Yamaha Officially Discontinues CD-RW Recorder Product Line

[joepic]

Yamaha, one of the biggest innovators in the optical storage industry, has officially announced that they are getting out of the business. While they will continue to produce speakers and headphones, they have discontinued their entire CD-RW product line.

Citing uncharacteristically rapid price erosions, continuing market difficulties, and the highly volatile competitive environment, Yamaha Electronics Corporation stated today that the company is discontinuing its sales and marketing of computer-based CD-RW Recorders.

Yamaha will continue to market its other Multimedia offerings, including computer speakers, computer receivers, headphones, and CD-R/RW media, and provide CD-RW drives for music and audio applications.

Technical support and warranty service for all Yamaha CD Recorders will continue uninterrupted for the full warranty period.

What about the future of Yamaha's DVD writer? Unfortunately, that too has been cancelled.

For product and sales information, contact Yamaha Electronics Corporation, Multimedia Products Division, 6660 Orangethorpe Avenue, Buena Park, CA 90620; www.yamahamultimedia.com; telephone (714) 522-9011.

[MOVIEGEEK]

I think CD writers will be phased out by most manufactuers in the coming years replaced by DVD writers due to the profit margin.Dell released a statement stating that it won't add a 3.5" floppy drive on new computers unless asked for.
Yamaha is a huge corporation that makes gas and diesel engines,motorcycles,musical instruments,sound equipment,etc.

[jolo]

MOVIEGEEK,

I understand what you are saying, bit I don't see CD writers being phased out for a long time. Look how long floppies have been around and they are still needed in most PCs.

I have no doubt about the profit margin being bigger on DVD technology, but that is one of the reasons it will be a while before DVD takes over. The way I see it, it looks like it will be several years before DVD media and DVD drives start selling more than CD drives.The RIAA would like that to happen as well. Here are some reasons:

1. Cost of Media
2. Reliability of media, versus CD
3. Cost of high speed CD writers versus DVD writers
4. Reliability of burning software and there are SO many that work well.
5. STANDARDIZATION
6. Better compression for multi-media being available, like Divx 4 which is about to become available on standalone DVD players.
7. DVD writers are able to do CD burning at about 1/2 the speed of newer CD burners.
8. Portable music CD players if anything are moving toward MP3, not DVD.

Right now, the CD technology is cheap, cheap, cheap and highly reliable.
DVD for home use is not close yet.

I for one have a DVD reader in my PC, but for me, SVCD is working well on media that cost about .25 a piece. I would really love to have a DVD writer, especially for archiving, but I am going to wait I think for the next generation of writers, which hopefully will be less costly, burn CDs faster, blank media that's less expensive less costly writers that can do all DVD and CD formats.

I also think that the economy in the US is slowing a lot of progress tremendously. Cost is a huge issue and with so many jobs being shipped out of the U.S., less people are there who can afford to consume these newer technologies.

Jon

[Martok]

Having owned many fine Yamaha products, I purchased my first burner from Yamaha.

It is a very good thing I live just down the street from their service center, as their burners have a VERY poor service record.

I got to know some of the staff on a first name basis, as did some of my friends.

I would have to say, from personal experiance, the real reason they are dropping the line is...THEY CAN'T BUILD A DECENT CD BURNER.

When my 3rd replacement was near the end of it's short life, I replaced it with an ACER 12x. The system ran SOOOO much better, and the new unit didn't take 1-2 mins. to recognize the CD I had put in it.

[adam]

Martok I think you may have just had some bad luck. All in all, Yamaha is, or I guess was, regarded as one of the highest quality burner manufacturers in the market. I know mine has never given me any problems.

As the article stated, Yamaha's decision has nothing to do with any purported shifting of interests towards dvd burning, either by Yamaha or the public. It was a highly competitive field, it took alot of their resources to remain competitive, and they would rather concentrate on other things.

[Martok]

Adam,

Bad luck is one thing, but 4 out of 4 units in 1 year...my Acer lasted through 2 computers.

3 friends had the same problems with 2 different models.

As for their musical instraments, my Favorite bass is my Yamaha fretless.

[Gargantuan]

When I first started burning a few years ago, everybody was saying to get a Yamaha. Yamaha's quality at first was the best, but I think as the computer industry has become proliferated with companies making cd writers(and the same thing is starting to happen with dvd writers) people were able to make better drives cheaper. Yamaha realizes that, and they'll never sell a top of the line Yamaha drive for less than $100.

[NightWing]

Was the 4x or was it the 2x would go out of alingment on the head due to the glue melting?

Would not supprise me that other will start to pull. When you can get a hotrod burrner for under 80 and more if rebates are used why. Even saw a noname after all to go for 25 dollars! The other problem is they have reached max speed of 52x. It like folding a pice of paper. After 7 to 9 time its impossible to fold in half again.

I guess the last straw was the Tatoo drive at 40x. Was to be the last CD-R/RW drive you would need to buy. From them I guess it was true in a strange sort of way. It was a nice trick but usless and the other just speed past them.

After you burn you first DVD data a CD feels like a floppy! A 720k floppy.

[adam]

Martok they make pretty decent low end acoustic guitars as well. Nice to hear someone actually plays fretless bass, that takes real talent.

[Greg12]

The RIAA would like that to happen as well. Here are some reasons:

Why? DVD burners still write to CD's.


Also, if we made DVD walkmen, we could fit more songs on one diskl.