LAS VEGAS (NAB Booth SU906), April 15, 2007 – Sony’s new dual-layer version of the XDCAM® Professional Disc™ media more than doubles the storage capacity and recording capabilities of the original single-layer optical media.

These upgrades, combined with faster transfer rates, significantly increase the XDCAM system’s potential as an efficient production technology and as a long-term archiving option.

The new dual-layer disc, model PFD50DLA, has a total storage capacity of 50 GB. Professional users can record up to 4 hours and 30 minutes of high-definition content on the dual-layer disc when shooting in MPEG HD 4:2:0 mode at 18 Mbps, or 3 hours and 20 minutes at 25 Mbps, and 2 hours and 30 minutes at 35 Mbps. In DVCAM™ mode, users can record about 3 hours and 10 minutes of content onto the new disc.

“This disc’s unique combination of extensive recording capacity and high transfer rate ideally positions the media for a wider range of broadcast and professional video production applications,” said Jo Ann Vozeh, director of Sony Electronics’ professional media group.

The PFD50DLA media is for use with the new XDCAM HD™ products planned to be available in September, including the PDW-F355L camcorder, PDW-F75 deck and PDW-U1 drive unit.

Using blue-laser technology, the new dual-layer disc can attain high density recording of more than 10 times the capacity of a consumer DVD (4.7GB) using red-laser technology.

The 12cm (5 inch) rewritable optical disc has a track pitch of 0.32 µm. It is encased in a protective cartridge that is designed to be resistant to dust, shock and X-rays.

With both the new dual-layer disc and the original single-layer version, Sony testing suggests that users can expect a minimum of 1,000 read/write/erase cycles and 1,000,000 read cycles, under specified operating conditions, and an estimated archival life of more than 50 years.

The new dual-layer media is planned to be available in September coincident with the planned availability of the next generation of XDCAM equipment.