hardware. - New CD-R drives, database servers, and interfaces

Emedia Professional, May, 1999

ACS, Memorex, Pinnacle Join Ricoh in 4X CD-RW Fray

The 4X CD-RW momentum started by Ricoh and Verbatim in March shows no signs of slowing with new 4X drives from ACS, Memorex, and Pinnacle joining the race. All feature 2MB buffers, store up to 650MB of data, and can write and rewrite CD-RW media at 600KB/sec--until recently an unprecedented feat.

ACS' COMPRO 4X4X16 CD-RW Kit includes a high-performance Yamaha 4/4/16 drive offering 16X read speeds and 4X write and rewrite speeds. The internal drive boasts a data transfer rate of 150 to 2400KB/sec, a burst transfer rate of up to 13.3MB/sec, and reads and writes seven different CD formats. Priced at $399, the drive also supports incremental packet writing for data storage applications.

(ACS Innovations, Inc., 3171 Jay Street, Santa Clara, CA 95054; 408/566-0900; Fax 408/566-0909; http://www.acscompro.com)

Memtek Products has introduced the Memorex CDRW-4420, a 4X rewritable drive boasting read speeds of 20X. The CDRW-4420 is a multifunction drive featuring an EIDE interface for easy PC installation. It's bundled with NTI's CD mastering and backup software, which provides drag-and-drop ease, as well as plug-and-play compatibility. Like the ACS drive, it has a 2MB data buffer memory and stores up to 650MB of information. The CDRW-4420, like other drives in the Memorex product line, reads and writes all major CD formats and includes a blank Memorex CD-RW disc. It's priced at $349.99.

(Memtek Products, Inc., 10100 Pioneer Boulevard, Suite 110, Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670; 562/906-2800; Fax 562/906-2848; http://www.memorex.com)

Pinnacle Micro is targeting both corporate and consumer markets with its internal 4X CD-RW drive. The RW 4420A ships with CD premastering, packet writing, and digital audio recording software, as well as a backup program, cables, and CD-R and RW media. The internal EIDE drive supports track-at-once, disc-at-once, multisession, and packet writing recording, and mounts in any 5.25-inch bay. It lists for $379.

(Pinnacle Micro, Inc., 19 Technology, Irvine, CA 92618; 800/553-7070, 949/789-3000; Fax 949/789-3150; http://www.pinnaclemicro.com)

Sony Launches CD-RW Drives with USB and i.LINK Interfaces

Sony has announced that its CD-RW drives will incorporate the popular USB interface and the emerging i.LINK (IEEE 1394) interface. The new Spressa USB drive supports write speeds of 4X, plus a maximum read performance of 6X for CD-ROM. The Spressa USB drives come with CD creation software including: Sony Discribe for Macs, Sony HotBurn for PCs, and CD Stomper labeling software.

The Spressa i.LINK drive is hot-pluggable. It supports 4X recording of CD-R and CD-RW discs and CD-ROM maximum reading performance of 24X. i.LINK technology allows other multimedia peripherals, including digital video and still cameras, to be daisychained. The Spressa i.LINK comes bundled with Discribe and CD Stomper Pro, as well as Retrospect Express backup software for Macs.

Both Spressa kits come complete with an external drive, Sony's CO Creation software bundle, one blank CD-RW and CD-R disc, a USB or i.LINK data cable, AC power cord, user guide, and quick start card. The Sony Spressa USB drive has a suggested list price of $399; the Spressa i.LINK drive's suggested retail price is $499.

(Sony Electronics Inc., 3300 Zanker Road, San Jose, CA 95134-1901; 408/955-5036; Fax 408/955-6560; http://www.sony.com)

Procom Expands its NetForce NAS Solutions

Procom recently unveiled several new additions to its NetFORCE NAS group designed for workgroup file serving/sharing and data applications. The NetFORCE 2000 and 2200 are scalable data servers for multiprotocol environments, optimized for network file services in conjunction with a RAID storage subsystem. The 2000 features a 10-bay storage subsystem providing raw storage of 180GB. The higher-capacity 2200 accommodates up to 900GB and features a RAID controller architecture designed to boost performance and data availability. Instead of providing a standby controller, the 2200 uses both controllers at all times, effectively doubling the throughput of the RAID module.

Procom has also released the NetFORCE 100B, a rack-mounted version of the NetFORCE 100 RAID system introduced last year. Procom's new DataFORCE 250 and 275 CD-ROM networking systems support up to 275 CDs running at hard drive speeds across multiple platforms. Its available capacities range from 6.4GB hard disk capacity with formatted capacity of 10MB per drive to 50GB hard disk capacity with formatted capacity of 75MB per drive. MSRP pricing starts at $8,592.

(Procom Technology, 1821 East Dyer Road, Santa Ana, CA 92705-5700; 949/852-1000; Fax 949/952-1221; http://www.procom.com)

Medea Unveils 100GB Capacity VideoRaid SCSI Solution

Medea has announced a new 100GB capacity VideoRaid SCSI disk array. This four-drive, high-speed RAID solution for Mac, SGI, and Windows-based non-linear editing systems delivers a sustained data transfer rate of 36MB/sec--more than enough performance to support dual-stream, real-time effects systems. Called VideoRaid 4/100 SCSI, the system utilizes IBM Corporation's new DesStar 25GB disk drives and can store more than four hours of broadcast-quality video footage. VideoRaid 4/100 SCSI supports all popular video editing systems from companies including Avid, Canopus, DPS, Fast, Media 10, NewYec, Pinnacle Systems, and Radius. The VideoRaid 4/100 SCSI will sell for approximately $4,500.