CMC Magnetics Corp. (CMC), one of the world's largest optical disc manufacturers, today announced that it will begin manufacturing and worldwide distribution of DVD+RW media in April 2002.

``The DVD+RW format provides an excellent opportunity for us to expand and enhance our product lineup. Given that the rewritable DVD business is expected to see significant growth in 2002, we envision a great future for the DVD+RW format with conservative global demand estimates of about 100 million media units,'' said Bob Wong, chief executive officer and chairman, CMC Magnetics.

``CMC is well-positioned to capitalize on expected DVD+RW consumer demand and is committed to providing the highest quality level of media available.''

``We look forward to working closely with CMC for DVD+RW media development to provide consumers with the necessary tools for creating custom DVDs and preserving critical data,'' said John Spofford, vice president and general manager, HP Consumer Entertainment Solutions and Chairman of the DVD+RW Alliance. ``As we work towards qualifying CMC as one of our major suppliers, we see new, creative possibilities and applications for future products.''