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Pegatron Technology, an OEM subsidiary of Asustek Computer, has secured orders from Microsoft to assemble Xbox 360 consoles equipped with a Blu-ray Disc (BD)-ROM drive, with shipments to begin in the third quarter of 2008, according to the Chinese-language Economic Daily News (EDN) newspaper.I'll be very surprised if we see an Xbox 360 with a built in Blu-ray drive. Most of the previous rumors have indicated that the console would be getting support for the format via an addon, similar to its HD DVD player. If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment
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TMPG, Inc., the company that makes digital video easy, is about to make Blu-ray Disc creation easier. TMPGEnc MPEG Editor 3 is an easy to use, frame-level cut video editing software package loaded with many advanced features including the ability to output and burn to the Blu-ray Disc (BDAV) high definition video format. The free trial is currently available for download at www.tmpg-inc.com. The full retail version will be available May 14th at $64.95 per license. A special limited-time discount price of $51.95 will also be available for all registered TMPGEnc product owners.If you'd like to check it out, the trial version of TMPGEnc MPEG Editor 3 can be downloaded here. More information is also available on TMPG's website. Add a comment
"TMPGEnc MPEG Editor 3 offers state-of-the-art technology to smoothly edit high-definition video, plus a host of Blu-ray Disc oriented features. As more professional and amateur videographers embrace high definition video recording, there will be an increasing demand for good software to edit and write video to Blu-ray Disc," commented TMPG Inc. CEO Kimi Matsuki.
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Apple today announced that new movie releases from major film studios and premier independent studios are available for purchase on the iTunes Store (www.itunes.com) on the same day as their DVD release. New releases and catalog titles will be available from 20th Century Fox, The Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Lionsgate, Image Entertainment and First Look Studios. Movies purchased from iTunes can be viewed on an iPod with video, iPhone, Mac or PC or on a widescreen TV with Apple TV, with new releases priced at $14.99 and most catalog titles at $9.99.It will be interesting to see how many people are willing to spend $15 for an electronic copy of a movie. Personally, I'd rather spend a few bucks more and get it on DVD. If you'd like to read more, Apple's entire announcement can be found here. Add a comment
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Standalone Blu-ray player unit sales dropped 40 percent from January to February in the U.S. and only saw a 2 percent increase from February to March, according to NPD's Retail Tracking Service. HD DVD player unit sales dropped 13 percent from January to February, but as production stopped and inventories dried up, sales spiraled down 65 percent from February to March.If you'd like to read more, the NPD Group's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
"That standalone Blu-ray players haven't picked up significantly from HD DVD's loss shows that few consumers were dissuaded primarily by the 'format war'," said Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis, NPD. "When we surveyed consumers late last year, an overwhelming number of them said they weren't investing in a new next-generation player because their old DVD player worked well and next-generation players were too expensive. It's clear from retail sales that those consumer sentiments are still holding true."
One option consumers are embracing to enhance their DVD viewing experience is purchasing up-converting DVD players. According to NPD's Retail Tracking Service, unit sales of up-converting players were up over 5 percent in the first quarter of 2008 compared to 2007, while sales of DVD players without an up-converting feature declined 39 percent.
