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Home Entertainment
Netflix has finally chosen a side in the battle between HD DVD and Blu-ray. The online video rental company announced today that it has dropped support for HD DVD and will stock high-def DVDs exclusively in the Blu-ray format.
With the industry now having picked a winner in the face-off between the two competing high- definition DVD formats, Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX), the world's largest online movie rental service, today said that it will move toward stocking high-def DVDs exclusively in the Blu-ray format.

Citing the decision by four of the six major movie studios to publish high-def DVD titles only in the Sony-developed Blu-ray format, Netflix said that as of now it will purchase only Blu-ray discs and will phase out by roughly year's end the alternative high-def format, HD DVD, developed by Toshiba.

Since the first high-definition DVDs came on the market in early 2006, Netflix has stocked both formats. But the company said that in recent months the industry has stated its clear preference for Blu-ray and that it now makes sense for the company to initiate the transition to a single format.
Netflix will not be dropping HD DVD immediately. While the company won't be purchasing any new HD DVD titles, it will continue to offer its current inventory until the discs' natural life cycle takes them out of circulation. If you'd like to read more, Netflix's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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Software
Lightning UK! released a new version of ImgBurn over the weekend. According to the change log, ImgBurn v2.4.0.0 includes a number of new features including support for BIN/CUE images and newer revisions of UDF. Here are some of the features added to this version of ImgBurn:
  • Added: Support for multi-session/track CD reading/burning (*using a CUE file - this includes Audio CD's from anything DirectShow/ACM can handle - AAC/APE/FLAC/MP3/MPC/OGG/PCM/WAV/WMA etc).
  • Added: 'Ez-Mode Picker' screen with big buttons for newbies to help them decide on which mode to use (and people who want the program to load up in a 'neutral' mode where no discs get initialised - bit faster).
  • Added: Support for additional UDF revisions in Build mode. It now supports 1.02, 1.50, 2.00, 2.01, 2.50 and 2.60.
  • Added: Ability to use 'Language Files' to have the GUI in your own native language.
  • Added: New 'Create CD CUE File...' option to the Tools menu (and a button to the Write mode and Write Queue windows for easy access). Here you can build your own custom layout CUE file (for burning in Write mode). ID3/APE/OGG tags within Audio files can be used as a basis for CD-TEXT.
  • Added: Support for building images that only (officially) use UDF but are bootable. A fake ISO9660 filesystem is added with a dummy 'README.TXT' file in the Root saying the disc uses UDF.
The change log is about ten pages long so I won't post it here. However, you can view it in its entirety here. If you'd like to check it out, ImgBurn v2.4.0.0 can be downloaded from the official website. Add a comment

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Other

Aeneon XTUNE DDR3-1333 2GB Memory @HardwareLogic.com
Insignia Sport 2GB Video MP3 Player With Bluetooth @I4U
Microsoft Sidewinder USB Gaming Mouse @Hi-Techreviews.com
PNY XLR8 GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB @HotHardware.com
Thermaltake BlacX USB Hard Drive Docking Station @ThinkComputers.org
Ultra X2 750W Extreme Edition ATX Power Supply @Virtual-Hideout
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Asus Eee PC 701 4G @ChileHardware andInsideHW.com
BlueAnt Z9 Bluetooth Voice Isolation Headset @BCCHardware
NZXT Cryo LX Aluminum Notebook Cooler @Benchmark Reviews
OCZ Vendetta CPU Cooler @HardwareLogic.com
Palit GeForce 8600 GT Super+1GB Video Card @ThinkComputers.org
Powercolor Radeon HD3850 @TweakPC
Sunbeamtech Tuniq 3 Mid Tower ATX Case @Bigbruin.com
Zalman ZM-RS6F USB Surround Sound Headphones @ThinkComputers.org
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Home Entertainment
While there have been rumors that Microsoft is thinking about supporting Blu-ray on the Xbox 360, the company still hasn't given up on HD DVD. To give the format a much needed boost, Microsoft has dropped the price of the Xbox 360 HD DVD Player from $179.99 to $129.99. Best Buy has taken this one step further, lowering the price of the player to $119.99. And yes, the player still qualifies for the "Perfect Offer" program, which gives you 5 HD DVD movies by mail. Add a comment

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Optical Storage
Plextor Europe has unveiled two combination Blu-ray/HD DVD drives, the PX-B920SA and PX-B300SA. These new drives can play back both Blu-ray and HD DVD movies and offer support for LightScribe technology. The PX-B920SA is also capable of writing Blu-ray discs at 4x.

Plextor, a leading supplier of optical and storage devices, announces a new 4x Blu-ray DVD ReWriter drive using the SATA interface - the PX-B920SA. Building on the success of its previous version, the internal dual-format drive is capable of writing Blu-ray discs at 4x (BD-R) and also plays HD-DVD ROM discs.

In addition, Plextor has added extra convenience by including LightScribe technology to enable custom text and designs to be printed/burned onto discs.

