Features - Storage Innovations:

PIONEER SETTLES NEW GROUND WITH EXTERNAL DVD/CD WRITER

Pioneer Electronics Inc, a leader in recordable DVD technology, announced that a new multiple format external DVD/CD writer will be available in mid-September at a suggested retail price of $299. With the DVR-S606, Pioneer delivers its first external drive in a sleek industrial design that is quick and easy to install. The drive can sit vertically or horizontally, supports multiple DVD media formats, and plugs into standard IEEE 1394 (Firewire) and USB 2.0 ports.

The DVR-S606 is a high capacity optical storage system based on the Pioneer DVR-A06, the company's sixth-generation internal recordable drive. It enables users to write a wide variety of files to DVD for storage or playback in other DVD devices. In common with the DVR-A06, the DVR-S606 is compatible with the DVD Forum's recording formats, DVD-R/DVD-RW as well as +R/+RW discs -- a move that directly responds to consumers' requests that DVD writers should handle various formats in order to reduce confusion in the marketplace.

Both the internal and external Pioneer writers include bundled software to make it easy for users to import content, record and edit video, author DVDs, create digital photo albums or slide shows, play movies and test recorded DVDs. A data recording application is also provided.

"Many consumers don't want to be bothered taking apart their computer to install an internal DVD drive," said Andy Parsons, senior vice president of the Business Solutions Division at Pioneer Electronics Inc. "With interest in DVD recording growing fast, our retailers and customers have increasingly asked us for a DVD/CD writer that is easy to install, portable, and records onto a wide variety of formats. We believe the DVR-S606 meets those requirements."

By offering reliable and versatile DVD recording functions for nearly six years, Pioneer has earned the trust and appreciation of customers, making Pioneer a top brand in aftermarket sales of recordable DVD drives, according to Santa Clara Consulting Group's DVD Tracker for the second quarter. The analyst firm's research for this period also finds that DVD-R continues to be the most popular recordable DVD format today, with more than 50 percent worldwide share of all blank DVD media distributed.

The Pioneer DVR-S606 maintains the impressive high-speed recording functionality that is so popular in the DVR-A06 currently on the market. The DVR-S606 enables high-speed recording of up to 4x write speed with high-speed DVD-R discs, 2x with high-speed DVD-RW discs, 4x with high-speed +R media, and 2.4x with +RW media. It also records CD-R media at up to 16x speed and 10x with high-speed CD-RW discs.