Samsung announced the new SH-W08A, a dual-format DVD recorder featuring 8x writing for both DVD+R/-R formats. The drive will reach the European market in a couple of weeks and is expected to be strongly competitive at least in terms of performance. Specifications:

Interface: EIDE / ATAPI (PIO Mode 4 (16,6 MB/s) Ultra DMA Mode 2 (33,3 MB/s)
- Write:
DVD±R 8x Z-CLV
DVD±RW 4x CLV
CD-R 40x Z-CLV
CD-RW 16x
- Read
DVD-RAM 2x
DVD-ROM 12x
CD-ROM 40x
CD-RW 24x
- Access times: 130 ms (DVD-ROM), 110 ms (CD-ROM), 200 ms (DVD-RAM)
- Buffer: 2MB

- Media compatibility:
DVD±R,DVD±RW,DVD-RAM (only read), DVD-ROM, DVD-Video, CD-R/RW, CD-DA, CD-ROM, CD-ROM/XA,CD-Audio, VCD, CD-I(FMV), Photo CD, CD-Extra, CD-Text