NEC is showcasing at the CeBit trade show in Germany this week the first HD DVD burner that is able to write to HD-DVD recordable (HD DVD-R) media.

The NEC prototype drive uses burns HD video on the newly developed HD DVD-R media from MKM, best known its Verbatim brand name. The company is showcasing both recording and playback of the HD DVD-R disc.

The NEC HD-1100 is the first HD DVD-/DVD-/CD burner for PCs, expected to be available in the market in Autumn. The media is single-sided so it is capable of storing up to 15GB of data. The drive is also compatible with dual-layer discs (30GB).

The HD DVD-R manufacturing process was developed at MKM's Singapore factory, also the location of the world's premier dual layer DVD production facility.

The new dye used for the discs is the result of a joint development project by Hayashibara Biochemical Laboratories, a key manufacturer of dyes for DVD-Recordable discs, Mitsubishi Kagaku Media/Verbatim and Toshiba Corporation. Development of the new dye by Hayashibara, Mitsubishi Kagaku Media/Verbatim and Toshiba is a breakthrough for HD DVD-R. Standard DVD-Recordable discs use a photosensitive organic dye as the data storage medium in their recording layer. In the transition to HD DVD, manufacturers had to meet the challenge of developing a dye for HD DVD-R discs that could be used with the narrow wavelength of a blue laser and offered sufficient readout stability. The organic dye is highly sensitive to blue laser light,has the uncompromised readout stability essential for practical use, and the solubility in organic solvent required for easy production of the dye recording layer by a spin-coating process. As the HD DVD-R disc is based on the same disc structure as DVD discs, back-to-back bonding of two 0.6 millimeter-thick substrates, already installed DVD-Recordable manufacturing lines can utilize the new dye in efficient production of HD DVD-R.

Verbatim expects to be first to launch dual layer HD DVD-R, a 30GB single sided disc, later this year.

The DVD Forum approved a 15GB single-layer HD DVD-R discs in February 2005.

NEC is also working on support for rewriteable HD-DVD media although the standardisation for HD-DVD-RW is expected to be finalised in June this year.

More information about NEC @ CeBIT will be available soon.