Maxell Corporation of America has announced DVD-Rpro, a new premium line of media designed to withstand both abuse and contaminants. Maxell's new 4.7 GB DVD-Rpro media features the company's MAXPRO Hardcoat technology, producing a media surface that is 40 times more scratch-resistant and 20 times more dust resistant than standard DVD media, according of so-called standard DVDs.

The MAXPRO hard-coat surface is designed to make the DVD-Rpro media impervious to scratches that can render data unreadable, and its anti-static quality is built for harsh or dusty environments, and for applications that require frequent media handling and interchange such as jukeboxes. According to Maxell, the new protective coating is also resistant to smudges, water and fingerprints, all of which can be easily wiped off the disc. Maxell's proprietary dye further is designed to ensure data integrity and longevity.

Maxell's 8X DVD-R Pro is currently available, with 16X DVD-R Pro media planned for availability in March 2005.

www.maxell-data.com