Pioneer Introduces Slim, External DVD|CD Writer

Sleek Pioneer External Drive Is Ideal for Laptop Users on the Go; It’s Portable, Easy to Connect and Offers Broad Format Compatibility

Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc., the leader in recordable DVD technology, today began shipping a new slim, external DVD/CD writer at a suggested retail price of $349. With the DVR-SK12D, on-the-go professionals can easily connect this stylish recordable DVD/CD writer and transport it with them wherever they go. The new drive is 138 x 22 x 162mm and weighs just over one pound. It supports multiple DVD media formats and plugs into standard IEEE 1394 (FireWire) and USB 2.0 ports.

With the growing popularity of writable DVD for the general public, there has been some confusion about which drive peripherals support the various formats of writable DVD media. To reduce consumer confusion in the marketplace, the DVR-SK12D supports multiple types of writable DVD media; an industry first in the slim drive category. The DVR-SK12D can read and write to the DVD Forum's recording formats, DVD-R/DVD-RW as well as +R/+RW discs. In that way, the new slim drive is similar to Pioneer's other award-winning drives like the DVR-A06 internal half-height drive and the recently announced DVR-S606 external half-height drive.

Pioneer's internal and external writers include bundled software to make it easy for users to import content, record and edit video, author DVDs, create digital photo albums or slide shows, play movies and test recorded DVDs. Data recording and backup applications are also provided.

“With notebook PCs showing favorable growth these days, more retailers and customers have been asking for a highly portable DVD/CD writer that records onto a wide variety of formats,” said Andy Parsons, senior vice president of the Business Solutions Division at Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. “The DVR-SK12D is designed with today's road warrior in mind. It's easy to fit in a briefcase, and is exceptionally simple to connect and use.”

By offering reliable and versatile DVD recording functions for nearly six years, Pioneer has earned the trust and appreciation of customers, making Pioneer a top brand in aftermarket sales of recordable DVD drives, according to Santa Clara Consulting Group's DVD Tracker for 2003 Q2. The analyst firm's research for this period also finds that DVD-R continues to be the most popular recordable DVD format today, with more than 50 percent worldwide share of all blank DVD media distributed.

The Pioneer DVR-SK12D enables high-speed recording of up to 2x write speed with high-speed DVD-R and DVD-RW discs, 2.4x write speed with high-speed +R and +RW media. It also records CD-R media at up to 16x speed and up to 10x speed with high-speed CD-RW discs.