TDK has just announced a new line of Durabis coated, Made in Japan, 16X DVD-R media. TDK released the news in Japan, but I wonder if these discs will ever make it to the US? My guess would be – probably not. The discs will be available on the Japanese market starting on February 20th.
There are many Japan-only exclusive products that are manufactured by TDK and other Japanese companies. Certain higher quality discs sometimes never leave the country and are kept for sale in the home market. This news is significant because all of the previous Durabis coated TDK media was made in Taiwan. Now optical disc enthusiasts (in Japan) will have the option of picking up this high quality, made in Japan 16X DVD-R Durabis media. More info on tdk.co.jp.
These are just TYG03 media with TDK’s hardcoat technology.
Is there any other Japan optical media manufacturer besides Taiyo Yuden and Mitsubishi?
@Muha Maxell has some of their own manufacturing lines in Japan as far as I know (from years ago), although it may be hard to find. I’ve also seen one other Japanese DVD-R manufacturer, but their quality wasn’t that phenomenal, can’t remember the name of that company offhand now.