This is the new Datawite +R disc which is based on the Ricoh stamper. The obvious visual difference between the two discs is the new Ricoh based disc is a yellow colour and and old Prodisc based disc is a silver colour. The Ricoh based Datawrite disc is also described as generation 2.

Related stories:
Parting of ways for Prodisc and Datawrite?

Maxell is introducing smaller and double-sided DVD-R discs. Come February 2003, Maxell will release 3-inch, 2X Mini DVD-R discs that will let users easily carry 1.4GB in a shirt pocket. Users will be able to write on these with any DVD-RW/-R drives, and read them with any DVD-ROM drive or living room DVD player that can read standard-size DVD-Rs. These discs are planned for the next generation of digital camcorders, digital cameras, and MP3 players.Maxell's new double-sided DVD-R discs which are available now, are the do-it-yourself equivalent of those commercial DVDs with the wide-screen version of a movie on one side and full-screen version on the other. The discs can hold an impressive 9.4GB.

This new firmware will allow your Dual RW drive to record at 4X on 4X compatible DVD+R media as well as improve the DVD-ROM reading performance with DVD recordable/rewritable media. To read the installation instructions click here.

Jon Lech Johansen, (18), AKA "DVD Jon” is on trial in Norway "because he wrote a program that helped further the unraveling of a code meant to protect DVD films from free viewing or illegal copying. Then he publicized it, allowing others to watch DVDs on a computer instead of having to buy an expensive DVD player". Johansen bought the DVDs legally and consumers view him as a hero, but his actions riled the powerful Motion Picture Association of America, which views Johansen as a threat.

Reading through various forums and discussion groups it seems that we are far from happy with Pioneer and the A05 4x speed DVD writer. The writer will not burn satisfactory to the budget brands and is limited to 1x speed writing to known 2x speed media. I was going to get myself an A05 for Xmas but I have serious doubts now.

Our resident DVD Guru Flash has been hearing rumours in chatrooms and forums all over the net that Ritek have stopped producing the much loved G03 DVD disc. This disc is the basis for many leading brands of DVD-R including the new Datasafe disc that was reviewed here. We are sure Flash will keep us up to date :)

Datasafe have sent us a press release about their new 4x DVD-R disc. Which went on sale last week.

The peak season effect and rise of US$0.01 in CD-R disc prices were slightly reflected in November sales of the leading Taiwan based storage disc makers Ritek and CMC Magnetics.

TDK Recording Media Europe has recently received reports of the production and sale of DVD-R discs that are not authorised or manufactured by TDK, but have TDK's manufacturer identification code. Confirmed products violating the TDK DVD manufacturer identification code include SuperX and Princo DVD media. TDK believes these discs will cause confusion and inconvenience to both consumers and recording drive manufacturers in terms of poor quality issues, and would like to take this opportunity to explain its position.

The manufacturer identification code is a piece of information engraved into the stamper, the core component of the optical disc manufacturing system. This unique code identifies the manufacturer of the disc and is read by the recording drive in order to adjust to the optimal recording settings dictated by the disc type. The manufacturer identification code is one of the underlying mechanisms for ensuring reliability. TDK co-operates with leading DVD drive manufacturers to ensure their DVD writers automatically detect the speed of the DVD media being used, in order to optimise performance. As a result, TDK DVD discs provide the highest compatibility and quality with all drives.

TDK discovered that DVD–R discs are circulating in the European market in violation of its manufacturer identification codes. TDK is not the manufacturer of these particular discs and takes no responsibility for them. TDK has voiced objections in the strongest possible terms to the parties involved in both manufacture and distribution of discs linked with the unauthorised use of TDK’s manufacturer identification code. Considering that this type of conduct is detrimental to the entire industry, TDK has also explained the situation to industry groups including the RW Products Promotion Initiative (http://www.rwppi.com) and other involved parties. TDK takes a firm position against the unauthorised use of manufacturer identification codes in order to prevent any inconvenience to our customers. The TDK name has become one of the world’s most respected brands in recording media and TDK will make every possible effort to maintain its trusted brand, relied upon by its customers.

After the success of Flash's report on the A04/104 firmwares we asked him to cast his expert eye over the various A03 firmwares. So if you are confused take a look at our firmware review.

TOKYO - Away from home for a few weeks and missing your favorite television programs? Toshiba Corp. will release a new DVD video recorder in Japan in January with a hard disk drive (HDD) capable of recording up to 208 hours of programs.

