While many electronics retailers in the US have put Toshiba's HD DVD players on clearance, six of Japan's major retailers have pulled them from their shelves altogether. According to INQUIRER.net, these retailers have asked Toshiba to take back its stock of players.
As of Friday, six major Japanese electronics retailers -- Yodobashi Camera, Kojima, Nojima, Edion, Best Denki and Joshin Denki -- had suspended all sales of HD DVD, company officials said. The chains are in talks with Toshiba for the electronics giant to take back its stock either fully or partially.

Edion, which operates 1,000 stores across Japan under various names, announced an offer for any customer who bought HD DVD hardware from Toshiba to switch for a Blu-ray machine sold by Sony, Panasonic or Sharp. The offer is available only in March, with customers expected to pay any price difference if the Blu-ray machine was more expensive.
While I'd be surprised if Toshiba took back their stock of HD DVD players, its good to see that some retailers care enough about their customers that they'd give them a way to move to Blu-ray. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment
Transcend recently announced their new shock-resistant portable hard drives. Available in 160GB and 250GB capacities, the StoreJet 25 mobile features a rugged silicone outer case and a shock absorbing suspension system to protect the internal hard drive from damage.

Transcend Information, Inc. (Transcend), a global leader in the digital storage industry, proudly announces its new shock-resistant high capacity portable hard drive - the StoreJet 25 mobile. The new StoreJet 25 mobile is lightweight (206g) and easy to carry around, with compact measurements of just 134mm by 80.8mm by 18.8mm. Inside its extra-rugged shockproof silicone outer case is a high-capacity hard drive that lets you backup and store up to 250GB of data. To protect against data loss or damage from accidental slips or falls, the StoreJet 25 mobile meets U.S.military drop-test standards (MIL-STD-810F - Transit Drop) with advanced two-stage anti-shock technology, literally making it one of the safest places to keep your data. In order to ensure maximum compatibility with most desktop and notebook computers, the StoreJet 25 mobile uses a high-speed USB 2.0 interface, which provides data transfer rates up to 480Mb per second while offering the convenience of plug and play.
If you'd like to read more, Transcend's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
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Traxdata has announced the availability of Europe's first 16x DVD+R DL media. According to their press release, an entire 8.5GB disc can be written in as little as 10 minutes.

Traxdata, a leading optical and flash media storage vendor, has today announced a European market first with the availability of its Double Layer(DL) DVD+R 16x media enabling users to store 8.5GB on one disc.

Traxdata’s DVD+R DL 16x can burn 8.5GB of audio, video or data files in just 10 minutes compared to the standard DVD+R DL 8x which takes nearly 20 minutes to burn the same amount of content. This equates to up to four hours of DVD quality video, 16 hours of VHS quality video, or more than 120 hours of MP3 audio.
Traxdata's 16x DVD+R DL media is available now in packs of five. Full details can be found here. Add a comment
While Taiwan's media manufacturers have been reluctant to mass produce blue-laser discs, Toshiba's recent announcement has motivated companies like CMC and Ritek to invest in the production of BD-R and BD-RE discs.
CMC and Ritek are technologically poised to kick off production of BD discs, as they have each obtained level A laboratory certification for 4x BD-R SL and 2x BD-RE SL formats, the sources pointed out.

Among second-tier Taiwan-based makers, Prodisc Technology and Daxon Technology are willing to step into the production of BD discs while Lead Data and Gigastorage hold a conservative attitude, the sources indicated.
While Blu-ray has become the high-def standard, manufacturers do not expect the market for blank BD-R and BD-RE discs to take off for another year or two. If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment
Paramount, the last Hollywood studio to support HD DVD, has announced that it too will be releasing titles on Blu-ray. In a statement sent to The Hollywood Reporter, Paramount announced that it was pleased that the industry was moving toward a single format and that it would would begin releasing titles on Blu-ray in the near future.
Paramount Home Entertainment quietly came onboard via a statement sent exclusively to The Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday: "We are pleased that the industry is moving to a single high-definition format, as we believe it is in the best interest of the consumer," the statement reads. "As we look to (begin) releasing our titles on Blu-ray, we will monitor consumer adoption and determine our release plans accordingly."
While Paramount has provided any details in regards to a release schedule, a Blu-ray version of Transformers has already shown up in Circuit City's computers. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment
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While Toshiba plans to out of the HD DVD player market by the end of March, LG isnt dumping the format quite yet. According to Pocket-lint.co.uk, LG will will continue to develop and offer players that support both both Blu-ray and HD DVD.
"LG believes that at this present moment in time, it is necessary to provide a player which supports both formats and therefore create simplicity and convenience for the existing HD DVD consumer..."

"...With the recent announcement from Toshiba, Blu-Ray will now be the format that will pave the way for high definition movies, however this does not rule out HD DVD immediately as there are still a number of consumers who have chosen HD DVD and begun to build a HD DVD collection."
This is definitely good news, especially for those who already have a sizeable HD DVD collection. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment
With Toshiba dropping HD DVD, companies that remained neutral throughout the format war are now pledging support for Blu-ray. Amazon.com announced today that they are recommending Blu-ray as the preferred digital format for consumers.
In an effort to help demystify high-definition entertainment for consumers, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) today announced its support for Blu-ray as the digital format of choice for customers. As part of this announcement, Amazon.com will more prominently promote Blu-ray hardware and software products on its website.

"The high-definition landscape is rapidly changing, and consumers are looking for guidance on how to make the best high-definition buying decisions," said Peter Faricy, vice president of movies and music at Amazon.com. "Our customers have clearly voiced their support for the Blu-ray format. Blu-ray titles have increased from just over half of our high-definition sales to over three-quarters of our high-definition sales since early January. In order to best serve our customers, Amazon is recommending Blu-ray as the preferred digital format and will continue to carry the 'Earth's Largest Selection' of Blu-ray products."
While its good to see that Amazon is looking out for its customers, this announcement would have meant more if it came a week or two sooner. If you'd like to read more, Amazon's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
Verbatim's parent company, Mitsubishi Chemical, has announced that they will be releasing their new LTH Type BD-R media to the Japanese market on February 26th. These new discs are rated at 2x and use an organic recording layer which allows them to be manufactured on existing CD-R or DVD-R production lines with only minor adjustments. Here's part of their press release, translated from Japanese:
Mitsubishi chemical media Ltd. (The headquarters: the Tokyo Minato Ward and president: Otsuka heavy morality) will put write-once type Blu-ray Disc and five double-speed BD-R LTH TYPE 25GB for recording that uses the organic dye for the recording layer on the market by packing on February 26.

This corporation advanced the standardization propulsion activity of organic pigment system BD-R, but previous spring, the recording type Low to High which corresponds to organic pigment system BD-R (LTH) is adopted for Blu-ray Disc Recordable Format Ver.1.2. As for BD-R which used the organic pigment in the record membrane, reflectance ratio of the disk after the recording, from low reflectance ratio changes to high reflectance ratio, (Low to High: LTH) From thing, LTH TYPE it is inscribed.
Mitsubishi's LTH Type BD-R media is expected to cost about 4,800 Yen ($45US) for a pack of five. Full details can be found here. Add a comment