YAMAHA'S ALL-NEW CRW-F1, THE ULTIMATE HIGH QUALITY CD-RECORDER WINS CNET'S EDITOR'S CHOICE AWARD!

—New DiscT@2 Technology Allows Users to Burn Graphics and Text Directly onto CDs—

BUENA PARK, CA (August 23, 2002)—Yamaha Electronics Corporation ushers CD recording into a new era with the announcement of its CRW-F1. In a recent review the CRW-F1 won CNET's top honor, the Editor's Choice Award. (Read the Review) The Yamaha CRW-2200, 20X CDRW also took the honor when it was first released. The newest addition to Yamaha's growing award-winning family of top-of-the-line optical recorders is the first CD recorder to offer the revolutionary DiscT@2TM Laser Labeling System, which allows graphics and text to be burnt onto any CD-R disc, eliminating the need for labels.

The Ultimate CD Recorder

The CRW-F1 is also the first CD recorder ever to offer 24X CD-RW ReWriting. With full Mt. Rainer support, the CRW-F1 burns CD-RW discs at up to 24X thus reducing the time for your overall rewriting experience by 50% compared to the fastest CD-RW record speeds available in the market today. In addition, with Yamaha's CD-RW Audio Track Edit system, there is no longer a need to erase an entire CD-RW disc to add a track or file to the disc, further facilitating and expanding the uses of CD-RW discs.

Also featured is Yamaha's exclusive Advanced Audio Master Quality Recording System for mastering studio-quality audio and data CDs anywhere. In addition, unlike most high speed (40X+) CD recorders, the CRW-F1 records both audio and data at top speeds while maintaining the highest quality and standards, rivaling commercial CD recording machines.

"The CRW-F1 offers features never seen before in consumer or professional CD recording," states Allen H. Gharapetian, general manager, Yamaha Multimedia Products Division. "While the CRW-F1's ability to burn graphics and text directly onto CDs is revolutionary, it's the burner's seamless ultra high speed recording technology, as well as its host of other exclusive features that make this recorder one of the fastest – and most innovative – recorders to ever hit the industry."

Revolutionary DiscT@2

Mt. Rainier support adds true drag-and-drop CD rewriting and on-the-fly formatting to CD-RW creation in PC and MAC operating systems such as Microsoft Windows XP™ and OSX, making the CD-RW the ideal floppy disk replacement. The need to install separate CD-mastering software or a hardware driver is a thing of the past as Yamaha's CRW-F1 is able to write to a CD as easily as a floppy disc drive.

In addition, the exclusive new Advanced Audio Master Quality Recording System, designed by Yamaha, guarantees the best possible audio or data recording quality on conventional 74 or 80-minute CD-R discs, as well as new 90 and 99-minute discs. When Audio Master recording mode is enabled, the system widens the lands and the pits, significantly reducing jitter created during CD-R recording, improving audio and music recording quality to a level rivaling professionally prepared music CDs. In addition, CD recordings performed using the new Advanced Audio Master Quality Recording deliver superior durability and longer life, especially for recorded discs used or stored under extreme conditions.

CRW-F1 CD recorder also features 8MB of buffer memory (4 times larger than industry standard); Yamaha's exclusive Safe-Burn technology, which eliminates buffer underruns and allows for maximum reliability while multitasking; Yamaha's PurePhase Laser System, which reduces jitters while recording by 25%, the ability to read and rip audio at 44X; easy plug-and-play installation, Multi-OS support including Microsoft Windows XP; and the world's most advanced high-quality Full-CAV technology designed to guarantee maximum performance and reliability.

The adaptation of the Full-CAV (Full Constant Angular Velocity) technology enables the Yamaha CRW-F1 to burn a full 80-minute CD-R disc in just 163 seconds, quicker than any 48X CD-Recorder using the conventional Zone-CLV speed shifting technology, while delivering impeccable quality, playback reliability and a longer life expectancy.

The CRW-F1 is designed with a high-tech blue ice LED indicator light which lights up when recording and will change to a purple-white (fluorescent) color when the drive is idle.

The CRW-F1 retail bundle includes an impressive software suite to provide a top-quality burning experience, featuring full-versions of software from Nero, Adobe, and Dantz, as well as a custom-designed version of the popular MusicMatch.

"The practical applications of a CD-Recorder and the quality of CDs recorded mean a lot to Yamaha," states Gharapetian. "That's why we believe consumers would appreciate the exclusive features built into the CRW-F1 such as the new and exciting DiscT@2 labeling system, the Advanced Audio Master, the CD-RW track edit mode, and the full versions of the software they need to get the most out of their overall experience."

CRW-F1 models include the internal E-IDE CRW-F1ZE; the CRW-F1ZEN; E-IDE in black, the CRW-F1ZS, internal SCSI, and also in black; the CRW-F1ZSN. Other members of Yamaha's CRW-F1 family include: the external CRW-F1ZSX using Ultra SCSI interface; the external dual interface CRW-F1ZDX using IEEE 1394 FireWire™ + USB 2.0 technology and the external CRW-F1ZUX using USB 2.0 interface. The FireWire and USB 2.0 connections provide simple installation, reliable performance and fast recording speeds. All models are compatible with IBM PC. The external drives are also compatible with Macintosh computers.

For product and sales information, contact Yamaha Electronics Corporation, Multimedia Products Division, 6660 Orangethorpe Avenue, Buena Park, CA 90620; www.yamaha.com; telephone (714) 522-9011.