Tokyo, JAPAN, April 18, 2005 - TDK Corporation today announced that it has reached a licensing agreement with Sony for TDK to begin manufacturing and distributing TDK Professional Disc (PD-RE23CN) media, rewritable optical discs that provide compatibility with Sony’s Professional Disc™ System (XDCAM™). The new TDK Professional Disc media will launch worldwide in June 2005.

The TDK Professional Disc, which uses a blue-violet laser with a short wavelength for recording and playback, boasts a capacity of 23.3GB – approximately five times that of DVD media – as well as a rapid transfer rate of 72Mbps. Thanks to its random data access capability and other features available only from optical disc media, it can be expected to find growing acceptance in broadcasting applications.

In the development of its Professional Disc, TDK, a world leader in specialty recording media manufacturing, has incorporated technologies specifically developed for use with the advanced blue-violet laser. These technologies include the recording materials and recording layer that form the basis for its performance utilizing high-sensitivity phase change materials and a layer structure designed exclusively for high-speed recording. Through high-precision spin coating technology, discs are manufactured with an extremely smooth 0.1mm-thick transparent cover layer. In addition, to accommodate the disc’s extremely narrow track pitch, high-precision mastering and injection technology achieve the exceptionally accurate recording and playback stability demanded by the Professional Disc System.

Due to the high-density recording required by the Professional Disc System, adherence of any dust on, or scratches to the disc surface can have a serious impact on recording and playback accuracy. By utilizing TDK’s DURABIS PRO^*2, a hard coating technology developed for professional-use discs, TDK’s Professional Disc offers extremely high durability and recording reliability.