Maxell Corporation of America has introduced an optical media disk for XDCAM high-definition video systems. This new media is designed to meet the needs of the increasingly popular direct-to-disk tapeless recording segment within the professional video and broadcast market.

The disk media combines high-capacity storage, fast transfer rates and rugged characteristics making it extremely reliable for the rigorous demands of the professional video and broadcast environment. For XDCAM systems it employs a high-precision, polycarbonate plastic cartridge to protect the media from dust, scratches and fingerprints and to eliminate handling errors caused by heavy use.

Offering 23.3 GB of storage capacity, the new rewritable disk media provides up to 122 minutes of record/playback time in the HD format (MPEG HD LP mode), more than 65 minutes in the HD format (MPEG HD HQ mode), approximately 45 minutes at 50 Mb/s in the SD format (MPEG IMX) and up to 85 minutes in the SD format (DVCAM).

In addition, the XDCAM disk media delivers a transfer rate of 72 Mb/s with one optical head and 144 Mb/s with two optical heads. The disk features a unique phase-change recording layer that creates a highly durable recording surface, low error rate and the ability to capture 1080i video and four tracks of audio. It also provides the convenience of file-based recording and fast random access.

Maxell will display the new disk for XDCAM systems at NAB 2007 in Las Vegas, April 16-19.