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ASUS LS201 20" LCD Monitor @HotHardware.com
Cooler Master Z600 and Sphere CPU Coolers @Bigbruin.com
Gigabyte AirCruiser GN-WI06N-RH 802.11n WiFi Adapter @Phoronix
HP 2133 Mini-Note @VIA Arena
Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000 & QuickCam Pro For Notebooks @HardwareLogic
Microsoft Wireless Laser Desktop 7000 @Everything USB
Motorola MotoPure H12 Bluetooth Headset @BlueTomorrow.com
Nexus XiR-2300 Aluminum Ed. CPU Cooler @TweakTown
OCZ Quad 2Gb Memory Kit @Madshrimps
Razer Piranha Gaming Communicator @ThinkComputers.org
Samsung SyncMaster 245BW Widescreen LCD Monitor @Benchmark Reviews
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CyberLink Corp. (5203.TW), innovative solutions provider for the connected digital lifestyle, today announced the release of CyberLink Live Premium, the secure and personal web service for remote media access. CyberLink Live Premium’s place-shifting technology allows users to access digital media as well as business documents stored on a remote PC via a web browser. Targeted at the media enthusiast, CyberLink Live Premium offers advanced capabilities including:CyberLink is currently offering two subscription plans. CyberLink Live Premium users can choose to pay $18 for three months or $48 for an entire year. If you'd like to read more, CyberLink's entire announcement can be found here. Add a comment
- Hosted relay services to enable connectivity across firewalls
- Optimized bandwidth for the best TV, video, and photo streaming quality for full screen displays, and CD-quality audio streaming
- Scheduled recording of live TV programs
- Electronic program guides for scheduling broadcast TV programs
- Downloading of photos, videos, audio and documents
- Uploading and management of all sorts of document file formats
- Support for all types of file formats
- Webcam monitoring, including motion-detection recording, scheduled recording, and manual recording of up to 3 hours.
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Aleratec's duplicator grade LightScribe DVD-R media is available now in packs of 100 for an estimated street price of $89.99. More information can be found here. Add a comment
Aleratec Inc., leading developer and manufacturer of "Prosumers' Choice" solutions for the USB, Flash, HDD, Blu-ray, DVD/CD, duplicating, and DVD/CD publishing markets, is now shipping its new Aleratec color coded duplicator grade LightScribe DVD-R recording media. Aleratec duplicator grade LightScribe media is optimized for LightScribe Direct Disc Labeling DVD Duplicators and Publishing Systems producing the highest contrast LightScribe Direct Disc Labels and maximum yields in demanding professional disc publishing applications. The new Aleratec duplicator grade LightScribe media is produced in 5 different colors to aid in segregating and organizing different types of data or multimedia. These color-coded discs are LightScribe-ready and can be direct-to-disc LightScribe labeled in LightScribe DVD-RW drives without a printer. The Aleratec Rainbow 100 Pack(tm) contains 20 each of 5 key colors (red, orange, yellow, green, and blue) for a wide range of disc identification options.
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ASUS Eee PC 900 @Hardware Zone
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It will be 12 to 18 months before this market kicks into gear. Consumer electronics manufacturers need to introduce full-featured players and then get prices down to the $200 level. Until then, non-HDTV owners will certainly favor standard definition DVD players. A depressed economy in the United States could also lead HDTV and prospective HDTV owners to opt for upconverting standard players as they delay buying higher-ticket CE items. In addition, Blu-ray packaged media comes at a heavy premium over standard DVDs, although studios have brought prices down to the low $20-range for some titles.ABI Research has hit the nail on the head with this report. If Blu-ray is to succeed, manufacturers need to stop messing with the specifications and bring player prices down to affordable levels. More information about ABI's new report can be found here. Add a comment
Optical disc drive manufacturers have lowered their prices for computer BD-ROM drives in an effort to kick-start adoption in the PC market. But BD drives, priced three to four times higher than red laser drives and requiring an advanced graphics IC, will struggle for support in entry-level products.
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AMD Phenom X4 9850 Black Edition @ InsideHW
ASUS Striker II Extreme Motherboard @HardwareLogic
Cirago Micro USB Bluetooth Adapter @Tweaknews.net
CoolerMaster Real Power Pro 1000 watt Power Supply @High Tech Reviews
Corsair Flash Voyager GT 16GB @Phoronix
DIAMOND Radeon HD 3650 1GB Graphics Card @TweakTown
Edifier M1550 5.1 Speakers @BCCHardware
Honeywell 22-Inch LCD Monitor MT-SY-HWLM2216 @Benchmark Reviews
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 Processor @HotHardware.com
Motorola MotoPure H12 Bluetooth Headset @BlueTomorrow.com
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX520 Digital Camera @Hardware Zone
Vantec NexStar Hard Drive Dock @Virtual-Hideout
