Taiwanese makers: HP to offer DVD dual alongside DVD+RW

March 10, 2004

According to Taiwanese manufacturers of DVD drives, Hewlett Packard (HP) is poised to launch dual format DVD burners in
addition to its DVD+RW burners. This step would be a result of increased retail
demand for dual format DVD recorders.

A while back we already reported about this
when we posted that HP unveiled new DVD recorders, the dvd420i, dvd420e and
dc4000, supporting the DVD-RW format:

Heavily promoted by HP, Dell and IBM, DVD+RW burners continue to dominate the global OEM PC market, with a share of 60%-70% in 2003, according to various market surveys quoted by Taiwanese makers.

HP has asked its OEM makers to prepare for production of DVD Dual models, the Taiwanese makers noted. According to sources, one of the makers to receive this request is Philips BenQ Digital Storage (PBDS), a joint venture between Philips and BenQ, which currently handles some OEM production of DVD+RW burners for HP.

PBDS declined to comment, but indicated that it may offer DVD Dual models next quarter.

Source: DigiTimes