Maxell Corporation of America, the technology and marketing leader in premium recordable media products, today announced the company is developing CD-R media certified for operations with the new generation of high-speed 48X CD-R drives. Maxell's 48X CD-R discs are based on a new polymer dye formulation that is optimized for high-speed operations and works with a wider range of laser powers, making them more compatible among multiple brands of CD writers. When recording at 48X speeds, customers can burn a full 700 MB Maxell CD in less than three minutes.

With its 48X product introduction, Maxell is joining with other CD industry leaders such as Sony, Yamaha and Plextor in adopting 48X as the new high-speed standard, as opposed to the 52X benchmark, because of reliability concerns at the higher speed.

Maxell engineers determined that the minimal speed advantage offered by 52X drives is outweighed by the performance and safety issues of operating CD-R media in excess of 10,000 rpm. Research has shown that naturally occurring minute defects or cracks in the CD-R hub area can quickly expand when exposed to the physical stresses of 52X operations. These small, virtually undetectable defects can easily cause discs to break apart at 52X speed, destroying not only critical data stored on the CD-R media, but potentially damaging or destroying the CD drive.

"The 48X standard offers customers outstanding performance without the risks associated with 52X speeds," said Dawn Wortman, senior marketing manager at Maxell. "Our 48X media is the latest example of Maxell's commitment to increasing customer value with continual leading-edge product enhancements for CD-R, DVD and mid-range tape applications, while maintaining the utmost in reliability."

Maxell's high-performance 48X CD-R discs will be available beginning in March 2003.