Eindhoven, The Netherlands - On this year's IFA, from 1-6 September in Berlin, Lite-On will present its first High Definition playback devices. Besides a previously announced Blu-ray Disc player, Lite-On will also show an HD-DVD player. This means that in the "battle" of the two new formats, Lite-On takes a neutral position. Lite-On believes that both formats will stay in the market for some time, and therefore decided to support both. In the end, the market will decide which format, if any, will win.

Blu-ray and HD-DVD

Blu-ray and HD-DVD are two new-generation, high-capacity optical disc formats, developed in response to the growing popularity of high definition content. The discs are the same size as the current DVD, but employ a more advanced laser technology to expand storage capacities. Utilizing a shorter wavelength blue laser, these new formats offer massive storage capacity, a must for High Definition content.

High Definition videos/pictures contain more pixels and scan lines in a frame, and are thus capable of presenting objects in more significant details. Both formats can accommodate High Definition video content of resolutions up to 1080p.

Thanks to this greater storage capacity, the uncompromised, multichannel audio content is made available: more advanced Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD, which offer up to eight channels of audio, are all supported by the new formats.

While movie companies are launching their first title on Blu-ray Disc and HD-DVD, Lite-On announces their first playback devices: the BDP-X1 Blu-ray Disc player and the HDP-Z1 HD-DVD player will be shown on IFA for the first time.

Specifications

Lite-On obtained both technologies through joint ventures and licensing agreements with key manufacturers like Philips, BenQ and Toshiba. In the current time-schedule, Lite-On is planning to launch the two players in the first half of 2007.

In its optical disc drive division, Lite-On already announced the introduction of Blu-ray Triple-Writers. The LH-2B1S (internal) and LX-2B1U (external) will be launched in Q4 2006. Lite-On Triple Writers are backwards compatible with DVD and CD formats.

Lite-On is preparing to produce HD-DVD writers as well, but Lite-On didn't reveal any details yet about the introduction of an HD-DVD optical drive.