With Blu-ray’s emergence as the new HD format, more optical disc drives like the BenQ BW100 are expected to be developed this year.

Makers gear up for increased demand for Blu-ray players, expecting full-swing production and mass marketing to take place.

In the aftermath of the high definition format war, makers in Taiwan will now focus on the full adoption of the Blu-ray format in the development and production of next-generation DVD players. Expecting stiff competition, these makers are banding together to maintain their lead and protect the island’s strong optical disc drive industry. They are now at work enhancing product quality, ensuring stable component sources and maximizing costs to stay competitive against rivals in Japan and South Korea.

With the anticipated increase in output, makers also project lowering prices. The price reduction in Q4 2007 that brought quotes at the $800 level is expected to go on, as component costs also continue to decrease.

Interest in Blu-ray disc players is expected to pick up with the proliferation of high-definition (HD) media devices such as LCD TVs, game consoles and optical drives in consumer electronics markets.

Indicative of interest in HD content, the market share of 1080p LCD TVs posted an approximately 300 percent growth in 2007, from more than 1 million units in 2006. This represented up to 6 percent of the worldwide market or more than 4 million units of the aggregate in 2007, according to the Topology Research Institute (TRI). Moreover, more than half of the LCD TVs produced in 2007 by major companies such as Sharp, Sony, Samsung, and Philips were 1080p models.

Sales of the PlayStation 3 game consoles are also expected to boost the sales of Blu-ray disc products. According to TRI’s estimates for 2008, game applications will account for 52 percent of all Blu-ray applications. Other lines cited by TRI as vital in broadening Blu-ray applications are the consumer electronics, computer products and in-car entertainment industries.

Taiwan is expected to be at the forefront of the Blu-ray format adoption in the next few years, being home to world-renowned optical disc drive manufacturers. As early as now, makers on the island are stepping up efforts to enhance product specifications and quality, as well as streamlining costs to remain competitive against Japan and South Korea rivals.

Statistics from the Market Intelligence Center (MIC) show that Taiwan accounted for 29 percent of worldwide optical disc volume shipment in 2007. Taiwan makers, bent on keeping the lead, are working with system integrators to offer even more competitive prices. With the conclusion of the HD format war, makers can now focus on increasing the production and shipment of Blu-ray optical disc drives.

One such maker is Lite-On IT, which became one of the world’s top suppliers of optical disc drives after acquiring BenQ’s optical disc drive manufacturing operations in 2006. It recently released the BenQ BW1000, a Blu-ray optical disc drive and burner that allows playback and recording to Blu-ray discs. The model adopts precision tilt control system (PTCS) for precise manipulation of the Blu-ray tilt signal. The PTCS adds a tilt control mechanism and maintains the read/write head at a 90˚ angle to the disc surface, ensuring more reliable performance during reads and writes, thereby avoiding failed burns.

The BenQ BW100 is compatible with Blu-ray discs and Blu-ray recordable discs. It is backward-compatible with other disc formats such as DVDs, DVD+/-R, DVD+/-RW, CDs, CD-Rs and CD-RWs.

Although prices of next-generation DVD players fell in Q4 2007, the line is still regarded as high-end. Quotes for Blu-ray disc players dropped to $800 in the same period, from $1,000 in 2006.

As more makers commit to the Blu-ray format, the production of Blu-ray disc players is expected to increase this year and bring their prices closer to downstream markets. The projected average price can go as low as $500 as the costs of pick-up heads and chipsets continue to decline.

The majority of components for Blu-ray disc players are still sourced from Japan and South Korea. Taiwan makers, however, have tapped secondary sources to ensure stable component supply.

To sharpen their competitive edge, Taiwan companies usually forge collaborations with one another to develop new technologies that would, in turn, promote the growth of the next-generation DVD player industry. For instance, active chipsets suppliers on the island such as MediaTek Inc. and Sunext Technology work with optical disc drive makers to continuously enhance the line’s offerings.

Mediatek for its part adopts optical disc drives from Lite-On IT and Quantan Storage Inc.—the leading optical disc suppliers in Taiwan. Sunext, meanwhile, adopts Philips’ technology.

Competition with other product lines is also likely to play a major part in lowering prices of Blu-ray disc players. One such challenge comes from the Sony PlayStation 3, which has a built-in Blu-ray disc playback capability, and another from high-end PCs and laptops that have integrated Blu-ray disc drives.

This rivalry, however, brings this new industry’s development to the fore and is expected to ensure faster penetration and acceptance of the Blu-ray format in mass consciousness.