Moser Baer today announced that it has begun shipping HD DVD-R (recordable) media to its global OEMs customers.

The HD DVD-R will have a capacity of 15 GB and offers more than three times the data storage capacity of standard DVD media.

According to Ratul Puri, executive director, Moser Baer, ?The world is moving towards High Definition content. This is a significant technology shift in the global optical media industry and will radically change the consumer?s viewing experience. According to the US based Strategic Marketing and Decisions, the demand for the next generation high density formats is expected at 1.5 billion discs over the next three years. This represents an exciting opportunity for us, as Moser Baer now has the first mover advantage with this launch.?

Moser Baer is the world?s second largest manufacturer of optical media discs, with an 18% share of the global recordable optical media market. The HD DVD-R development forms part of the company?s strategy to change from a technology recipient into a technology developer and innovator.

The company continues to leverage its skills in base material engineering, thin film coating, precision sputtering and deep UV mastering technologies. Starting from the current quarter and in conjugation with drive and recorder availability, the company expects to be first to market in a majority of the next generation formats. The four products which the company believes will have a significant market potential in the future are DVDR Dual Layer, HD DVD-R (recordable) and RW (re-writable), HD DVD Dual layer, and BD-R and RE.