OK before everybody gets excited about this, here are a few things to remember.
1) This is DVD-RAM, not DVD-R, or DVD+R
So, why DVD-RAM? SD was getting killed by post production houses who preferred DVD-RAM, it's much more reliable and it has been the standard that Zaxcom started when the DEVA II started the whole portable digital hard-drive recording phase in Hollywood.
2) 5x is still slow. If you record a 60 minute show, plan on spending about 15-20 minutes mirroring the show to disc.
3) DVD-RAM while an awesome recording format is not universal. There are a ton of DVD drives that cannot read DVD-RAM. If you give a DVD-RAM disc to a band, I'll give you maybe 10% chance they have a drive that can read it.
3) Media for DVD-RAM can be used multiple times and is much more stable and reliable than DVD-R media, but DVD-RAM media cost about between $3-6 per disc. Probably not something you want to give away to bands (who probably can't read it anyhow).
This option was designed for on-location sound mixers because the Deva IV and Deva V have an option of having a DVD-RAM drive integrated into the unit, and the Aanton Cantar has a built-in CD/DVD/DVD-RAM drive, this dictated that SD needed to do something to help sound mixers off-load their dailies more quickly than dumping to a computer, then to a disc for post.
It's a great idea, but when you figure that you're getting a $98 drive in a portable case, it does seem a bit expensive. There are cheaper options out there if SD has designed their firmware to allow you to mirror to a third-party DVD-RAM drive.
Wayne