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Home Entertainment

22 April 2008

The DVD Forum announced this week that it plans to study the feasability of incorporating 3D movie technology into the DVD Format Specifications. The group does not intend to select a specific technology at this time. However, they are accepting information and proposals from interested companies.

The DVD Forum is planning to study (the “Proposed Study”) the possible incorporation of 3D movie technology into The DVD Forum format specifications for DVD-Video and HD DVD-Video (the “DVD Format Specifications”). The DVD Forum plans to study only the feasibility and potential merit of incorporating 3D movie technology into the DVD Format Specifications. Please note that The DVD Forum has made no decision to incorporate such technology into the DVD Format Specifications and does not intend to select any specific 3D movie technology for inclusion at this time. After studying each proposed 3D movie technology, The DVD Forum will decide whether 3D movie technology should be incorporated into the DVD Format Specifications. As part of this study, The DVD Forum may also consider whether measures to achieve compatibility with existing DVD-Video and HD DVD-Video players would also need to be implemented in the event 3D movie technology is incorporated into the DVD Format Specifications.

Personally, I'd rather see them through their support behind a high-def format like Blu-ray than add 3D technology to the DVD format. If you'd like to read more, the DVD Forum's entire announcement can be found DigiTimes. Add a comment

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Optical Storage

22 April 2008

Philips is currently in the process of renewing the CD-R licensing agreements for a number of Taiwan's media manufacturers. While the company is still in negotiations with CMC Magnetics, Ritek and Prodisc, Daxon Technology reportedly renewed its license last week.

With the initial Veeza blank CD-R disc royalty contracts Royal Philips Electronics signed with Taiwan-based makers having expired in the second half of 2007, the company has been negotiating a renewal of the licensing with Taiwan makers and last week Daxon Technology was the first company to renew its license, according to industry sources in Taiwan.

Philips Intellectual Property & Standards in Taiwan has also confirmed the report.

The renewed licensed does not use the name Veeza, but conditions and licensing fees remain unchanged, with US$0.025 charged for a CD-R disc, the sources indicated.

If you check Philips' Licensee Database, it appears that CMC, Ritek and Prodisc are not licensed for any recordable media. Could this mean that they have lost their licensing with Philips? I'm sure we'll find out eventually. If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment

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Home Entertainment

22 April 2008

While the format war may be over, market data released by ABI Research shows that Blu-ray still faces a number of challenges. According to their new report, consumers are satisfied with the quality delivered by standard DVD players and that the install base of dedicated and PC-based Blu-ray players is still very small.

One of the primary challenges facing Blu-ray, says principal analyst Steve Wilson, is that many consumers are not fundamentally dissatisfied with the quality delivered by their conventional DVD players, when “upconverted” to play on high-definition TVs. “We are starting to see an increase in the number of DVD players with built-in upconverters, and the video processing is getting better with each new generation,” he says. “Today about 35% of all DVD players sold include upconversion. ABI Research expects that figure to climb to about 60% by 2013.”

Further, the state of the Blu-ray player market is not all that encouraging. The Blu-ray installed base today is heavily tilted towards Sony’s Playstation 3. Says Wilson, “The studios better hope that people are playing movies on their Playstations. Otherwise there’s very little installed base. In 2008 about 85% of the Blu-ray players in the market will be found in PS3s; the dedicated consumer electronics and PC-based types of Blu-ray players won’t catch up in terms of market share until about 2013.”

More information on ABI Research's report can be found here. Add a comment

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Other

21 April 2008

A-DATA PD17, PD18 and PD19 Mini USB Flash Drives @Virtual-Hideout
In Win B2 Stealth Bomber Case @ThinkComputers.org
Noctua NH-U9B CPU Cooler @BCCHardware
Philips DVDR3480 DVD Recorder @CD Freaks
SilverStone Kublai KL03 @Phoronix
Silverstonetek TS01B RFID Protected 2.5" SATA Enclosure @Metku.net
Sony BDU-X10S Internal Blu-ray Drive @Hardware Zone
Super Talent Pico 8GB USB Flash Drive @DV Hardware
Trust Wireless Vista Remote Control @InsideHW
Western Digital Velociraptor 10K RPM 300GB Hard Drive @HotHardware.com

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Hard Disks

21 April 2008

Western Digital sent out a press release this morning, announcing the latest addition to its "Raptor" series of 10,000 RPM hard drives. The 2.5-inch VelociRaptor features a 300GB capacity, SATA 3 Gb/s interface and 16 MB cache. To keep it cool when installed in a desktop chassis, the drive is also enclosed in a 3.5-inch mounting frame with a built-in heat sink.

WD (NYSE: WDC) announced today that it is now shipping WD VelociRaptor hard drives, the next generation of its 10,000 RPM SATA "Raptor" series of drives. Designed with an enterprise-class foundation, the new WD VelociRaptor hard drive is modified specifically for PC and Mac enthusiasts and professional workstations. Destined to become the new high-performance favorite of these groups, the WD VelociRaptor hard drive comes packed with twice the capacity and a 35 percent performance increase over the previous generation.

