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	Built-in slim drives for laptops are produced in mass volumes and are highly demanding in design and manufacturing. Pioneer’s know-how goes beyond OEM-centered half-height drives, and allows for the accommodation of different requirements from PC manufacturers. We were blessed with the opportunity to create a portable drive for general consumers, and we worked hard as a team to create an innovative new product that’s comparable to the half-height drive development team’s achievements. With OEM models, we basically start the design process by incorporating the requirements of the PC manufacturers. Usually, PC manufacturers receive supplies of drives from various drive manufacturers all of which have similar specifications. That’s why unique or characteristic functions on drives tend not to be adopted. At the same time, we pursued high reliability and precision in Pioneer brand products for general consumers and commercialized them with our dedicated technologies built into them.
	In the development of the pick-up for DVR-XD08, the slim drive development team incorporated all our know-how and our compilation of DVD pick-up technologies for slim drives. To give an example, we adopted the liquid crystal aberration correction mechanism, a basic, proven device used in half-height drives that supports high recording precision. But we brought it further, improving upon the already high performance realized in half-height drives by implementing features that correct coma aberrations, astigmatism, and spherical aberration. The LC aberration correction is especially effective when recording to the outer tracks of a dual-layer disk and thus provides for stable recording. Common slim drive pick-ups use, partly due to cost factors, resin bodies. However, DVR-XD08 features a die cast aluminum body, which is reliable and dissipates heat well. Also, the position adjustment of the pick-up and disk table ensures the same level of performance as half-height drives. To achieve the optimal tilt and height based on the pick-up’s performance data, we adopted an approach in which adjustments are made with four points on the outside of the guide shaft. Speaking of adjustments, the adjustments in the production process are all automated. This way we believe that we can hone pick-up performance to perfection for each unit.
	In developing DVR-XD09J, we surveyed the products on the market. The smallest was 135 millimeters in width and 135.6 millimeters in depth (0.0183 square meters). So, we embarked on development under the mantra: Aim for the world’s smallest. Our goal was to accomplish a regular square with a width and depth of 133 millimeters (0.0177 square meters). The challenge was the depth dimension. We had to be creative about the clamshell hinges, their arrangement, and ensure their strength. We also pursued lightweight qualities so that usability is not compromised by weight, despite the compactness of the drive. Specifically, we improved the ground structure to ensure electromagnetic shielding. On the other hand, we adopted a stainless steel plate for the rigid cover but employed an aluminum bottom casing to reduce weight. We also appropriated the honeycomb pattern, a technique commonly used with half-height models, to dampen vibrations in order to ensure proper signal processing. As such, we went over everything, from mechanics to materials, and through the utilization of various approaches and ideas the world’s smallest and lightest slim drive finally came to being. With DVR-XD09J, we sought the ultimate power saving design both from the aspect of circuits as well as firmware. As a result, in almost all PCs, it can operate on bus power. Through meticulous improvements and testing under different operating conditions, including start-up sequences and seek operations, we materialized DVR-XD09 in our pursuit of a perfect balance of high performance and power saving.
	I personally always thought that silent operation should be the default for slim drives. With that, by adapting the advanced silent firmware adopted in our domestic half-height drives, DVR-S16 and BDR-S03J, we developed and embedded firmware for silent operation in slim drives. This enables automatic adjustment to the optimal speed when playing movie DVDs or music on CDs, which prevents whirs that may distract the viewer from the content. DVR-XD08 comes with an auto silent mode while with DVR-XD09, users can change the operating mode using a Pioneer drive utility supplied with the drive.
	It was only natural that our newest portable slim drives should be equipped with Pioneer's exclusive PureRead feature, which plays CD sounds with their original quality, and the PowerRead function that allows for smooth DVD video playback. DVR-XD08 uses PowerRead and PureRead while DVR-XD09 implements PureRead.
	Compared to half-height drives, efficient heat dissipation is key to slim drives to a greater extent due to their smaller size. Conventional models only offered heat dissipation on one side of the case, but DVR-XD08 and DVR-XD09 employ a design that releases heat from both the top and bottom of the case, their increased heat dissipation area resulting in better temperature reduction. We expect this feature to be conductive to long-term reliability and improved stability. The laptop drive built-in models for OEM applications, which share the drive and basic components adopted in portable drives, are already delivered and introduced prior to the Pioneer brand models. So we asked our sales representative who deals with the largest number of OEM products about how our products are received at OEM manufacturers. According to her, their response was that a great number of units are used at the OEMs and they are reputable for their proven reliability and stability, which we, the developers, were relieved to hear. We proudly and confidently present our highly functional, high-performance portable drive DVR-XD08 to which we added Pioneer’s original functions, and the world’s smallest and lightest drive, the DVR-XD09.