Ricoh: preparing the next generation of writable media

The Japanese manufacturer informed us in an official press release that it has already launched its latest shipment with its high-capacity discs.

Ricoh has developed its next generation DVDs, the BD-R and HD-DVD-R discs. At the same time, it began shipping prototypes to various hardware manufacturers. These are write-once and single-layer discs, so the storage is 25 GB (BD-R) and 15 GB (HD-DVD-R), providing multiple capacities compared to DVDs available today.

According to the Japanese manufacturer, they were able to achieve a high degree of reliability - while writing and reading discs - due to the use of high-sensitivity inorganic materials and an excellent precision disc surface forming process during production. These may come in handy when you need higher write speeds and multi-layered discs.

Next-generation DVDs could play an important role not only in the computing market but also in the field of consumer electronics. It is projected that by 2008, about 800 million units will be sold worldwide.

Ricoh has promised to release the now-announced discs later this year.