In one relatively short pre-CeBIT press release, TDK looks to have told us more about the upcoming European launch of Blu-ray Disc burners and blank media than almost anything that's gone before.

According to the release - accessible here - disc-writing hardware and blank media should be on European store shelves next month. TDK doesn't reveal who'll be first with hardware but does say that it will be the first company to bring blanks to market and is already starting to ship single-layer 25GB write-once and rewritable Blu-ray Disc (BD) media across Europe - with dual-layer 50GB equivalents to follow in April.

The company has also given out recommended prices for all four types of its blank BD media. Cheapest of the bunch is the 25GB BD-R (write-once) blank, with an RRP of 15 Euro. Currently, that's equivalent to £10.29 and equates to 41p per Gigabyte.

Seen at a glance, the RRPs for all of TDK's BD discs are:
25GB BD-R (write-once) - 15 Euro (£10.29; and 41p per Gigabyte).
25GB BD-RE (rewritable) - 20 Euro (£13.72; and 55p per Gigabyte).
50GB BD-R (write once) - 35 Euro (£24; and 48p per Gigabyte).
50GB BD-RE (rewritable) - 45 Euro (£30.86; and 62p per Gigabyte).

Clearly, these prices mean that the cost per disc and even per Gig is far higher than for established single-layer 4.7GB DVD±R/RW blanks and also for more recent dual-layer 8.5GB media. But BD prices will fall, of course. Just how quickly will depend on a wide range of factors including the pressure exerted by the rival high-def DVD format HD DVD.

HD DVD is expected to undersell Blu-ray Disc across the board, in terms of blank media, PC-based recorders and player and set-top recorders and players. Hopefully, though, CeBIT - which runs from March 9 to March 15 - will result in some concrete facts, not just more presumptions, about HD DVD and about Blu-ray Disc.

Check out TDK's release and let us know your thoughts in the HEXUS.community.