Tokyo (Japan) - Panasonic claims that it is first to have succeeded in developing 6x Blu-ray write-once media, featuring a stunning data transfer speed of 216 Mbit/sec., which is almost 30-percent faster than a 16x DVD and almost four times quicker than a 48x CD drive.

The race to increase data reading and recording speeds on optical media has hit another milestone as Panasonic said that it will be rolling out 6X BD-R media in July. 6X translates into a data transfer rate of 6 x 36 Mbit/sec. or a total of 216 Mbit/sec. (roughly 27MB/sec).

Compared to previous optical media, the media are substantially faster than 16x DVDs, which achieved 169 Mbit/sec. (21.1 MB/sec.) and 48X CDs that offered a maximum transfer rate of 56 Mbit/sec. (7 MB/sec.). The next speed upgrade, however, is already on the horizon. Researchers are looking for ways to enable optical discs at up to 15,000 rpm (current discs support a maximum of 10,000 rpm) and data transfer rates of up to 250 Mbit/sec.

There are no changes in terms of capacity: The 6x Media will be offered in 25 GB and 50 GB versions. However, Panasonic limits the availability of these media initially to Japan and said that it plans to commercialize 6x media in Japan by the end of September 2008.