Good News and Bad News about personal recording

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October 23, 2006

PRESS RELEASE

For immediate release

International Disc Duplicating Association and MEDIA-TECH Association agree to close collaboration

Association symbolizes convergence of markets & technologies in Optical Media and Flash devices.

The International Disc Duplicating Association (IDDA), which represents the digital content media duplicating industry has agreed to join forces with the Media-Tech Association (MTA) which represents the optical disc media manufacturing industry.

In an industry experiencing rapid change, working together will assist members of both associations adapt to new developments. The MTA will promote their MEDIA-TECH trade shows to suppliers to the media duplicating industry, and the IDDA will promote attendance at these trade shows to the fast growing media duplicating industry. Additionally the MTA will provide administrative resources to the IDDA, supporting the IDDA Board in their efforts to grow the IDDA. Both organizations will maintain their own identities and management boards.

“The MTA has the resources and manpower to assist the IDDA with administration and marketing, while there are thousands of media duplicators worldwide who would benefit from being able to share in the resources of the two groups,” stated Bernhard Kirschner, President and Founder of the IDDA. “We are a fast growing group with a keen management board who want to see our industry and its members flourish.”
Said Bryan Ekus, Managing Director of the MEDIA-TECH Association. “I am very enthusiastic to work with the IDDA to create new opportunities for all of our members. Our cooperation will help to further expand the scope of our association’s activities in the fast-growing field of duplication. This new partnership will be an important part of the on-going expansion of the MEDIA-TECH events into new storage technologies as well as new product groups”

The MTA provides the industry with a program of trade shows and conferences where the exchange of ideas can take place, along with the demonstration of the latest in technology - from services to equipment. Through events such as these, everyone from engineer to CEO can continue to be fully informed and gain the competitive advantage within this ever-changing marketplace.
The IDDA promotes knowledge exchange and networking amongst its members and arranges special offers, such as discounts on equipment and services. Annual IDDA conferences have been typically very open and informal where members have had opportunities to share experiences and solutions in the networking sessions.

Boundaries between the digital content physical media manufacturing and duplicating industries are becoming blurred; with the cost of media and equipment falling, longer runs are more economical. New printing technologies, higher quality media and more shared knowledge are allowing duplicators who record onto recordable media and replicators who manufacture the media to work closer together.

The next MEDIA-TECH Expo and IDDA conference will take place from May 15-17, 2007 at the Long Beach Convention Center, California. It will be the forum for the media industry to launch the latest production machines, equipment, and materials for optical and magnetic storage as well solid-state memory.

For more information about the IDDA, its membership list, aims, etc see http://www.discdupe.org.

More information about the MEDIA-TECH Association is available at http://www.media-tech.net.

ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL DISC DUPLICATING ASSOCIATION

The INTERNATIONAL DISC DUPLICATING ASSOCIATION - (IDDA) is an international organization advocating matters of interest to the CD, DVD & Flash media duplicating industry.
The IDDA, with over 200 members worldwide, (including 80 new members in 2005/2006), represents the interests of optical disc & flash media duplicators, acting as a forum for organizations involved in the business of commercial recording onto recordable media formats, including CD-R, DVD-/+R and solid state memory.
The IDDA works with suppliers on meeting the needs of the members, and encourages both duplicators and equipment and service suppliers to join the IDDA and work together promoting technologies that can lead to growth of the Disc and Media Duplicating Industry.
The IDDA is concerned with ethics, definitions, media royalty charges, media quality, disc printing solutions, copy protection, and equipment reliability.

The IDDA has organized past successful conferences for RepliTECH, DCD, EMX, and MEDIA-TECH, and has recently associated itself with the MEDIA-TECH Association.
For more information contact Bernhard Kirschner at brk@discdupe.org.

ABOUT THE MEDIA-TECH ASSOCIATION

The MEDIA-TECH Association is a body created in 2001 to serve every facet of the optical and removable storage media manufacturing industry, spanning the range from all current formats of optical discs and magnetic media to future formats such as HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc.

MEDIA-TECH Association is expanding in several directions to offer its members a wide range of new activities and opportunities. It is expanding horizontally by broadening the scope of the event: From now on, it will focus on Optical Media as well as Magnetic Media and Solid State Memory, thus following the trend in international consumer markets using digital recorders, players, and receivers with different types of storage media. It will also expand vertically to include media related topics in the program by incorporating new product groups for Content Creation, Duplication, Manufacturing, Digital Printing, Packaging, and Supply Chain/RFID.

Member companies of the Association range from content owners and licensees through designers and software developers, to raw material and equipment manufacturers. They are involved in the entertainment industry; the games market; data storage innovations; plastics technology; injection moulding; quality assurance; printing, packing, wrapping and distribution; sales and marketing; and many other areas of expertise within the media manufacturing industry.

Represented in Europe, Asia, and the Americas, the MEDIA-TECH Association aims at providing its members with a forum for information, discussion, and exchange of ideas, as well as ways to develop business opportunities and strategic partnerships. Another premier goal is the assurance that the industry as a whole continues to grow and stay dynamic.

-RELEASE ENDS-