Toshiba Starts Mass Production of 16X-Speed DVD-ROM Drive

Tokyo--July 18, 2000--Toshiba Corporation today announced that it will start mass production of a high-speed 16X DVD-ROM drive in September. The new drive, SD-M1502, will achieve a maximum transfer speed of 21,600kB a second, meeting demand for faster data transfers and better DVD-ROM performance.

The DVD format's support for large capacity digital sources has made it a winner in the key areas of moving images, music and software, with the former in particular taking full advantage of the medium's ability to support cinema-level image quality for full length movies. DVD drives are fast becoming standard on PCs, with DVD-ROM discs the recording medium of choice for data-intensive operating systems and applications, and diverse multimedia packages. As a result, there is a pressing need for a high performance DVD-ROM drive.

The high speed performance of the SD-M1502 achieves a maximum data transfer rate of 21,600kB a second and a random seek time (DVD average) of 95 milliseconds.

Toshiba, long a champion of DVD technology, has been setting the pace in the DVD field with a constant stream of innovative DVD-Video players, DVD-ROM drives DVD-RAM drives, all in full conformity with DVD-format standards. The addition of the new, high-performance, SD-M1502 DVD-ROM drive to Toshiba's line-up signals a further expansion of the burgeoning DVD market.

Outline of the new product

Features of the product

Continuous transfer of data at a rate of 21,600kB a second during DVD playback is achieved through improved digital servo technology--a key area where Toshiba has consistently promoted advances.
The average random seek times of 95 milliseconds for DVD discs and 80 milliseconds for CD discs reflect advances in servo circuits and actuator control optimized for DVD and CD.
The burst transfer rate is compatible with PIO mode 4 and Ultra DMA, and high-speed transfer of 33.3MB a second is possible.

Specifications