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Home Entertainment
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

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Software
Sonic has announced that it is working with Sony to enhance the BD-Live creation features found in Scenarist BD. By making it easier for Hollywood to create BD-Live-enabled features, the two companies hope to increase the availability of connected-content.
Sonic Solutions (NASDAQ: SNIC), the leader in digital media software, today announced it is collaborating with Sony to enhance the BD-Live creation features of the Scenarist BD authoring platform. The new capabilities will help streamline the creation of highly interactive Blu-ray Disc titles that harness the full power of the BD-Live feature set to enable Web-connected content.

BD-Live adds an exciting new level of interactivity to the home entertainment experience. By allowing the dynamic inclusion of downloaded online content such as special features, new trailers and games, BD-Live enables content creators to maintain a direct relationship with viewers even after a title has shipped. By making BD-Live-enabled features more efficient to produce, the Sony and Sonic collaboration is expected to help increase the availability of connected-content, which in turn will help speed consumer adoption of next-generation titles and players.
If you'd like to read more, Sonic's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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Flash Memory
Transcend recently announced the release of its new Extreme Speed 300X CompactFlash cards. These new flash memory cards operate in dual-channel Ultra DMA mode 5, which allows them to achieve read/write speeds of up to 45MB/s.

Following growing consumer demand for larger capacity, high-speed memory cards, Transcend Information, Inc. (Transcend), a global leader in flash memory products and DRAM memory modules, today revealed its new Extreme Speed 300X CompactFlash card - a worthy addition to Transcend’s award-winning line of high speed, ultra-reliable flash memory cards.

Transcend’s Extreme Speed 300X CompactFlash cards operate in dual-channel Ultra DMA mode 5*, the fastest speed available for CF cards. This interface allows Transcend’s 300X CF cards achieve extraordinarily fast read/write speeds of up to 45MB per second on average**, making consecutive shooting and non-stop video recording with today’s high-performance digital single lens reflex cameras (DSLR) easier than ever. With impressive transfer speeds and enormous storage capacity, users are guaranteed to get the best performance results from their high-end digital equipment.
Transcend's Extreme Speed 300X CompactFlash cards are available now in 4GB, 8GB and 16GB capacities. Full details can be found here. Add a comment

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Altec Lansing PT 7031 @InsideHW
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Flash Memory
SMSC has announced two new families of USB 2.0 flash media readers. Designed to improve performance of Hi-Speed flash media, the USB2240 and USB2250 are capable of speeds as high as 35MB/s. The USB2250 also offers greater flexibility by reading two different flash media formats at once.
SMSC (Nasdaq: SMSC), a leading semiconductor company providing innovative system solutions spanning analog, digital and mixed-signal technologies, today announced two new families of USB 2.0 Flash media readers designed to enable greater throughput and flexibility in consumer electronics and computing applications. The USB2240 and USB2250 Hi-Speed USB 2.0 controller families support a wide range of Flash media cards with improved data transfer performance, delivering higher data throughput and catering to new high speed formats.

The popularity of USB 2.0 makes the technology a preferred interface for removable storage media in consumer electronics and computing platforms. SMSC’s new generation of USB Flash media controllers reduce bottlenecks with throughput speeds up to 35 MB/s - nearly twice as fast as previous generations of SMSC Flash media controllers. This bandwidth increase enables a host of rich-content applications, including streaming video, fast multimedia file transfer and higher performance of computing technologies like ReadyBoost for Windows Vista. In trials using ReadyBoost, a technology that employs external Flash memory to boost performance in the Vista operating system, SMSC’s new Flash media readers delivered significantly better performance than systems without high-performance Flash media readers.
If you'd like to read more, SMSC's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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Flash Memory
Kingston sent out a press release earlier today, announcing the release of its first FIPS-validated USB flash drive, the DataTraveler BlackBox. Offering the ultimate in data protection, the BlackBox features an automated self-test routine to verify its encryption architecture, 256-bit hardware-based AES encryption and a security function that will lock down and reformat a drive after 10 intrusion attempts.

Kingston TechnologyCompany, Inc., the independent world leader in memory products, todayannounced the release of its first Federal Information Processing Standard(FIPS)-validated USB Flash drive, the DataTraveler(R) BlackBox, shippingimmediately in 2GB, 4GB and 8GB capacities...

...The FIPS Level 2 standard requires the DT BlackBox to run a power-onself test which verifies that the encryption architecture is functioningeach time it is plugged into a USB port. Beyond the NIST certification, theDataTraveler BlackBox features 256-bit hardware-based AES encryption via adedicated processor which automatically encrypts and decrypts data on thefly. The drive automatically locks down after ten consecutive failedpassword attempts, thus helping to prevent unauthorized access if the driveis lost, stolen or misplaced.
The DataTraveler BlackBox is available now in 2GB, 4GB and 8GB capacities. More information, including prices, can be found here. Add a comment

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AMD Opteron 2356 Dual Quad-Core @Phoronix
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Foxconn 9600 GT OC Video Card @I4U
Gigabyte GV-NX96T512HP (GeForce 9600 GT 512MB) @Hardware Zone
Kingwin RVT-12025 HDT CPU Cooler @Benchmark Reviews
Logitech diNovo Mini Wireless Kit @ASE Labs
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Home Entertainment
A new study conducted by Oliver Wyman has found that consumers will pay as much as $9 for video-on-demand (VOD) and internet movie rentals if they were available on the same day as the DVD release. By charging more for "same-day" releases, Wyman also predicts that the movie industry could create as much as $5 billion in growth.
A study of 2,000 U.S. consumers conducted by Oliver Wyman, an international management consulting firm, found that a price point between $7 and $9 is optimal for the next generation of video-on-demand (VOD) and Internet movie rentals: high-definition (HD) movies released on the same day as DVDs. This premium over today’s $4 price for standard DVD or VOD movie rental would create substantial market growth by 2010.

Rollout of HD VOD and Internet movies on day-and-date of DVD release is a growth opportunity not only because consumers value them and will pay more, but also because this expanded availability will increase overall movie viewership. The Oliver Wyman study found that that these enhanced offers would lead U.S. consumers to watch and pay for an average of three more movies per year than they do today, creating a net annual increase in domestic consumer movie spending of more than $5 billion, from the current base of $50 billion.
More information on Wyman's study can be found here. Add a comment

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Software
Nero released a new version of Nero 7 this morning. There is no change log yet. However, this new update brings the version count up to 7.11.6.0. If you'd like to check it out, the update can be downloaded here. As usual, feel free to share your experiences in our forum. Add a comment

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ECS A780GM-A v1.0 Motherboard @Phoronix
Gaming Mice Mega Roundup @TweakPC.de
MITRON Duplus HDD Selector @Madshrimps
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Thermaltake Toughpower QFan 650W Power Supply @ThinkComputers.org
Thrustmaster RGT Force Feedback Pro Clutch Edition @Benchmark Reviews
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