[Maxell launches the Removable Hard Disk Drive iV, the world's first iVDR capable of recording copyright protected high-def content without quality loss.]

-- Hitachi Maxell, Ltd. today announced the launch of its Removable Hard Disk Drive iV, the world’s first iVDR standard hard disk drive capable of recording copyright protected High Definition (HD) content without quality loss.

In recent years, as terrestrial digital broadcasting has become more commonplace, HD video content has become more widespread. Recording long HD broadcasts requires a lot of storage space. Moreover, recording copyright protected digital content or moving it from a recorder or other internal hard disks requires media capable of copyright protection.

The small Removable Hard Disk Drive iV fits in the palm of the hand, and yet features a maximum capacity of 160 GB of data storage and a data transfer rate of 540 Mbit/s. Employing SAFIA copyright protection technology, Removable Hard Disk Drive iV is a new iVDR-Secure type media ideal for recording and transferring HD and SD (Standard Definition) content. Compatible with copyright protected content, Removable Hard Disk Drive iV is being launched for use with Hitachi’s Wooo flat-panel TV, which features the iVDR-compatible slot iV Pocket and is the world’s first appliance employing iVDR.

The iVDR Consortium was established in March 2002 and now consists of more than 50 companies promoting the iVDR standard. With this, the diffusion of iVDR-compatible devices is expected to increase dramatically. These iVDR devices will be used as bridge media to record HD and SD content that can then be viewed on a player or in a car, for example. With this vision of the future, Maxell has designed the Removable Hard Disk Drive iV with a glass-fiber plastic cartridge housing that protects vital internal parts while withstanding a wide range of ambient temperatures. The drive’s shock resistance characteristics have also been improved to boost its ability to withstand external shocks that may occur with normal use.

Maxell is to release an 80 GB model and a 160 GB model. Both come with storage cases. The packaging carries the following statement: “Removable hard disk drive can record copyright protected HD content without quality loss.”

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