Precious Memories Saved With New Pioneer DVD Writers

Digital Scrapbooks Help to Preserve and Share as Consumers Amass Digital Memories

Industry analysts reported a 50 percent increase in digital camera sales in 2002 and total unit sales were expected to reach 14.3 million by the end of 2003. Needless to say, consumers are amassing hundreds of thousands of digital memories. Rather than allowing photos and home videos to go unwatched or hassling with the mess and expense of printing hundreds of photos, Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. suggests preserving memories in a simple format that is both shareable and durable – a Digital Scrapbook on DVD.

“Digital scrapbooking is a creative application of DVD recording technology that appeals to consumers who are already familiar with 'traditional' scrapbooking,” said Andy Parsons, senior vice president at Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc., “Enthusiastic digital camera users can even create simple photo slide shows that can play on the TV in their living room for everyone to enjoy.”

DVD writers replace the glue and scissors of a traditional scrapbook and allow for even greater creativity with music, menus, clip art and special effects. Many new computers, such as the Apple PowerMac G5, come equipped with a DVD recording drive. However, if a new computer is not in the budget, for under $300 consumers can add an easy-to-use external DVD drive to an existing computer.

In 2003, Pioneer delivered the DVR-S606 and DVR-SK12D, their first external DVD writers. Both units offer recording in multiple formats as well as quick connection through a standard IEEE 1394 (Firewire) or USB 2.0 port. Pioneer DVD writers also include software to make it easy for users to import content, record and edit video, author DVDs, create digital photo albums or slide shows, play movies and test recorded DVDs.

Pioneer's DVR-S606 is a sleek DVD recorder that can sit vertically or horizontally next to the computer. For a suggested retail price of $299, this external writer enables high-speed recording of up to 4x write speed with high-speed DVD-R discs, 2x with high-speed DVD-RW discs, 4x with high-speed +R media, and 2.4x with +RW media.

The DVR-SK12D slim DVD is a stylish partner for laptop computers enabling DVD/CD recording on the go. The new drive is 138 x 22 x 162mm and weighs just over one pound. The high speed recording of up to 2x write speed with high-speed DVD-R and DVD-RW discs, 2.4x write speed with high-speed +R and +RW media is available for a suggested retail price of $349.

“We use an external DVD burner with our Mac and have gotten pretty good at creating home movies and slide shows,” said Hope Rufrano, a fan of DVD scrapbooking. “The end result is usually a combination of video and still images with some fun background music that makes sense for the event. Now, half the fun of taking pictures is figuring out how we're going to edit them together to create a new DVD.”