From the bloodlines of the WD Raptor, the most popular hard drive for high-performance enthusiasts who demand the ultimate SATA drive, the WD VelociRaptor hard drive is built with enterprise-class mechanics and packs 300 GB of storage capacity into a 2.5-inch enterprise form factor. The 2.5-inch WD VelociRaptor drive is enclosed in the IcePack, a 3.5-inch mounting frame with a built-in heat sink -- a customization that fits the drive into a standard 3.5-inch system bay and keeps this powerful drive extra cool when installed in a high-performance desktop chassis.

The WD VelociRaptor is currently exclusive to Alienware and will be available on their high-performance ALX gaming desktop by the end of April. The drive will be available through other retailers in mid-May for $299.99. Full details can be found here. Add a comment

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Hard Disks

21 April 2008

Fujitsu has announced the launch of its MHZ2 CJ series of 2.5" hard disk drives. These new drives are available in capacities as high as 320GB and feature a 7200rpm rotation speed, 3.0 Gb/s Serial ATA interface and 256-bit AES hardware encryption. The MHZ2 CJ series also uses an advanced secure erase feature which can wipe the entire drive in less than a second.

Fujitsu Limited today announced the release of the MHZ2 CJ Series of 320 GB(1) 2.5" hard disk drives with automatic hardware-based encryption to effectively secure data against theft or loss, along with the industry's highest rotational speed of 7200-rpm and a 3.0 Gb/s Serial ATA interface(2). The new series of drives for computers and external storage devices will be available at the end of May 2008.

This series is the first hard disk drive in the world to support the 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)(3). The drive implements the AES hardware encryption directly into the processor chip of the hard disk drive, resulting in more robust security and faster system performance than software-based encryption.

All data stored on the hard disk drive can be erased instantly, in less than a second, using the advanced secure erase feature. For public institutions and companies that handle large amounts of personal and other confidential data, this dramatically lowers the time and cost involved in wiping clean the hard drives of computers that are disposed of or reused.

While Fujitsu has not announced a price, the company plans to begin shipments at the end of May. Full details can be found here. Add a comment

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Home Entertainment

21 April 2008

In a recent interview with The Korea Times, Peter Weber, manager of Panasonic Corporate Communication Europe, hinted that the company plans to expand the Blu-ray player market by forming a strategic parnership with Samsung. While there aren't a lot of details, Weber states that Panasonic would focus on marketing rather than the introduction of new Blu-ray players.

``Now, the discussion is over. We will maintain a healthy relationship with Samsung Electronics for the next-generation computer storage market,'' Peter Weber, manager of Panasonic Corporate Communication Europe, said in an interview with The Korea Times, Sunday, on the sidelines of the IFA 2008 International Press Conference here.

``Panasonic doesn't care about the introducing timing of Blu-ray players. Time is very crucial to step up the marketing for better prospect of such devices,'' he said, adding his company is all set to inject money only for promotion.

The Korea Times also mentions that next-generation Blu-ray players will come with built in hard drives to store downloadable content. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment

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Other

18 April 2008

AeroCool HorsePower 1020 watt Power Supply @Hi-Tech Reviews
ASUS EN8800GT 1GB Graphics Card @TweakTown
HTC Shift @Hardware Zone
Intel Q9450 Core 2 Quad Processor @HardwareLogic
Lenovo ThinkPad X300 Ultraportable Notebook @HotHardware.com
Logitech Z Cinema SRS TruSurround HD USB Speakers @Everything USB
Microsoft Wireless Laser Desktop 7000 @I4U
Super Talent Pico A 8 GB Flash Drive @Metku.net
Thermaltake Xaser VI VG4000BWS Super Tower Chassis @Bigbruin.com
VIZO Shuttle ST 2.5in SATA Enclosure @BCCHardware
XFX 8800 GS XXX Alpha Dog Video Card @I4U

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Home Entertainment

18 April 2008

While video downloads have been threatening to take a chunk out of DVD and Blu-ray Disc sales, its had little effect on consumer spending so far this year. Home Media Magazine is reporting that the sales of DVDs and Blu-ray Discs are up 2.3% from last year. DVD unit sales did see a drop of 1.2%. However, this was offset by a 351% increase in Blu-ray sales.

Consumer spending on DVDs and Blu-ray Discs in the first three months of this year was up about 1% from the first three months of 2007, coming in at $5.51 billion, up from $5.46 billion in the first quarter of last year, according to Home Media Magazine market research estimates based on studio and retail data.

Sales were up 2.3% to $3.47 billion, from $3.39 billion, while rental spending slipped 1.6% to $2.04 billion, from $2.07 billion...

...And according to Nielsen VideoScan sales data, the nascent Blu-ray Disc saved the day for the sellthrough business, with DVD unit sales in the first quarter down 1.2% from the first quarter of 2007 but Blu-ray Disc sales up a whopping 351%.

If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment