DVD rewritable drives

	Shenzhen E-Sun of mainland China offers external DVD combo drives with a USB 2.0 interface.

Suppliers offer enhanced models to boost competitiveness and profits. Stand-alone units outsell internal drives.

DVD rewritable drives from mainland China and Taiwan come in internal and external form factors. The main growth catalyst of the first type is strong desktop and notebook PC sales. For the latter, it is the demand for laptops without an optical drive.

The suppliers, numbering fewer than 20, prefer to manufacture external DVD rewritable drives due mainly to a dip in desktop PC shipments. Depending on the price, stand-alone units may have a slim design, double-layer or DL disc rewritable capability, Blu-ray or BD support and USB and flash memory card interface. Some models can write files straight from devices such as digital still and video cameras. The typical writing speeds are 8, 6, 4 and 2.4x.

Makers usually produce midrange and high-end products with value-added functions to avoid the cutthroat price competition.

Suppliers do not discount the revenue from internal DVD rewritable drive types and, therefore, continue to manufacture them. Units in this group have the same features as stand-alone types, except that these are built into the desktop PC or laptop. Orders are mostly OEM- and ODM-oriented.

The Super Multi DVD drive that supports DVD RAM writing is the mainstream. The available form factors are H/H desktop and 9.5mm models for external drives, slot-in types and notebook PC use. Some makers are developing ultraslim 7mm units.

	Model SDRW-08D1S-U from Taiwan's AsusTek is a DVD rewritable drive with up to 8x writing speed.

Enhancing product reliability, reducing the write-failure rate and integrating value add-ons are on top of the product development list of the majority of suppliers. Some improvements include the creation of ultraslim 9.5mm form factors and adding BD and DL disc recording capability and USB and flash memory card support.

Lite-On IT Corp.’s EZ-Dub is a stand-alone unit that can support DVD±R DL recording. The model has an LCD screen, a multicard reader and a USB connection. It can write onto a blank DVD straight from a memory card or USB flash drive.

EZPnP Technologies Corp. offers stand-alone models that can write directly from a digital still or video camera. One of the company’s products has a 2in color TFT display, TV output port, memory card slot and USB port. EZPnP’s portable units adopt NiMH batteries.

Candy Technology Co. Ltd, which has a rosy outlook for laptops without an optical drive, markets slim stand-alone units. It plans to release models supporting BD in 4Q09.

Shenzhen E-Sun Technology Co. Ltd aims to launch two external DVD rewritable drives this year. These include slot-loading models with a fashionable design and faster read/write speeds.

Shenzhen Tianjiu Electronics Co. Ltd has more than 10 external drive models on offer. It plans to release at least four more in 2009. Products from the company usually have a LightScribe function and come with a mini USB 2.0 cable.

	Model CS525E from mainland China's CITT is an external slim DVD+/-RW drive with USB 2.0 connection.

DVD rewritable drives have been the mainstream optical drive for notebook and desktop PCs since 2006, when prices for the product line began to fall. The situation will not be much different in 2009 as component costs keep declining, translating to a 10 percent decrease in projected quotes.

Under efforts to stabilize quotes and avoid a price war, more makers are enhancing product design and capability.

Value-added models such as those offered by EZPnP are available from $100 to $300.

BD Combo or BD rewritable drives are considered high-end. The subcontract price of BD combo disc drives is from $100 to $200. BD recorders, forecast to be mainstream in 2011 by Techno Systems Research or TSR, have a subcontract price of $50 to $100.

Internal DVD rewritable drives, considered midrange products, are priced from $25 to $37. The external portable models go for $40 to $75, depending on the material of the casing.

Generally, DVD rewritable drives from the mainland are 10 to 20 percent cheaper than those from Taiwan. Internal models with an IDE connection are priced lower than SATA products.

	Mainland China's Shenzhen Tianjiu has an external DVD combo drive compatible with DVD-RW.

The worldwide shipments of optical drives reached 310 million units in 2007 and 330 million in 2008, according to TSR.

The same growth rate applied to 2009 would place shipments at more than 350 million units.

The global market is controlled by several large suppliers with a stable supply of key components and strong capability in software and firmware design. These makers include Hitachi LG, Toshiba Samsung Storage and Lite-On.

There are fewer than 10 makers in Taiwan with DVD rewritable drives as their main product line. The industry is stable, prompting a few suppliers to expand to new product lines or develop value-added models to reap more profits.

Most of these suppliers are export-oriented, with more than 70 percent of products shipped overseas. The majority of optical disc drive orders are OEM and ODM transactions.

Some manufacturers also market their own brands. North America, Europe and Asia are the major export destinations.

Candy exports about 70 percent of its products to the US, Europe and the Middle East. OEM and ODM business account for 90 percent of the company’s sales revenue. The rest of shipments carry the maker’s brand.

EZPnP’s major export markets are North America, Europe and Japan. All of its output is sold overseas. The supplier’s manufacturing facility is in Chungho, Taipei.

Lite-On develops H/H and slim-type optical disc drives. It works with many partner companies and institutions in its designs and choice of materials. For new products, it often cooperates with Sony.

Lite-On conducts OEM business with worldwide leading PC companies, distributors and retailers, including Sony, Dell, HP, Lenovo/IBM, Philips and Acer.

Another Taiwan-based company that prides itself of slim-type DVD rewritable drives is Quanta. The maker’s products are on a par with Japan and South Korea-made models.

Mainland suppliers of DVD rewritable drives number less than 10. Most produce external rewritable drives with LightScribe functionality. Similar to their Taiwan counterparts, these makers are banking on the continued popularity of laptops without optical disc drives.

At present, the suppliers are in Guangdong province, specifically in Shenzhen city. They mostly produce midrange models so that they can be competitive in terms of pricing until the world economy completely recovers.

The mainland’s estimated sales volume of DVD rewritable drives in 2008 was 2 million units, with close to 75 percent sold to overseas markets. The main shipment destinations are the US and Europe.

In contrast to the worldwide shipment growth predicted for the line in 2009, most domestic makers admit that their monthly output has declined slightly due to decreased demand. This is especially noticeable for models in the low- and high-end.

The monthly output of midrange models has been more promising for most manufacturers.

Suppliers estimate that at least 65 percent of their 2009 output would be shipped overseas. This is a 10 percent decline from the year before.

The monthly capacity of DVD rewritable drives from CITT Industries Ltd is about 20,000 units in 2009. That is equivalent to 70 percent of the supplier’s capacity, which is 15 percent down compared with 2008 figures in the same period.

Another company, Shenzhen E-Sun, is concentrating on producing external midrange models. The supplier’s monthly output of DVD rewritable drives is currently at 4,500 units, with midrange models accounting for 70 percent. Its products mainly go to the US and Europe.

Shenzhen Tianjiu also ships its products to the US and Europe. It accepts OEM orders.