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April 23, 1997

Hitachi, Ltd. will start shipping samples of the GF-1000, the world's first DVD-RAM drive for personal computers, on June 20. The new drive complies with the DVD-RAM format announced last week by the DVD Forum.

"The GF-1000 represents a further strengthening of Hitachi's lineup of DVD drive products," says Etsuhiko Shoyama, senior- executive managing director and General Manager of Consumer Products & Information Media Systems Group. "As the chair of the DVD-RAM Working Group of the DVD Forum, Hitachi has played a central role in finalizing the specifications for DVD-RAM."

Digital data networks are growing at an explosive rate, driven by the increased use of PCs, the rapid adoption of the Internet as a broad-based source for information and entertainment and the start of digital satellite broadcasting. These activities are spurring demand for DVD, already the acknowledged information storage media of the future for video, music, data and a broad range of other applications. By 2000, the global market for DVD drives is expected to be more than 70 million units annually.

It is also estimated that 30 million of those units will be DVD-RAM drives. DVD-RAM is a rewritable DVD format that offers a large storage capacity of 2.6-GB per side (equivalent to 1,800 floppy disks) and 5.2-GB for both sides, as well as portability, full compatibility with other DVD formats and very high reliability in reading and writing of data. These features help make it the ideal bridge media between computers and home audiovisual systems, and will lead to a growing range of applications in all walks of life.

In June of 1996, Hitachi became the first manufacturer to start shipping samples of single-speed DVD-ROM drives, and in March this year was also the first to ship samples of a double-speed DVD-ROM drive.

The GF-1000 features a 650-nanometer laser mounted in a unique double-lens/double-laser head, chip sets including high-speed DSP capability and a high-speed mechanism. The GF-1000 has a double-speed data rate in DVD-ROM and DVD-R modes and is compatible with CD-ROM. A separate 780- nanometer infrared laser handles CD-R disc functions.

In addition, the product employs two-lens/two-laser head optical disc technology, high-power lasers, recording/ play back large-scale integrated circuits, CD- and DVD-specific digital signal processors and other key devices for DVDs. The tray can load discs with cartridges and permits operation in either horizontal or vertical orientation.

Hitachi is also developing a broad range of products that can take advantage of the format's many attractive features such as archives and back-up. These products will include multimedia PCs with DVD-RAM drives, DVD-RAM-ready servers, optical filing systems and video filing systems, and a DVD recorder for Hitachi's MPEG camera.

Pricing and Availability

Model	Description	Pricing (yen)	Availability
GF-1000	Internal DVD-RAM drive for PC (ATAPI interface)	100,000	July 18, 1997
GF-1050	Internal DVD-RAM drive for PC (SCSI interface)	100,000	June 20, 1997
GF-1055	External DVD-RAM for PC (SCSI interface)	120,000	June 20, 1997

Specifications for GF-1000 DVD-RAM drive

1) Compatible disc formats

Record/play back support:	DVD-RAM
Play back support:	DVD-ROM/R CD-ROM/ mode 1, CD-ROM/ mode (CD-ROM XA, CD-I) Audio CD Data & Audio Mixed Format CD Extra, CD-R, CD-RW

2) Main specifications

Data transfer rate:	DVD-RAM	1.38 MB/s
	DVD-ROM/R	2.76 MB/s
	CD-ROM	1.20 MB/s(mode1) 1.37 MB/s(mode2)
Average access time:	DVD-RAM	200 ms max.
	DVD-ROM/R	200 ms max.
	CD-ROM	120 ms max.
Buffer memory:		1 MB

3) Interface

	GF-1000	GF-1050, GF-1055
Interface type:	ATAPI	SCSI-2
Burst rate:	16.6 MB/s	Fast Sync.:	10 MB
	(ATAPI PIO mode 4)	Sync.:	5 MB/s
	DMA mode 2	Async.:	3 MB/s

4) Environment

	GF-1000 /GF-1050		GF-1055
Temperature:	Operating:	5oC - 45oC	10oC - 35oC
	Standby:	-30oC - 60oC	-30oC - 60oC
Relative Humidity:	Operating:	15 - 85%	15 - 85%
(Without condensation)	Standby:	10 - 90%	10 - 90%

5) Reliability

MTBF:	100,000 power-on hour (Duty cycle 20%: drive only)
Bit error rate:	10(-12) max.

6) Size and Weight

	GF-1000 /GF-1050	GF-1055
Size (W x D x H):	146 x 208 x 41.3 (mm) (including front panel)	212 x 275 x 65 (mm)
Weight:	Approx. 1.0 kg	Approx. 2.5 kg

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