Mitsubishi and Maxell to ship HD DVD-R media from early July

Even though Blu-ray media and writers have been on the market for several weeks now, it is not until now that we hear about the first announcements of HD DVD recordable media getting ready to launch, with Verbatim/MKM (Mitsubishi Kagaku Media) announcing that retailers in Japan will receive the first shipments of 15GB HD DVD-R media from early July.  They will start the production of 30GB dual layer HD DVD-R media in June.  Their factory in Singapore produces this media along with dual layer DVD media.  HD DVD-R media will be made available in
other countries once HD DVD recording equipment becomes available in those
countries.

As the dye used on recordable DVD discs is not compatible with the shorter blue laser beam, MKM's HD DVD-R media uses a new Azo based recording dye for HD DVD-R, featuring a low error rate, high recording sensitivity and read stability, long life for both recorded & blank media and resistance to sunlight and heat. 

According
to HD Beat, Hitachi and Mitsubishi will be making their media available on July 5th in Japan, with rewritable and 30GB dual layer versions expted to launch later in the summer.  Pricing of a HD DVD-R blank is expected to be around 2,000 yen (~US$17.75).  Hitachi's media will be 1x capable, however it is unclear what speed Mitsubishi's media will be.  Thanks to D4rk0n3 for letting us know about the following: 

Verbatim(R) Corporation and its parent company, Mitsubishi Kagaku Media (Verbatim/MKM), announced today that retailers in Japan will receive shipments of the industry's first 15GB HD DVD-R media early in July. Production of 30GB dual layer HD DVD-R media will begin in June. Shipments to other parts of the world will begin when hardware products supporting these recordable formats become available. Verbatim/MKM is also expected to be first to market with HD DVD-RW rewriteable media, as soon as the official specification is released. The HD DVD-R media is produced at MKM's technically advanced Singapore factory. Widely recognized as the leading facility for producing new CD/DVD technologies, the Singapore factory also developed and now manufactures the world's premier dual layer DVD media. Because the shorter wavelength blue laser that reads and writes HD DVD-R media is not compatible with standard DVD recording dye, MKM leveraged its proven Azo technology to develop a new recording dye specifically designed for HD DVD-R. The full press release can be read here.  D4rk0n3 let us know that further details can be read in the Japanese language press release here.

With the initial pricing of HD DVD expected to be around that of Blu-ray media, it looks like they will have a tough time competing against the Blu-ray, unless the initial HD DVD writers will be much cheaper than Blu-ray writers.  With two competing high capacity optical disc writers on the market shortly, this should hopefully help push the pricing of both the drives and media down.  However, like with the first DVD writers, I would recommend waiting a while for the technology to mature, by which time both the media and drives will potentially be much cheaper and more reliable.

Source: BusinessWire - Press Releases