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Home Entertainment

15 July 2008

Microsoft announced this week at the E3 Media & Business Summit that it has formed a partnership with Netflix that will give Xbox 360 owners the ability to instantly stream movies and TV shows to their television via the console. The service will launch this fall and will be available to Xbox LIVE Gold members who are also Netflix subscribers.

An exciting new home theater experience is coming to living rooms this holiday season. At E3, Microsoft and Netflix, the world's largest online movie rental service, today unveiled an exclusive partnership to offer the ability to instantly stream movies and TV episodes from Netflix to your television via Xbox 360®.

Xbox 360 will be the only game system that lets you instantly watch movies and TV episodes streamed from Netflix. This movie-watching innovation will be available to Xbox LIVE® Gold members who are also Netflix subscribers, and will let those users enjoy streaming movies from Netflix on Xbox LIVE at no additional cost.

A growing library of more than 10,000 movies and TV episodes will be available from Netflix when it launches on Xbox LIVE in late fall, with more choices added over time. Through this agreement, along with the existing Video Store, Xbox 360 will be home to more movies and TV shows on demand than any other device connected to the TV. Xbox LIVE quickly and easily connects you and your friends to the entertainment you want—with no PC required for viewing.

With the recent price cut and this partnership with Netflix, its becoming harder not to buy an Xbox 360. Now if they'd just offer a Blu-ray add-on... If you'd like to read more, Microsoft's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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Flash Memory

15 July 2008

Kingston announced this week that it has added 8GB microSD High-Capacity (SDHC) flash memory cards to its mobile memory storage line. With an 8GB card, users can store more than 1,500 digital songs, more than 4,000 images from a 5MP cameraphone or up to eight hours of video on their phone.

Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the independent world leader in memory products, today announced the addition of 8GB microSD High-Capacity (SDHC™) Flash memory cards to its mobile memory storage line. Shipping immediately, the new 8GB microSDHC cards offer greater storage options to the latest mobile phones and digital devices in the smallest footprint available.

“Consumers are demanding more from their mobile phones, expecting them to double as music and portable game players, instant cameras, email communicators, browsers and navigators. Having enough storage capacity, particularly in the form of memory cards, keeps internal device memory free to deliver all this multi-functionality,” said Wendy Lecot, Flash card business manager, Kingston®. “Our 8GB microSDHC cards are so roomy that mobile users can easily move entire digital libraries from a PC to their mobile phones — and beyond.”

Kingston's new 8GB microSDHC card is available now for a suggested price of $58.00. If you'd like to read more, Kingston's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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Hard Disks

14 July 2008

Fujitsu recently announced a 500GB version of its HandyDrive. This USB-powered, portable hard disk drive comes with an 8MB buffer and has a maximum data transfer rate of 60MB/s. The HandyDrive also features an internal shock-endurance mechanism which protects it against drops up to 70cm in height.

Fujitsu Europe Limited today announced its newest travel-ready portable HandyDrive additions, featuring the world’s highest capacity 2.5-inch external hard disk drive (HDD) with up to 500GB* of storage space in one drive. Suitable for the busy mobile professional looking for a compact-size external HDD with industry-leading capacities, Fujitsu HandyDrives are equipped with the necessary components for safe and easy data transports. Its utility management reduces the drive’s power consumption in stand-by mode by 35% over normal idle mode. And for extra security, Fujitsu provides a new password lock tool option to secure stored data and prevent unauthorized access.

The 500GB HandyDrive will be available at the end of July for a recommended retail price of 229€. If you'd like to read more, Fujitsu's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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Software

14 July 2008

Nero released a new version of Nero 8 this morning. As usual, there is no change log. However, this new update brings the version count up to 8.3.6.0. If you'd like to check it out, the 188MB update can be downloaded here. As usual, feel free to share your experiences in our forum. Add a comment

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Home Entertainment

14 July 2008

While Blu-ray won the format war, consumers have been slow to go high-def. One of the biggest reasons is the the high costs associated with the format. Players are still very expensive and Blu-ray titles usually cost $10 or more than the standard DVD release.

Warner is trying to rectify this somewhat through its new Blu-ray Disc promotion. According to Video Business, Warner will be launching a point-of-sale rebate program where retailers will be able to get catalog titles for around $11. With this rebate, consumer pricing is expected to fall somewhere between $17 and $20.

In this program, retailers will buy the titles at their present pricing but obtain rebate money back upon the sale of each unit. That should ultimately amount to a relatively inexpensive $11 cost for retailers.

Additionally, Warner will offer rebates, although less extensive, for newer Blu-ray releases, including 300, The Departed, I Am Legend, Ocean’s 13 and We Are Marshall. This layer of the Blu-ray program also will run from early September to the first quarter, according to store sources.

The consumer price for these titles is likely to fall somewhere between $17 and $20. That would still represent a deal for shoppers, as titles such as 300 are now falling between $24 and $30 at outlets such as Amazon and Best Buy.

