Lite-On IT recently began volume production of an 18x Super Multi LightScribe DVD burner, model LH-18A1H, for OEM clients.
The LH-18A1H will be available in the Taiwan market in the middle of next month, according to the company.
The drive is the Lightscribe version of the LH-18A1P 18x burner, which was announced last August. The drive can write both DVD+R and DVD-R at 18X, thanks to SmartWrite technology. Double and Dual layer discs can be written at 8X. Besides DVD±R(W) compatibility, this drive also incorporates Super AllWrite technology and therefore rewrites DVD-RAM discs at 12X.
LightScribe-enabled models currently account for 10% of Lite-On IT's total shipment volume of DVD burners of all types, said general manager Michael Gong for the company's Optical Disc Drive Business.
Among international PC brands, only Hewlett-Packard (HP), the developer of LightScribe technology, has launched PCs equipped with built-in LightScribe DVD burners, Gong noted. Therefore, the popularity of the direct disc labeling technology hinges on adoption by other PC brands such as Dell, Gong pointed out. In order to promote LightScribe, HP has lowered the royalty charge rate for manufacturers of DVD burners by 40-50% depending on shipment volume, Gong indicated.