According to the German website Heise Online, Philips 16x burner, the DVDRW885K, is going to be released in April. BenQ, Philips’ optical storage joint venture partner, has also announced that it plans to release its first double layer burner, the DW830A, in April so the earlier date makes sense.
Heise online carry these details:
- The DVDRW1640K will burn DVD+R at upto 16x, DVD+RW at 4x
- The 16x speed is only reached in the outer areas of the disc and thus this speed is only achieved over the last 5 or 6 minutes of the burn.
- Philips beleives that 16x is the maximum speed that is ever going to be achievable for DVD as higher speeds than these are going to require higher revolutions of the disc than the current structure of them can support.
- Expected retail price is €199 (£132)
Philips will also follow BenQ and offer buyers of its current 8x drive, the DVDRW824K, to purchase a firmware update with support for DVD-R/RW writing in March. A similar firmware for the DVDRW885K double layer burner will also be available this autumn.
Related story:
Philips Claim 16x Milestone.
Heise Online story (translated through babelfish):
heise.de.
