Taiwan OEM quotations for 16x DVD burners have slipped by over 10% to less than US$80.

This comes amidst decreased component costs and competition from Japanese OEM makers, according to Taiwan producers of optical disc drives.

The price level of pick-up heads has fallen 25-30% from US$30-35 in the second quarter of this year to US$22-25 currently, mainly due to the success of Japanese makers in improving yield rates, the Taiwan makers noted. In addition, prices of chipsets have also dropped 20-30% recently, the makers added.

Pick-up heads and chipsets account for about 80% of the total production cost of DVD burners, the makers pointed out.

Despite the decrease in OEM prices for 16x DVD burners, gross margins remain unchanged, the makers indicated.

From DigiTimes