Why buy a 12x burner when 16x are just around the corner?

According to www.cdfreaks.com......

While some companies (like Plextor) will offer 12x DVD burners most will skip this speed and go direct for 16x speed for their next DVD burners. According to Digitimes several drive manufacturers prepare to start volume production of 16x DVD burners already by the end of this quarter.

According to Taiwanese producers, Japanese companies, including Pioneer, NEC and Ricoh, are scheduled to launch 16x DVD burners by the end of the second quarter, or the beginning of the third. Taiwanese makers have been concentrating their R&D resources on developing 16X DVD burners in order to keep abreast of Japanese competitors.

Taiwanese companies appear to be competitive with Japanese companies in time to market for 16x DVD burners, partly because some Japanese brands have already stopped producing DVD burners themselves, and are assisting their Taiwanese OEMs with R&D. Another reason is that Mediatek, a leading IC design house in Taiwan, will offer 16x chipsets ahead of schedule, the Taiwanese makers indicated.

It remains to be seen if you really will be able to burn at 16x speed (with good results) when the drives show up as 16x media probably won’t be available before Q4 this year at the earliest so media certified only for slower speeds will have to be used.