÂ® WindowsÂ® 2000 / Windows XP

Burst
data transfer rate: 66.6 MB/s max. Ultra DMA66

Random
access time: 135 ms (CD-ROM), 130 ms (DVD-ROM)

Buffer
memory: 2 MB

Buffer
under-run error protection technology: Sony Power-Burn™ conformed

Recording
method (CD): Disc at Once, Track at Once, Session at Once, Packet
Writing

(DVD):
Random Access Write (DVD+RW/DVD-RW/CD-RW), Sequential Write (DVD+R/+R DL/+RW,
DVD-R/-RW/CD-R/RW)

Compatible
disc format: DVD-ROM, DVD-Video, DVD+R DL, DVD-R DL, DVD+RW, DVD+R, DVD-RW,
DVD-R, CD-ROM, CD-DA, Video CD, Photo CD (multi-session), CD TEXT, CD Extra, and
others

Sony
DRX-810UL DVD/CD Rewritable Drive

Hi-Speed
USB (USB2.0) and i.LINKÂ® external interfaces

Full
Speed USB (USB1.1) compatible with lower write/read performance