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Matsushita to launch Blu-ray DVD recorder in July

Matsushita Electric Industrial is to launch a blue-laser based DVD recorder in July under its consumer electronics brand Panasonic.

The Japanese semiconductor manufacturer Matsushita Electric Industrial is to market a blue-laser based DVD recorder in Japan from this July.

To be sold under the company’s Panasonic brand, the Blu-ray recorder is said to be the first that is compatible with dual-layer disc media.

The dual-layer format gives the disc a capacity of 50 GB, equivalent to 4.5 hours of high-definition video recording.

Matsushita spokesperson Akira Kadota confirmed to Compound Semiconductor.net that the July launch would be limited to Japan. “We have not yet decided whether to launch the Blu-ray Disc recorder in overseas markets,” he said.

Kadota added that availability and a suggested market price for the recorder would be confirmed at a later date.

While the company would not comment on where the blue laser diodes used in the product would be fabricated, it is known to be sampling devices from Nichia currently.

The planned launch will represent the second DVD recorder featuring a blue laser to hit the market. Sony launched its recorder last year, also under the Blu-ray format. NEC and Toshiba, who are developing a different format, have said that their initial products will be launched in 2005.

Matsushita made the announcement as it launched another five red-laser based DVD recorders. The company is said to be aiming to increase its market share in recordable DVD technology from an estimated 40% to 50% over the next year.

Matsushita believes that the 2004 Olympic Games, to be held in Athens, Greece, this summer, will spur demand for DVD recorders.

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