Pioneer Electronics has announced their upcoming DVD writer, and its a little unexpected. In addition to supporting 16x writing on both DVD+R and DVD-R media (current 16x drives do it on +R media only), the drive will introduce 4x writing on DVD+R DL media (current drives do it at 2.4x only). What's most surprising is that the announcement makes no mention at all about support for a dual layer version of DVD-R. Considering that Pioneer is one of the leading companies in the DVD Forum who is still trying to get DVD-R DL approved, this is sort of a slap in the face to the DVD Forum as their leading proponent is releasing a drive supporting "the competition."

Here's more from the press release:

Pioneer launches its new multiple format DVD writer. The DVR-A08XL is the industry's first DVD writer to support 16x write speeds on both DVD-R/+R* along with the option to write at 4x speed on Double Layer media** . This extends Pioneer's track record of establishing key performance benchmarks when introducing new DVD writers.

With the facility to write 4.7GB of data to write-once media in seven minutes, or store up to 8.5GB on Double Layer media, the DVR-A08XL enhances a wide range of DVD applications including the authoring, editing and storing of video files, developing digital music catalogues, building image libraries and backing up data.

"Writing speed and data capacity are the key performance factors for DVD writers and understandably manufacturers have focused on these issues in the build up to the launch of next generation writers. Indeed, with its 16x write-speed complemented by the flexibility to store up to 8.5GB - equivalent to four hours of Standard Play (SP) video quality - the DVR-A08XL leads the pack. At the same time, customers are also concerned about the overall technical capabilities and the design of DVD drives and with a range of colour options and advanced technology improving the form and functionality of the product, we are confident that the DVR-A08XL will become the premier DVD writer for professionals and consumers alike," observes Chris Tampsett, Senior Manager, Pioneer Europe NV, Multimedia Division.

The DVR-A08XL also features a range of innovations, "Precision Recording Technology", that improve DVD writing performance. Precision Recording Technology includes:

• Smart Laser Driver - the drive circuitry has been moved to the laser pick up to prevent signal distortion between the main board and the drive pick up.
• Liquid Crystal Tilt/Thickness Compensator - the mechanism helps to ensure precise writing onto the surface of discs that have become warped or are of uneven thickness. Such media can also cause vibration in the drive mechanism that impairs recording quality.
• Ultra Dynamic Resonance Absorber (Low Vibration Mechanism) - this acts to reduce the instability and vibration which is caused by imbalanced or damaged media, to achieve and maintain the integrity of the recording and playback performance.

The drive will be available in September for under €200 through Pioneer resellers and retailers. An OEM version of the drive - the DVR-108 - will also be available through PC manufacturers.

* Until such time as 16x media is available (expected October 2004) 16x write speeds can be achieved on selected 8x speed DVD-R/+R media types. A list of such media will be published on Pioneer's website.

** 4x Double Layer media is not expected to be available until January 2005. Until then 4x write speeds can be achieved on selected +R 2.4x Double Layer media. A list of such media will be published on Pioneer's website.