Dec. 11, 2000

The latest on DVD technology will be on display at the Taipei International DVD & Optoelectronics Show 2001 from May 5 to 8 at the Taipei World Trade Center next year.

The show is organized by the quasi-government China External Trade Development Council (CETRA) and the Taiwan Electrical & Electronic Manufacturer's Association (TEEMA), both also organizers of the now traditional annual Taipei Electronics Shows.

The four-day highly specialized exhibition is expected to attract more than 150 exhibitors and 20,000 visitors, CETRA said. It is now inviting the industrial heavyweights of the technology line Pioneer, Hitachi, JVC , Matsushita and other leading firms to exhibit their news DVD and optoelectronics developments. In detail, the nomenclature includes optoelectronic components, optoelectronic displays, optical input/output devices, optical storage devices, communications, DVD products, digital cameras, LCDs, lasers and other optoelectronic applications.

According to statistics compiled by CETRA, Taiwan's optoelectronic industry has grown at a double digit pace in the past few years, reaching a production scale of US$ 8.5 billion last year. Taiwan’s semi-official Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) estimates that the figure will increase 70% this year to US$ 14.5 billion.

Optoelectronic displays and optical storage devices are the two major product categories in the local optoelectronic industry, CETRA said. Within these categories, Taiwan’s particularly competitive products are CD-Rs, LEDs, LCDs, and digital cameras.

ITRI's Opto-Electronics & Systems Laboratories recently developed DVD players with 100% local content. The Laboratory predicts that DVD players will replace CD-ROMs as Taiwan's top optoelectronic product.

Opto-communication is another rapid growth segment of the market, according to CETRA. Demand will be driven largely by the growing demand for high-speed broadband Internet connections. CETRA predicted that the global market for opto-communication devices will grow by over 40% this year from the US$ 29,2 billion registered last year.

Taiwan produced US$ 214 million worth of opto-communications devices last year, representing less than 1% of the world output, CETRA added.