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| NEWS
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NEWS RELEASE
From CDs21 SOLUTIONS
2004.5.18 |
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Global Production of CD-R Discs
Reaches 10 billion in 2003
CD-R Becomes the Greatest Recording
Medium in History！
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May 18, 2004,
Tokyo, Japan: CDs21 Solutions (Secretariat: Minato-ku, Tokyo;
Chairman: Dr. Heitaro Nakajima) today announced the results
of a recent survey indicating that the global production of
CD-R discs exceeded 10 billion units for the first time in 2003.
The body, a voluntary association, works to promote the adoption
of CD standards and their accompanying business models, centering
on the CD-R/CD-RW formats. Of the total production, it was estimated
that 89%, or 9.2 billion and fifty thousand discs, were produced
in Asia. Of these, Japan produced 8%; Taiwan 52%; India 11%;
and others including China, 18%. It was also estimated that
9%, or 0.9 billion and forty thousand discs, were produced in
Europe and 2%, or 0.2 billion and one thousand discs, were manufactured
in the US. Total global production was 10.4 billion discs.
The large production of discs in 2003 can be partially attributed
to the huge level of trust that CD-R has gained globally as
a recording medium. In particular, however, it is clear that
the development efforts of manufacturers to achieve compatibility,
cost reduction, and higher-speed drives have been vitally important
factors. In addition, there were changes to the environment
surrounding the usage of discs that can also be cited as reasons
for the growth. These included the increased popularity and
adoption of drives, the expansion of disc applications, improved
infrastructure, and increased opportunity for use among users.
Taking a closer look at this popularity, we can see that the
CD-R has become ubiquitous thanks to its flexibility. The discs
are used for music, PCs and video CDs, and data can be exchanged
on a variety of Operating Systems such as Windows, Macintosh
and UNIX. Secondly, most computers today come with a CD-ROM
drive as standard, and the price of a single disc has fallen
to roughly 50 yen. Thirdly, the speed of reading from and writing
onto discs has reached up to 48 times. In addition, as a recording
medium it is possible to save picture, text, and other data
files equivalent to as many as 400 floppy disks, or 650 MB.
As digital cameras continue to offer higher resolution and larger
memories, applications for saving and distributing the data
are also increasing. Finally, CD-R is compatible with CD-DA,
allowing individuals to produce their own CDs for playback on
CD players.
Once a CD-R disc has been recorded it can never be changed,
preventing accidental erasure of valuable data. The discs are
extremely useful for backing up or distributing important business
documents and picture data. This feature, as a write once recording
medium, is a great characteristic of CD-R that has created specific
needs amongst users, bringing success in business and helping
it to become the "greatest recording medium in history."
At present, it is approved for use as an electronic file at
public organizations, etc. mainly in Europe and the U.S. It
can be said, therefore, that the CD-R has painted afresh the
history of recording media where rewriting was once considered
a matter of course.
In order to achieve the great potential shown by CD-R for growth
in many fields, CDs21 Solutions plans to actively contribute
to the development of R (write once media) by enlightening users
on how to get the most out of CD-R in our ever evolving IT society. |
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| ■What
is CDs21？ |
CDs21
Solutions was established in April 2001. It is a voluntary association
organized to promote CDs (compact discs), which have diversified
into a variety of types. The CD made its debut in 1982 as an
audio medium to replace conventional records. Since then CDs
of various standards have appeared, including photo CD, CD-ROM,
video CD, and CD-R/RW. Each standard had an interactive function
to take the lead in the field of multimedia and IT. Various
bodies have been created to promote these respective standards.
CDs21 Solutions is a new body created through the merger of
the Multimedia CD Consortium (MMCD), so far promoting CD-I and
Video CD, and the Orange Forum (OSJ) specifically focused on
CD-R/RW.
While centering on promoting the spread of CD-R/RW, the CDs21
Solutions' activities also include testing of the compatibility
and life of respective CD-R/RW, setting of various optical card
guidelines, research into recordable optical discs, environmental
study groups, study of security in recorded data, and an exchange
with foreign countries. Included further is the sponsorship
of the "Heitaro Nakajima Prize" that awards individuals, enterprises
and organizations contributing to the research and development
of the CD as well as the spread and promotion of the CD business.
As of April 2004, CDs21 Solutions has the membership of 68
firms: 47 Japanese firms including mainly household electrical
products manufacturers, and 21 overseas firms from Taiwan, South
Korea, China, India, Germany, Holland, Switzerland, Greece,
and America. |
For
inquiry/membership participation, please contact：
Secretary Office, CDs21 Solutions
c/o Philips Japan Ltd. Philips Bldg., 13-37, Konan
2-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8507
TEL:03-3740-4592 FAX:03-3740-5152 |
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