News Details


Sony Starts Hybrid Super Audio CD Production Facilities in Europe
January 22, 2003
Salzburg, Austria, 19 January 2003 - Sony Digital Audio Disc Corporation (DADC) has announced a major investment in Super Audio CD replication facilities at its European headquarters in Salzburg, Austria. A new production line is currently being installed which will be dedicated to the production of hybrid discs. The line is scheduled to start commercial production in May 2003 with an initial monthly capacity of 500,000 discs.

The new line will provide extra production resources to Sony DADC, Salzburg, which currently has capacity to produce more than 300,000 Super Audio CD discs per month. In the period before May, Sony DADC, Salzburg is being supported by its Japanese sister company, Sony Music Manufacturing, which has a proven ability to produce up to 45,000 hybrid discs per day at its Shizuoka headquarters.

This latest news from Sony DADC, Salzburg comes at the same time as similar expansion in hybrid Super Audio CD disc production facilities in North America. This significantly increased production capacity is Sony's response to requests from record companies such as Sony Music, Universal Music, EMI and the many independents that have started large scale commercial retailing of their music on the Super Audio CD format. "There is no doubt that Super Audio CD will be successful in the future", says Johannes Stegfellner, Director Marketing and Sales at Sony DADC. "The high sound quality and unique multi-channel experience open up completely new dimensions for music labels as well as for consumers."

Although the Super Audio CD market is not yet mature, Sony DADC expects the yearly demand in Western Europe to rise to more than 100 million units by 2006. The format, which was introduced as the next generation CD-Audio, already enjoys great popularity: more than 2.5 million Super Audio CD players have been purchased by households world-wide and over 1,000 Super Audio CD titles have already been published.

Contact:

Sony DADC
For more information, please contact:
Johannes Stegfellner
Marketing and Sales Director
Email: johannes_stegfellner@sonydadc.com
Tel: +43-6246-880-505
Web: http://www.sonydadc.com