IRVINE, Calif., September 15, 1997 - Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Disk Products Division (TAIS DPD) today introduced the SD-C2002, the industry's first slim-line DVD-ROM drive. Toshiba, the leading developer of DVD-ROM technology, will begin quantity shipments of the SD-C2002 DVD-ROM drive in the United States this month to notebook manufacturers.

"By bringing DVD-ROM in a slimline form factor to notebook computer manufacturers, we are enabling our customers to take mobile computing to a new level," said Maciek Brzeski, director, Optical Business Unit, TAIS DPD. "The SD-C2002 will be the drive of choice for high-end notebook computer manufacturers designing in DVD-ROM for their Winter '97 and Spring '98 lines."

Toshiba's SD-C2002 employs Constant Angular Velocity (CAV) disk rotation to enable fast data transfers from any place on the disc. With the constant rotation speed of CAV, the drive is able to read the inner and outer tracks of data on the media at different speeds. The result is the SD-C2002's unprecedented data transfer rate of 2,700Kbps for DVD media, and 2,400Kbps for CD media. It also supports synchronous burst transfers of 16.7MB/sec. under DMA multi-word Mode-2 and PIO Mode 4. For optimized data transfers, the SD-C2002 drive features a 128KB buffer.

In addition to its fast data transfer, the new internal SD-C2002 drive offers an impressive 110ms average random seek and a 180ms average random access when playing DVD media. When accessing CD media, the SD-C2002 provides a 110ms average random seek and a 120ms average random access.

Toshiba's new line of DVD-ROM drives boasts the same leading performance and reliability attributes that have made Toshiba's CD-ROM drives the drives of choice for computer manufacturers worldwide. The new SD-C2002 offers a 60,000 hour Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF).

The SD-C2002 was engineered to meet the precise demands for mobile computing. The SD-C2002 drive was designed for low power consumption: it operates on an average power consumption of only 3.0 watts, with a maximum consumption of 3.3 watts. As a result, it offers longer battery life and generates less heat during operation. To further ensure compatibility with leading notebook computers, the SD-C2002 was developed with an ATAPI interface.

Toshiba's ability to bring to market the industry's first slim-line DVD-ROM drive is due to the company's leading electronics technologies. Specifically, Toshiba employed a low-profile optical pick-up head and a thin disc motor combined with new thinly-packaged ICs. These technology advancements enabled Toshiba to develop the new SD-C2002 slimline DVD-ROM drive which measures a slim 17mm (h) x 128mm (w) x 133mm (d) [0.66in (h) x 5.0in (w) x 5.25in (d)] and weighs only 380 grams [.84 pounds].

"Toshiba's high performance SD-C2002 slimline DVD-ROM drive will allow mobile computer users to take advantage of the many benefits of the new DVD technology," added Brzeski. DVD is expected to become the format of choice for full-length Hollywood or studio-produced movies, audio recording, computer and interactive games, educational applications and databases.

The SD-C2002 drive is capable of reading all types of data recorded on DVD discs - including movies, music, games and data. The drive can also read CD-ROM titles and play audio CDs, allowing consumers to continue to enjoy their existing software and music disc libraries. Plus, the SD-C2002 also reads CD-R media.

Toshiba's SD-C2002 can also access all current DVD disc storage capacities - 4.7GB (single data layer, single-sided), 8.5GB (dual data layer, single-sided), 9.4GB (single data layer, dual-sided) and 17GB (dual data layer, dual- sided) - capacities from seven to 25 times the capacity of a CD. Combined with these unprecedented disc capacities is DVD's playback support of MPEG-2 video and Dolby™ Digital Surround Sound AC-3 audio for the ultimate multimedia and computing experience.

Toshiba's SD-C2002 slim-line DVD-ROM drive will be sold to notebook computer OEMs and systems integrators. OEM pricing for the SD-C2002 begins at $250. Volume production of the drives begin this month, September 1997.

TAIS is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., with annual sales of approximately $4 billion. TAIS is comprised of nine divisions which manufacture and market a wide range of business and information-oriented products in the United States. Products include notebook and desktop computers, disk drives, CD-ROM drives, DVD drives, plain-paper copiers, facsimile systems, digital business telephone systems, voice mail, security imaging systems, industrial video products, medical, digital and PC cameras, systems solutions for the cable industry, and toner products. TAIS is an independent operating company, owned by Toshiba America, Inc., a subsidiary of the $53 billion Toshiba Corp., a world leader in high-technology products with 207 major subsidiaries and affiliates worldwide.