WAMO Introduces DVD-Mini
WAMO, a division of WEA manufacturing, has just announced the introduction
of a diminutive disc dubbed the DVD-Mini. WAMO's latest offering, the 80mm
version outlined in the DVD spec, may be little on the outside, but as in
all things DVD, offers an impressive amount of capacity for its size. The
discs are currently available in single-sided 1.46GB, double-sided 2.92GB,
and dual-layer, single-sided 2.66GB configurations. WAMO also has plans for
double sided, dual-layer 5.32GB, and double-sided, dual-layer/single layer
4.12GB versions, which compare to a DVD-5's 4.7GB capacity. WAMO says
replication costs for DVD-Mini will be slightly less than DVD-5s.
Bill Mueller, vice president and general manager of WAMO, believes that the
discs are suited to many of the promotional markets where shaped CDs are
already found, such as magazine or direct mail pieces, but that the disc's
greater capacity allows for many other uses. Mueller points out that, thus
far, DVD-ROM content has usually been less than a DVD-5, so that the
DVD-Mini might be well suited to providing content for promotions in
children's fast food meals. He also suggests the idea of an issue of Sports
Illustrated bundled with images from the swimsuit edition or video clips of
last week's games on a Mini-DVD. Meuller says, "We already pioneered
manufacturing of the highest-capacity DVD (DVD-18) and with Mini, we have a
solution for lower-capacity requirements."