This is great news for consumers who are looking to pick up older Blu-ray titles for their library. Hopefully, other studios will follow Warner's lead and offer their own discounts. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment

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Other

11 July 2008

Antec Twelve Hundred ATX Gaming Case @Futurelooks
ASUS Eee PC 900 @InsideHW
ASUS P5E3 Premium WiFi-AP Motherboard @Phoronix
ATEN CS1782 Dual DVI KVM(P) Switch @Virtual-Hideout
Diamond Viper Radeon HD 3870 and HD 3870 1GB @HotHardware.com
Kingston 2GB DDR3-1600 HyperX DDR3 Memory @Virtual-Hideout
NZXT Rogue Case @HardwareLogic
Super Talent MasterDrive MX 60 GB SATA-II SSD @Benchmark Reviews
Visiontek Radeon HD 4850 Videocard @Rbmods
XFX nForce 790i Ultra SLI Motherboard @TweakTown

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Network Storage

11 July 2008

Sans Digital sent out a press release today, announcing its new 2-bay NAS enclosure. The AccuNAS AN2L offers support for RAID 0, RAID 1, JBOD and spanning. Along with the usual data sharing, the enclosure includes built-in backup, web, FTP and BitTorrent servers. To top it off, the AN2L allows direct playback of multimedia files via the PS3, PSP and Xbox.

The Sans Digital AccuNAS AN2L is a high performance network attached storage with unlimitedpossibilities. It not only supports digital file sharing over the network in Windows, Linux and Macenvironment, it also allows playback of digital multimedia directly via PS3/PSP, XBOX and otherdigital media player using UPnP and DLNA. Images and photographs could be easily shared viathe web using the Photo Station feature, with automatically creates thumbnails and web pages forthese files. The AN2L supports iTunes Server by allowing automatic MP3 detection and display inPC or MAC’s iTunes software. Its Web Hard Drive feature allows off site file access, where datacould be retrieved from various locations. Its Network Recycle Bin prevents accidental filedeletion by saving deleted file in a temporary location.

The AccuNAS AN2L is available now and can be purchased directly from Sans Digital's website. Prices start at $362 for a diskless unit and go up to $1252 for one with a pair of 1TB drives. If you'd like to read more, San Digital's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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Home Entertainment

11 July 2008

Futuresource Consulting recently released the results from its new home copying consumer research study. Sponsored by Macrovision, the study asked more than 5,000 people whether or not they made copies of pre-recorded DVDs. According to the results, one-third of the respondents made a copy of a DVD in the last six months. This is up from just over a quarter of respondents in 2007. Here are some of the highlights from the study:

• Around one third of all respondents in both countries admit to making copies of pre-recorded DVDs in the last 6 months, up from just over a quarter of respondents in 2007.
• As in 2007 it is 18-24 year old males who are most likely to be copiers.
• Copiers of DVDs are using both analogue and digital copying methods, with the two being of almost equal importance.
• In both territories, the most common way of copying is either from a DVD player to a DVD recorder, or using a single PC software application for burning DVD copies.
• In the last 6 months, the average number of movies copied in the UK was 13 new release and 9 catalogue; in the USA the figures were 7 and 6 respectively.
• Although the majority of people are copying from their own purchased DVD in both the UK and USA, a significant proportion of people are copying from rented and borrowed titles.
• The majority of UK and USA respondents would most likely buy these movie titles new at sale or promotional price.
• From a list of 40 recent blockbuster movie titles supplied to respondents, more than half of all DVD copiers in the USA and more than one third in the UK had successfully made copies of the titles on the list

Keep in mind that this study was sponsored by Macrovision and is being used to show that movie studios are losing revenue due to home copying. Personally, I'm not surprised by the number of people making copies. What does surprise me though is the the number of people making analog copies. It makes you wonder where they found the people in this study. Anyway, if you'd like to read more, the details from the study can be found here. Add a comment

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Home Entertainment

11 July 2008

While best known for their digital cameras, Kodak has set its sites on the high-def market with a suite of new products. Along with its new Zi6 Pocket Video Camera, the company recently unveiled the KODAK Theatre HD Player. The player connects to a household’s private Wi-Fi Network, allowing them to view images and high-def (720p) video on their television. The KODAK Theatre HD Player can also internet radio, podcasts and online video and photo sharing sites such as Flickr and YouTube.

Revolutionizing the way images and video can be enjoyed in HD, the KODAK Theatre HD Player is an interactive device that displays personal and web-based content on an HDTV, while wirelessly connecting to a household’s private Wi-Fi Network. Able to display HD still images (16:9 Aspect Ratio) and video (720p) on a HDTV, the remote operated KODAK Theatre HD Player lets consumers relive their favorite, and even forgotten, memories through a HD slideshow, as well as edit and upload images and videos to popular online content sharing sites.

Through unique partnerships with pioneers in photo sharing, such as KODAK Gallery and Flickr™ the KODAK Theatre HD Player provides consumers with easy and compelling ways to share pictures with friends and families. Additional partnerships with FrameChannel, a service of Frame Media, Inc., YouTube™ and RadioTime provide access to more than imaging content, offering an interactive and engaging multimedia experience. The KODAK Theatre HD Player is also compatible with USB drives and SD memory cards.

The KODAK Theatre HD Player is expected to ship in September for a suggested retail price of $299.99. Full details can be found here. Add a comment