Ultima Electronics and Protop Innotech, manufacturers of optical disc drives in Taiwan, recently obtained certification from Philips to become additional OEM producers for the latter.

Philips currently has three major OEM makers in Taiwan, namely, Philips BenQ Digital Storage (PBDS, a joint venture set up by Philips and BenQ) for half-height (H/H) ODDs, Quanta Storage for slim-type ODDs and Lite-On IT for DVD recorders.

For Ultima and Protop, the OEM production of ODDs for Philips is helpful in competing for OEM orders from other clients, the Taiwan ODD makers indicated.

In addition to the development of digital consumer electronics, Ultima plans to make OEM orders the focus of its production of PC-use ODDs. Protop has been an OEM maker of DVD players for a few large retail chains, including Wal-Mart and Best Buy, and is going to produce DVD recorders.

From DigiTimes