Europe's first independent replicator to have acquired HD DVD pressing lines, QOL is also now the first French company to be equipped for Blu-ray Disc replication.

QOL and its R&D subsidiary QOL TECH have invested over €8 million to set up the BD mastering, testing and replication line. The equipment, from Singulus, should arrive at the Vernouillet plant, near Paris, by the end of the month.

"We decided on Singulus because of the proven Blu-ray single layer technology and have also chosen the dual layer upgrade which will be delivered in a few months' time," says CEO Laurent Villaume (pictured). "We run many Spaceline machines for our DVD and HD DVD production."

The new replication line gives the company a pressing capacity of 300,000 Blu-ray discs a month. The company already manufactures 1,5 million HD DVD disc a month. As for planning, the turnaround for BD testing from a hard disc drive is eight days whereas HD DVD testing takes three days. Manufacturing, packaging and delivery add five days to a process "100 percent European-originated," says Villaume.

QOL is fully AACS licensed – which costs $25,000 to obtain plus $1,500 per title key. AACS is mandatory on BD titles, but optional on HD DVD titles.

Before QOL – and Germany's Infodisc that has recently ordered Oerlikon line – Salzburg-based Sony DADC was the only Blu-ray Disc replicator in Europe. A third company, as yet unnamed, is also about to offer BD pressing on Singulus equipment.

Content publishers are yet to make full use of the much-touted 50GB capability of the dual-layer Blu-ray Disc. According to Villaume, out of the initial dozen BD titles QOL is producing, only one requires capacity greater than the 25GB offered by a single-layer BD disc.

Last year, QOL produced the first HD DVD in Europe, the movie 2046, as well as the first 'Certified THX' HD DVD in the world – Pan's Labyrinth.

Story filed 23.09.07