Audio Video News

DVD-RAM recorders are among the wave of new products that promise to revolutionize the way consumers interact with video content.

On August 21.Samsung Electronics announced a new DVD recorder using the DVD RAM format, claimed to offer incredibly fast access time to recorded data. The DVD-R5000 debuts first in the Korean market at an estimated price of 1.4m Korean Won.

The DVD-R5000 features simultaneous recording and playback, allowing users to "rewind" TV programs that they are watching, very much like hard-disk based digital video recording systems. DVD-RAM is said to be a very economical and durable medium, capable of surviving more than 100,000 read/write cycles. DVD-RW and DVD+RW, by comparison, can endure only about 1000 cycles.

The DVD-R5000 also offers much faster data access than either of its competitors. A twin-tuner system allows viewing of one program while recording another, as well as picture-in-picture function. Recordings can be transferred directly from digital camcorders into the DVD-RAM machine via the IEEE 1394 port.