Yamaha Corporation of America introduces the CRW8824SXZ external SCSI-3 (Ultra SCSI) model ReWritable CD recorder. Designed as part of a new generation of high speed CD recorders from Yamaha, this portable unit is the worldis first external recorder to rewrite CD-RW discs at 8x speed, doubling the current standard of 4x and cutting the required time to rewrite a CD-RW disc in half. In addition, the CRW8824SXZ allows users to rip audio CDs at 24x-up to three times faster than conventional CD-RW recorders currently in the marketplace. Ripping is the process of converting CD music tracks to WAV and MP3 files for creating music CDs on a PC. The unit is expected to begin shipping on August 15, 2000.
The CRW8824SXZ is designed for both IBM PC Compatible and Macintosh platforms. An external unit, the drive can be easily attached and detached and may also be used with several computers in a work environment without installation difficulties.
The unit features a large 4 MB buffer memory, records on CD-R discs at a top speed of 8x (writing a 650 MB CD in 9 minutes) and reads CDs at a maximum rate of 24x. It also benefits from Yamahais exclusive PurePhase(TM) Laser System (Pat. Pending), which eliminates the glare and reflections created on the surface of the disc while burning a CD.
The CRW8824SXZ uses high performance 8x CD-R and CD-RW media for optimum recording. While blank 8x high performance CD-R discs are widely available in the marketplace, Yamaha and other leading manufacturers have introduced a new breed of 8x rewritable media, capable of reliable 8x rewriting at a cost only slightly higher than quality 4x certified CD-RW media.
The external CRW8824SXZ joins the internal format ATAPTI (E-IDE) CRW8824EZ and the Ultra SCSI CRW8824SZ as the third product in Yamahais new family of CRW8824 CD-RW Recorders. In late August, Yamaha will ship the external CRW8824FXZ using IEEE 1394 FireWire(TM) technology. Since the late 1980s, Yamaha has been the leader in CD-recorder development, producing high performance recorders, which are considered to be industry standards. The company introduced the first programmable CD-recording system in 1988, the first 2x speed CD recording system in 1990, the first 4x half-height CD-R drive in 1993, the first 4x speed writing CD ReWritable drive in 1997 and the first 4x speed rewriting CD-ReWritable drive in 1998.
The new unit is priced at US$299 and Yamaha is shipping the device now. You can find more information on the product at Yamahais Web site.