A local court in Taiwan, on August 15, announced its judgment that Princo, a Taiwan-based maker of blank optical discs, must pay Royal Philips Electronics a total of 2.354 billion yen (US$21.1 million) for CD-R licensing. The fees are due for the period from the fourth quarter of 1997 to the fourth quarter of 1999 plus interest for delayed payment, according to Princo's filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE) on August 18. Princo has decided to appeal, the company stressed.Add a comment
A new specification for the popular Serial ATA storage interface will double the maximum transfer speed from three to six gigabits per second (Gb/s). This will enable large amounts of data to be moved at even faster rates, a key advantage as end-users amass ever-increasing amounts of high-resolution photos, videos, music and other multimedia files. Add a comment
Toshiba America Consumer Products, L.L.C. ("Toshiba") today announces its new video enhancement technology for DVD with the introduction of the XD-E500. XDE, or "eXtended Detail Enhancement," is more than just DVD upconversion. XDE takes DVD picture quality to a whole new level. In addition to providing upconversion from 480i/p up to 1080p, XDE offers user selectable picture enhancement modes that allow for greater detail, more vivid colors and stronger contrast that bring standard DVD quality closer to the HD experience. XDE technology lets consumers enjoy their existing DVD libraries in a whole new way. Add a comment
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Responding the demands of enthusiasts and high-performance mobile computing consumers, OCZ Technology Group, Inc., a worldwide leader in innovative, ultra-high performance and high reliability memory and computer components, today unveiled the newest addition to their industry-leading OCZ Core Series SATA II 2.5” Solid State Drives. The Core Series has established OCZ as a pioneer in the SSD market by offering consumers the benefits of solid drive technology at an affordable price. With the industry continuously shifting in this direction, OCZ strives to place its Core Series at the forefront.
Paramount Home Entertainment is set to offer DVD collectors a $10 rebate when they upgrade select Paramount and DreamWorks titles to Blu-ray Disc.Add a comment
Mail-in certificates will be available in the packages for Blu-ray copies of Transformers, The Godfather, Old School, Stardust, Sweeney Todd and Zodiac. To receive the $10 savings, consumers must fill out the certificate and include the proof-of-purchase tabs from both the DVD and Blu-ray versions of the title, along with the receipt for the Blu-ray version. The purchase must be made by Dec. 31, 2009, and rebate requests must be postmarked by Jan. 31, 2010.
Since the contract between Pioneer and Asustek Computer for ODM/OEM optical disc drive (ODD) production expired in July 2008, Pioneer is very likely to select one or more new ODM/OEM partners to make less profitable models, and the priority may be given to Taiwan-based makers, especially Lite-On IT and Quanta Storage, according to industry sources in Taiwan.
Japan-based Mitsubishi Chemical, in view of global short supply of Blu-ray Disc (BD) pick-up heads (PUHs), is planning to step into production of high-power (200-300mW) laser diodes (LDs), the key component of PUHs for BD burners, according to sources in the Taiwan optical disc drive (ODD) industry.