Kahl am Main, May 10, 2005 - SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES, the world's leading system integrator of optical disc replication equipment, announced today that it has joined the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA). The company’s involvement will spearhead the development of replication lines for this emerging 3rd generation optical disc format and is an important step in bringing the Blu-ray Disc format to the market. The BDA is a voluntary organisation supported by over 100 companies with the united aim of promoting the Blu-ray Disc format.
Already in November 2004, SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES and Sony Corporation agreed to jointly conduct research and development activities for the development of Blu-ray Disc mass production technology.
SINGULUS tested a single-layer Blu-ray replication line in production in April 2005 and a dual-layer Blu-ray prototype will be introduced by the end of 2005. Mass production machines will be compatible for both single-layer and dual-layer BD-ROM. The machine is compact in size, similar to the current DVD9 line. SINGULUS is using its expertise in addressing BD-ROM specific requirements to realize the most efficient production methods.
“We are very excited to be working on the Blu-ray Disc, especially at the birth of the new format, and with Sony who is one of the founders of the format� said Roland Lacher, CEO and President of SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES. “We believe that there is a great future in Blu-ray Disc as the next generation optical discs. We look forward to supplying our customers with competitive equipment that will enable them to make a smooth transition to the new high definition world. We expect that the long-term manufacturing costs for mass production of the BDROM will be similar to DVD, as will the price for BD-ROM production equipment. �