The Blu-ray market got a further boost this week when data storage firm Maxell announced that it will begin shipping 8cm Blu-ray BD-R write-once and BD-RE rewritable discs for the high-definition camcorder market.

Maxell's discs are compatible with the latest Blu-ray camcorders, providing a recording capacity of 7.5GB and allowing the disc to store one hour of full high-definition picture quality at 1920 x 1080 pixels.

The discs feature a special HG hard coat technology layer to protect the recording surface from scratches, dust and fingerprints which can cause playback errors in camcorder media.

The Maxell 8cm Blu-ray discs will be available in the US in September to coincide with the release of Hitachi's Blu-ray camcorders. Discs will retail for $24.99 for the write-once single sided disc and $34.99 for the rewritable version.

"As people see their home movies with richer texture, images and sound as a result of HD technologies available on the market, they will not turn back," said Don Patrican, vice president of sales and marketing at Maxell Corporation of America.

"With this latest addition of recordable Blu-ray media for camcorders, our category expertise allows us to help our customers navigate the latest HD technologies ensuring they have the right products at retail stores."