Panasonicís New External DVD-RAM Drive Delivers High-Capacity, Multimedia Storage to Go
An emerging worldwide standard, DVD-RAM, offers reliable, high-capacity removable storage. This week at COMDEX, the Computer Peripheral Division of Panasonic Document Imaging Company (PDIC) unveils its latest DVD-RAM drive, the external LF-D102U (LVCC suite LS101). With a maximum capacity of 5.2GB, the new drive has room to store as many as 5,200 full-color digital images, 230 minutes of MPEG02 video or eight hours of CD-quality audio. The LF-D102U can read and write in both DVD-RAM and PD format, and read DVD-Video, DVD-ROM, DVD-R, Video-CD, CD Audio, CD-ROM and CD-R/RW, making it an ideal removable storage solution for both home and business applications. The new drive can store the massive amounts of data required in data warehousing, 3D design and pre-press applications. It can also be used to record videoconferences and store images. The LF-D102U conforms to version 1.0 of the DVD Specification for Rewritable Discs published by the DVD Forum. Most pundits agree that DVD will be the converging standard for all media, including movies, PC software and audio. DVD-RAM offers DVD-ROM compatibility through its use of the Universal Disk Format (UDF) filing system. Information stored by the LF-D102U on DVD-RAM media is readable by all newer DVD-ROM drives that support Type 2 DVD-RAM media. With each LF-D102U drive, Panasonic is including a 2.6GB single-sided (Type 1) cartridge plus drives for WindowsÆ 95/98 and Windows NT 4.0. Panasonic offers three DVD-RAM media cartridges: - LM-DA52U-5.2GB, double-sided (Type 1), $34.95 MSRP - LM-DA26U-2.6GB, single-sided (Type 1), $22.95 MSRP - LM-DB26U-2.6GB, single-sided (Type 2), $24.95 MSRP Type 2 cartridges can be opened enabling users to remove the bare media from the cartridge. The bare media can then be ready by select DVD-ROM drives. ""DVD-RAM is revolutionizing the way people use their computers,"" says Marco Truppi, Product Manager for PDIC. ""The LF-D102U offers a reliable and economical way to take advantage of the technology. For less than a penny per megabyte, users can add unlimited storage to their existing systems, as well as play movies, run applications and store massive amounts of data all on one drive."" In the home, DVD-RAM media can be a familyís digital image album, storing hundreds of still images or hours of digital video on the same disk. It also offers the large-scale, flexible storage that Web surfers have been demanding; its 2.6GB of storage per side make DVD-RAM the perfect destination drive for Internet downloads. With eight times the storage capacity of CD-RR, the Panasonic LF-D102U offers rapid data transfer rates of 1.385MB/sec. for DVD-RAM and 2.77MB/sec. for DVD-ROM, plus 20x CD-ROM read capabilities. Data access times are equally impressive, with 120-millisecond (ms) retrieval from DVD-RAM and 85ms from DVD-ROM and CD-ROM. The LF-D102U uses a SCSI-2 interface and includes software for Windows 95/98 and Windows NT 4.0. It also includes UDF installable file system software, MPEG-1 real-time encode/decode software, back-up software and utility software. The LF-D102U has an MSRP of $799 and carries a one-year warranty on parts and labor. Customers requiring service are asked to call 1-800-PANASYS, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. (ET). In the United States, the Computer Peripheral Division of Panasonic Document Imaging Company (PDIC), a division of Matsushita Electric Corporation of America, markets a broad line of computer peripherals that includes color monitors, monochrome laser printers, impact forms printers, multifunction device, multimedia speakers, videoconferencing cameras, CD-ROM drives and changers, and DVD drives.