Pioneer announced today that it will launch its first Blu-ray recorder by the end of the year. According to Reuters, Pioneer's new recorders will be developed in cooperation with Sharp.
Japanese consumer electronics maker Pioneer Corp said on Tuesday it plans to launch Blu-ray DVD recorders by the end of the year, taking aim at a rapidly growing market after the end of a bitter format battle.

Pioneer is developing Blu-ray recorders with help from Sharp Corp, Pioneer's top shareholder with a 14 percent stake. Sharp already offers Blu-ray recorders.

Pioneer plans to start selling Blu-ray recorders in Japan before the year-end shopping season, followed by overseas launches.
There are some conflicting reports about the launch date and overseas launches. According to an AP report, the recorders will launch some time before March 2009 and that Pioneer has not made any overseas sales plans yet. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment
CESI Technology announced today that it has been designated as the first official Blu-ray Disc Test Center in China. By establishing a test center in this country, the BDA hopes to shorten the time it takes Chinese companies to develop and launch fully compliant BD products.
CESI Technology Co. Ltd., a contributor member of the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), has been designated as the first official Blu-ray Disc Test Center in China. CESI Technology’s joining BDA as a Contributor member and their establishment of the Test Center indicates the strong momentum building for the Blu-ray Disc format in China.

The establishment of this Blu-ray Disc Test Center is also a critical piece in the Blu-ray Disc value chain in China. From today, Chinese manufacturers can receive verification services for the official production of BD-ROM Movie Players at this center. This will dramatically shorten the time needed for product development and market launch of fully compliant BD products for Blu-ray Disc product manufacturers. the contribution of CESI Technology.”
Hopefully, this means that we'll be seeing Blu-ray players from more Chinese manufacturers. If you'd like to read more, CESI's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
The Blu-ray Disc Association is making a big push into the Chinese market. At SinoCES, the group announced that DigiRise DRA (DRA), a Chinese digital audio coding technology, has passed a technical evaluation and is one step closer to being adopted by the BDA. By making DRA part of the Blu-ray Disc format, the BDA hopes to compete with China's own high-def format, the China Blue High-definition Disc (CBHD).
The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) has today announced that DigiRise DRA(DRA) digital audio coding technology has passed an important technicalevaluation. This represents a key milestone for a locally-developed Chinesetechnology to be potentially adopted by Blu-ray Disc format. This milestone is theresult of hard work by engineers in the Audio Codec Evaluation Technical TaskForce under the BDA’s Joint Technical Committee, and close collaboration withChina Hualu Group and DigiRise Technology Ltd.

"We are very happy that DigiRise DRA, an original Chinese audio coding technology,has passed the BDA technical evaluation. The BDA is now taking final steps to formallyadopt DigiRise DRA as part of the format. The BDA is always open to such discussionsand evaluations in its pursuit to creating the best format possible," stated Mr. Sumitaka Matsumura, Chair of the BDA China Task Force. The testing processstrictly followed BDA’s worldwide evaluation standards where contributions camefrom all major vendors in the value chain, including key hardware manufacturers and content providers.
If you'd like to read more, the BDA's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
Pioneer Japan announced today that it has developed the world's first 16-layer optical disc with a capacity of 400GB. The disc has a per-layer capacity of 25GB, which is the same as existing Blu-ray Discs. The optical specifications of the objective lens are also the same, while makes it possible to maintain compatibility between the new 16-layer optical disc and existing Blu-ray Discs.

Pioneer Corporation has succeeded in developing a 16-layer read-only optical disc with a capacity of 400 gigabytes for the first time in the world. Its per-layer capacity is 25 gigabytes, which is the same as that of a Blu-ray Disc (BD). This multilayer technology will also be applicable to multilayer recordable discs. This development has bolstered Pioneer's confidence in the feasibility of a large-capacity optical disc, which is expected to become necessary in the near future.

For multilayer optical discs, it has been difficult to obtain clear signals from each recording layer in a stable manner due to crosstalk from adjacent layers and transmission loss. Utilizing the optical disc production technology that it has developed in the DVD field, Pioneer solved these problems by, among other things, using a disc structure that can reduce crosstalk from adjacent layers, resulting in a 16-layer optical disc that can playback high-quality signals from every layer.