MOST VIDEO CARDS nowadays use the AGP bus which was recently upgraded to AGP 8X. However, in a throwback to the 1990's ATI has unveiled a new PCI video card, and a multimedia ALL-IN WONDER which includes a TV tuner, software for video recording and DVD playback, and other multimedia features.

Low-priced DVD players, which can also play music CDs, are starting to win the popularity contest among consumers.

Many owners of Sony's latest DVD rewritable drives will get an error message and won't be able to record when they try to use low-quality discs
More than half of Sony Electronics' recently released rewritable DVD drives can't record to low-quality media, the consumer-electronics giant confirmed on Wednesday, but the company has made a fix available.

Owners of Sony's latest DVD rewritable drives, the external DRX-500UL and the internal DRU-500A, will get an error message and won't be able to record when they try to use low-quality discs with the drives, according to Sony marketing manager Bob DeMoulin.

The internal drives are used with PCs and went on sale about 45 days ago. The external drives just started shipping. The company has shipped a total of about 30,000 of both drives, but although more than half could be affected, only a few dozen people have called to complain, according to DeMoulin.

Sony representatives said the problem occurs only with discs that are slightly outside the tolerance levels of the DVD+RW disc specification. The company has made an upgrade available for free on its Web site: the Firmware Upgrade 1.0d, which fixes the problem.

"The upgrade makes the drives more forgiving for media that's on the ragged edge in terms of quality," said DeMoulin. He added that the problem does not occur with Sony media or other discs from name brands, such as Verbatim, Memorex or TDK, but it does with "off brands".

The Sony drives are noteworthy because they're compatible with several formats, DVD-R, DVD-RW and DVD+RW, which are being promoted by opposing industry groups, the DVD Forum and the DVD+RW Alliance. Both groups are battling to establish their respective formats as the dominant ones in the market. Companies are hoping to build off the momentum of popular video products, such as DVD players and digital video devices, by offering drives that can record content onto DVD discs.

Sony is a member of both groups and has been on the fence when it comes to committing to one or the other.

The Japanese consumer-electronics giant expects to ship between 55,000 to 60,000 drives by the end of the year.

Sony announced Monday that it will be making an upgrade for its DRX-500UL and DRU-500A drives available on or before 9 December, which will allow drives to reach 4X recording speeds with DVD+R discs, cutting recording times roughly in half. The drives support 4X DVD-R, 2X DVD-RW, 2.4X DVD+RW and DVD+R recording.

321Studios released a new version of their popular DVD to DVD-/+R/W backup tool, DVDXCopy that allows 1:1 copies of DVD movies to be made on recordable DVD discs (DVD-9 discs will be split to two recordable DVDs).

We have heard rumours that Datawrite are now using Ricoh to produce DVD+R and DVD+RW discs. A Datawrite spokesman refused to deny or confirm the rumours though he did say that regardless of who the "new manufacturer" was there would be no Price increase on the Version 2 of the Datawrite DVD+ media, in fact it was “conceivable “ prices may go down.

DVD players, mobile phones and digital cameras are the three categories of electronics consumers are mostly likely to buy in the next three months, while high-definition TV (HDTV) is unlikely to find broader markets this holiday season, according to a new survey by marketing researchers Ipsos-Reid.

A press release from Datasafe Media about the launch of the new Neo Premium disc made us think about the current state of the market.

The number of products offered in the DVD-R market continues to accelerate, with many CD-R manufacturers switching lines to DVD-R production. It is therefore no surprise that we see the volume leader - Datasafe - making strategic and considered moves to consolidate their already solid position.

Is this the company to watch? We think so. Let's consider the facts.

Datasafe:

have constantly forced the price of DVD down and the volume up

have adopted the +R standard as soon as it looked likely to do well

now offer a Ritek based DVD-R at considerably less than competing Ritek manufactured brands

are aggressively marketing to Europe and Scandinavia - our sources tell us that Datasafe and representatives of their main distributors e-netdistribution were actively recruiting at several major European shows in the last month

are also developing co-branded products, optimised for particular markets - the Neo disc being the first obvious example

Other industry rumours point to Datasafe having negotiated OEM deals for domestic DVD players and PC writers giving them plenty of exposure in the home and PC markets.

So are they winning the DVD-R war? We think so.

Click here for the review of the new Datasafe DVD-R.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The California Supreme Court on Monday dealt a blow to the movie industry's bid to crack down on piracy, ruling that a Texas man could not be sued in California for posting a program on the Internet that could be used to make bootleg copies of copyrighted DVDs.

Click here for the review.