Rewritable HD DVD drives coming to laptops

Toshiba's Qosmio notebooks should be among the first to receive the new rewriteable HD DVD drives

Toshiba is bringing rewritable recording to its notebook HD DVD drives. The SD-L912A announced today can write to single layer and dual layer HD DVD-RW discs at 1x speed. And it can also burn DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD-RAM, CD-R and CD-RW discs too.

"Our new drive delivers the perfect combination of high capacity storage, outstanding audio and visual playback and the complete flexibility of the re-writable format," says Martin Larsson, general manager, Toshiba Europe Storage Device Division. "Notebook users will soon be able to enjoy a truly rich and compelling high-definition video playback experience."

The drive is making its public debut at Computex Taipei 2007 in Taiwan from tomorrow. The drive is currently undergoing customer valuation and will appear in laptops in due course, Toshiba says.

Full tech specs for the Toshiba SD-L912A notebook HD DVD drive are given below:

Write Speeds

  • HD DVD-R SL (single layer): 2x
  • HD DVD-R DL (dual layer): 1x
  • HD DVD-RW SL: 1x
  • HD DVD-RW DL: 1x
  • DVD-RAM: 3x max
  • DVD-R SL: 4x max
  • DVD-R DL: 2x max
  • DVD-RW: 4x max
  • DVD R SL: 4x max
  • DVD R DL: 2.4x max
  • DVD RW: 4x max
  • CD-R: 16x max
  • CD-RW: 4x
  • High Speed CD-RW: 10x max
  • Ultra Speed CD-RW: 10x

Read Speeds

  • HD DVD-R SL: 2.4x
  • HD DVD-R DL: 1x
  • HD DVD-RW SL :1x
  • HD DVD-RW DL: 1x
  • HD DVD-ROM: 2.4x
  • DVD: Max. 8x; CD: 24x max

Other specs

  • Interface: ATAPI
  • Buffer capacity: 8MB
  • MTBF: 60,000 hours
  • Power source: 5V (allowance /-5%)
  • Operating temperature: 5-50 degrees C (excluding media)
  • External dimensions (W x H x D): 128mm (w) x 12.7mm (h) x 126mm (d)
  • Weight: 170g (typical)