As for the read-out system, Pioneer achieved stability in the playback of recorded signals by employing a wide-range spherical aberration compensator and light-receiving element that can read out weak signals at a high signal-to-noise ratio in the optical pick-up mechanism. Since the optical specifications of the objective lens, such as NA (Numerical Aperture), are the same as those for the existing BD discs, it is possible to maintain compatibility between the new 16-layer optical disc and the BD discs.
Pioneer will be presenting the details of its research at the International Symposium on Optical Memory and Optical Data Storage 2008 (ISOM/ODS2008), which begins on July 13. If you'd like to read more, Pioneer's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
In celebration of their fifth anniversary, SlySoft is offering a 20% discount on all products (except upgrades and t-shirts) until July 31st, 2008. No coupon code is necessary as the discount will be automatically applied to your order.

What are you waiting for? Head on over to the SlySoft website and take advantage of this sale! Add a comment
On behalf of everyone here at CDRLabs, I just wanted to wish all of our U.S. readers a happy Independance Day.




I know that many consider July 4th to be another day off and one more excuse to cook out, drink beer and blow things up. Just remember to take a few minutes to think about what this day is really about. Add a comment
CDRLabs finishes up the week with a review of Lite-On's new EZ-DUB enabled DVD writer, the DX-20A4PU. While affordably priced, this external drive sports some pretty impressive specs including 20x DVD±R, 8x DVD+RW, 6x DVD-RW, 8x DVD±R DL and 12x DVD-RAM writing speeds and a maximum DVD read speed of 16x. The DX-20A4PU also features many of the technologies we've come to expect from Lite-On including more advanced ones like SmartWrite and OverSpeed. More importantly, its EZ-DUB technology makes copying discs and backing up data a quick and easy process.

In this review we'll take a look at the features found on the DX-20A4PU and see how it compares to some of the 20x DVD±RW drives from the competition. Does the DX-20A4PU have what it takes? You'll have to read the review to find out.

Lite-On DX-20A4PU 20x EZ-DUB DVD±RW/RAM
If you have any comments or questions about this review or the Lite-On DX-20A4PU, please post them in the forum. Add a comment
Pioneer has reportedly received OEM orders from HP for BD combo drives. According to DigiTimes' sources, shipments are expected to begin some time in July.
Pioneer has landed OEM orders for Blu-ray Disc (BD) Combo drives from Hewlett-Packard (HP) with shipments to begin in July 2008, according to industry sources in Taiwan.

International PC vendors originally preferred BD-ROM drives to BD Combo drives because of much lower costs, the sources indicated. But, recent OEM quotes for BD-ROM and BD Combo drives have slipped to US$95 and US$110-120 respectively, the sources noted. As a result vendors are beginning to use BD-ROM drives in entry-level models, BD Combo drives in mid-range models, and the much more expensive BD burners in high-end models, the sources pointed out.
If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment
Blockbuster announced this week that it has joined forces with the USO to send movies and games to U.S. service men and women stationed across the globe. Until July 14th, the public can donate new or previously viewed DVDs and games at designated USO drop boxes located in participating Blockbuster stores. The retailer will also be matching all donations with up to 20,000 DVDs and plans to raise $100,000 for the USO by selling American Flag Antenna Ball/Pencil Toppers.
Blockbuster Inc. and the USOare teaming up to bring much deserved entertainment to our service membersand their families. Through July 14, the American public can show theirsupport for the troops by donating DVDs and games at designated USO dropboxes in participating BLOCKBUSTER(R) stores. The entertainment retailerwill match all donations with up to 20,000 DVDs.

To participate, customers can purchase new or previously viewed DVDsand games at participating BLOCKBUSTER stores, then drop them in convenientUSO drop boxes on site. Donated DVDs and games will be enjoyed by troops atUSO centers and Mobile USO units worldwide and also will be placed in USO 2Go program boxes for delivery to troops in remote locations. To ensureproduct quality and content the USO can only accept DVDs and gamesoriginating from participating BLOCKBUSTER stores.
I'm sure many of you have DVD's that you don't watch anymore. In the spirit of July 4th, I urge you to head to your local Blockbuster and donate them to the troops. You'll probably make a service person very happy by doing so. If you'd like to read more about the program, Blockbuster's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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