Testronic Laboratories announced it was selected to test the EcoDisc, a thinner, lighter alternative to the traditional DVD.

According to the statement, the EcoDisc, created by EcoDisc Technology AG (EDT) in 2006, uses 50% less polycarbonate, removes the need for non-biodegradable toxic resins for bonding, is 100% recyclable and produces 52% less CO2 emissions in comparison to the standard DVD format. The product was withheld from distribution until it underwent rigorous and independent quality assurance testing. During the second half of 2009 EcoDisc Technology AG selected Testronic Labs to subject the EcoDisc to a comprehensive format test to analyse function and player compatibility in the largest test environment possible.

Those tests were carried out in Burbank, California and at Testronic Labs’ European facility in Hasselt, Belgium with the new disc tested in more than 240 Blu-ray Disc (BD) and DVD players and in PC and Apple Mac drives – in total a combined test bed of over 400 player and drives before Testronic Labs declared EcoDisc as “fit and robust for the purposes intended”. The full compatibility report is available on Testronic’s web site.

Since then, in Spring of 2010, Testronic facilities in the US, Poland and Pinewood UK combined to carry out a further compatibility test on players exclusively from 2000 onwards – a total of 460 machines which will form an update to the currently available report, reflecting the performance of the EcoDisc in upgraded equipment and NTSC players.

For more information visit: www.testroniclabs.com ; www.ecodisc.org