Rudy de Meirsman, Sales & Marketing Manager of Plextor Europe, says: “Plextor has developed its second Blu-ray drive to be faster, dual-format, as it reads HD-DVD discs, and utilises the SATA interface. Plextor has a long history in providing premium, high reliability optical drives and the new PX-B920SA sets the standard again.”
The PX-B920SA and PX-B300SA appear to be based on LG's latest Super Multi Blue drives, the GGW-H20L and GGC-H20L. No word on price yet. However, both drives are expected to be available by the end of February. More information, including a full list of specs, can be found here and here. Add a comment

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Flash Memory
Kanguru Solutions has announced the release of its latest USB flash drive, the KanguruDefender Pro. Designed for secure enterprise applications, KanguruDefender Pro features a tamper-proof aluminum casing and hardware AES encryption.

Building off the recently released KanguruDefender, the KanguruDefender Pro enhances both security and performance, addressing the needs of the most secure applications and users from government, healthcare and financial sectors.

Security comes in two forms: (1) high-level hardware AES encryption and (2) a rugged, tamper-proof aluminum casing. Performance is enhanced through the use of hardware based encryption (Vs. software based encryption), which increases transfer speeds and means no administration rights are necessary for installing the drives, making it easy to roll out for IT system administrators. The KanguruDefender Pro then adds a diverse list of customizable options such as unique identifiers, serialization and security colors to make it adaptable to almost any secure application.
The KanguruDefender Pro is available in capacities ranging from 1GB to 4GB and a variety of colors, including red, yellow and green. If you'd like to read more, Kanguru's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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Flash Memory
BiTMICRO Networks announced this week that it has boosted the capacity of its E-Disk Altima E3S320 solid state drive (SSD) to a whopping 1.6TB. With its Ultra320 SCSI interface, BiTMICRO's new SSD is also expected to deliver sustained data transfer rates of up to 230 MB/sec.
BiTMICRO Networks, a pioneer in intelligent flash solid state storage solutions, continues its relentless pursuit for storage innovation with the announcement of the E-Disk Altima E3S320 solid state flash disk. Claiming its seat as the manufacturer of the world’s first Ultra320 SCSI flash drive, this time the E-Disk Altima Ultra320 SCSI drive will offer an astounding 1.6 terabytes of storage capacity in a standard 3.5-inch form factor, a most welcome development for the highly demanding enterprise, military and industrial applications.

The E-Disk Altima Ultra320 SCSI flash SSD is expected to deliver a rigid host of storage advantages, including sustained data transfer rates of up to 230 MB/sec (peaking at 320 MB/sec in burst mode). The E3S320 flash solid state drive will utilize single-level cell (SLC) NAND flash which, when combined with BiTMICRO’s patented wear leveling and proprietary BCH Error Correction Code technologies, delivers unprecedented data integrity and drive longevity.
Sampling for the E-Disk Altima Ultra320 SCSI solid state disk is expected to begin in Q2 2008 and will ship in volume by Q3 2008. Full details can be found here. Add a comment

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Optical Storage
Verbatim's parent company, Mitsubishi Chemical, has announced that they will be releasing their new inkjet printable 8cm BD-R and BD-RE media on the Japanese market in mid-February. Here's part of their press release, translated from Japanese:
Mitsubishi Chemical Media Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo, President: Shigenori Ootsuka) is the inkjet printer can print labels, video cameras for Blu-ray (BD), BD-R recordable 8 cm and 8 cm rewritten type BD - RE, three each from the pack in mid-February release. Labels now on sale in the ordinary type, as well as single-sided 7.5 GB per layer up to 1920 × 1080i high-definition image quality in a full 60 minutes of continuous recording.

The pursuit of high quality, but widespread video camera. Private high-definition video footage and would prefer to leave it to be. The Company is the emergence of BD-compatible video camera to match August 2007, a high-definition and high-definition video recording to long, 8 cm can be stored directly to BD sale. The new product, the original label designs can be printed on an inkjet printer, a pen or oily water in a pen to write letters.
While Mitsubishi has not announced a price, AV Watch expects three packs of their 8cm BD-R and BD-RE media to cost about 6000 Yen and 9000 Yen, respectively. If you'd like to read more, the entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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Aerocool FP-01 LCD Display @TechwareLabs
Antec Sonata 550 @SweMOD
Arctic Cooling Accelero Xtreme 8800 Video Card Cooler @Madshrimps
B-Gear B-Envi HTPC Case @Hi-Techreviews.com
Buffalo MiniStation 320GB Turbo USB Hard Drive @Everything USB
GeCube Radeon HD 3870 X2 X-Turbo Dual (O.C Edition) @Hardware Zone
Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler @BCCHardware
Promise SuperTrak EX STEX8650 8-port SAS @TweakTown
Rosewill RX81-CW-US-SLV eSATA/USB 3.5" Drive Enclosure @Bigbruin.com
Saitek Cyborg Command Unit @I4U
Viewsonic DF88W 8-inch Digital Photo Frame @I4U
Zalman ZM500-HP 500W Modular Power Supply @ThinkComputers.org
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