NEC adds etching to DVD burners

 

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By Alun Williams

Posted on 5 Dec 2005 at 15:28

You've heard of LightScribe - HP's system for printing the top side of optical discs - well, NEC has brought its Labelflash Technology to DVD burners.

The NEC ND-3551A and 4551A (pictured) are designed to enable more creative disc designs, using 256 different shades, and provide an alternative to paper labels.

According to NEC, the labelling process will take at least seven minutes, but the exact time depends on the resolution selected. It requires specialised media, with Labelflash discs having a special top coating, 0.6mm thick. You can also burn images on to the data side of any standard disc, in an area not already written with data.

The drives support up to 16x speed for writing DVD-R and DVD +R formats, and up to 16x for reading DVD-ROM, DVD-R and DVD +R formats.

The full transfer rates for the 4551A are as follows. It can read CDs as at 48x max and write CD-R 48x and CD-RW 32x. It can read DVDs at 16x max and write DVD-R 16x, DVD-R DL 6x, DVD-RW 6x, DVD-RAM 5x, DVD+R 16x, DVD+R9 8x, and DVD+RW 8x.

You can read more information on the NEC website.

Currently shipping, the ND-4551A will retail at around £50 and the ND-3551 at £45.