OEM quotations for 16x DVD burners, which had been remaining stable at US$60-65 for a few months, recently fell to US$55-58 due to increasing competition to meet orders from Dell, Hewlett-Packard (HP) and other international PC brands, according to Taiwan makers of optical disc drives (ODDs). Hitachi-LG Data Storage (HLDS), Toshiba-Samsung Storage Technology (TSST), Lite-On IT, BenQ and Pioneer are the main competitors for 16x DVD burner OEM orders, the makers indicated. Recently, some makers have been cutting prices in an attempt to receive more orders, and OEM prices for 16x DVD burners may fall to as low as US$50 by next quarter, the makers added.

However, production costs should also decrease for the makers, and total orders should grow, as 16x DVD burners become the mainstream optical drive for international PC brands, the makers noted.

Japan-based Techno Systems Research (TSR) recently projected that global demand for DVD burners would reach 57 million units in 2004 and 81 million units in 2005.

Source: www.digitimes.com