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03 September 2007

Back in April, we reported that BenQ was spinning off its branded business. BenQ announced today that the spin-off has been completed and that the new company will be commencing operations immediately.

BenQ Corporation is pleased to announce that it will commence its new operation today following successful completion of the spin-off plan to separate its branded and manufacturing business. BenQ, a branded company after the separation, will continue to sell and market products under the BenQ brand name.

BenQ will remain headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan. The company has a paid-in capital of NT$3.62 billion with revenue expected to exceed NT$100 billion in 2009. At the initial stage, BenQ will be 100% owned by Qisda Corporation. Qisda will gradually reduce its shareholdings in BenQ while BenQ explores options for strategic partners and investors.

If you'd like to read more, BenQ's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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Optical Storage

03 September 2007

Toshiba has reportedly placed an OEM order with Ritek for blank 2x HD DVD-R discs. According to DigiTimes, Toshiba plans to bundle five blank HD DVD-R discs with it HD DVD recorders sold during the holiday shopping season.

Ritek, the second largest Taiwan-based producer of blank optical discs, has obtained OEM orders for blank 2x HD DVD-R (recordable, write once) discs from Toshiba, with shipments to begin in the third quarter of 2007, according to the Chinese-language Economic Daily News (EDN) newspaper.

Ritek confirmed receiving orders for HD DVD-R discs but declined to disclose any information due to a non-disclosure agreement, the EDN pointed out.

If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment

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01 September 2007

ASRock 4Core 1333-ViiV Motherboard @Madshrimps
Intel E6850 3.0GHz Core 2 Duo 1333FSB CPU @Virtual-Hideout
ION TTUSB10 USB Turntable @Everything USB
NZXT Lexa Blackline PC Case @ThinkComputers.org
Winchip DDR2 1200MHz PC2-9600 2GB RAM Kit @Benchmark Reviews
VIZO Voyager Dual Fan 3.5 Inch Hard Drive Cooler @FuturelooksFuturelooks Add a comment

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Home Entertainment

31 August 2007

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment announced at IFA that they have sold more than 250,000 Blu-ray titles in Europe. More impressive though is that they've sold nearly one million titles in North America alone.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment(SPHE) today announced that the company's Blu-ray Disc(TM) sales acrossEurope have reached 250,000 while sales in North America are nearing theone million mark approaching the fourth quarter with the Blu-ray launch ofthe highly anticipated blockbuster SPIDER-MAN 3 and Steven Spielberg'sCLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND.

These benchmarks follow last week's announcement that sales of thehigh-definition format in six emerging markets including Hong Kong,Singapore, Taiwan, Eastern Europe, South Africa and the Middle East nowaccount for 10 percent of SPHE's total business in the growing regions.

With Spider-man 3 and the Spider-man Trilogy on the way, SPHE shouldn't have any problems exceeding the one million mark. If you'd like to read more, SPHE's entire announcement can be found here. Add a comment

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31 August 2007

The Blu-ray Disc Association recently announced that Acer has decided to join the BDA. The company currently plans to incorporate Blu-ray technology into their notebook computers.

The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) announced today that Acer Inc. will become the newest member of the BDA, joining more than 170 of the world’s leading consumer electronic, computer companies and content providers. Acer is one of the three largest personal-computer brands in the world and the number one notebook brand in Europe.

“We’re delighted to welcome Acer to the Blu-ray Disc Association,” said Victor Matsuda, chairman of the BDA’s Global Promotions Committee. “The addition of Acer provides one more sign of the growing momentum behind Blu-ray Disc and, more importantly, is a significant advantage for consumers, as it further expands the already broad options available to consumers in the personal computer space.”

If you'd like to read more, the BDA's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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31 August 2007

With the sales of EVD and HVD players coming up short, Chinese companies have started to look at other high-def formats. At IFA, the Blu-ray Disc Association announced that the China Hualu Group has joined the BDA as a contributor member. The company plans to propose Chinese technologies and standards to Blu-ray Disc Association for further improvement of the format.

China Hualu Group Co., Ltd. (CHLG), the only consumer electronics company belonging to Chinese state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of State Council, has joined the Blu-ray Disc Association as a contributor member.

CHLG is one of China’s leading manufactures of audio and video devices and is one of the largest providers of audio and video contents and services in China.

“After careful and intensive evaluation of next generation DVD formats, China Hualu Group decided to join Blu-ray Disc Association since this presents the best opportunity in the market for us,” said Chen Run Sheng, Chairman of CHLG. “Hualu Group is committed to actively help improve Blu-ray Disc formats and becoming involved in its promotional activities in the Chinese market.”

According to other sources, CHLG also plans to team up with the China Film Group to establish a Blu-ray Disc authoring center in China. If you'd like to read more, the entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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Software

31 August 2007

ArcSoft isn't the only company demonstrating their software at IFA. CyberLink has announced that they will be showcasing their full range of multimedia burning and playback products.

CyberLink Corp. (5203.TW), a world leader in digital home solutions, is showcasing its complete media solutions for high-definition discs at IFA 2007, Germany. In cooperation with leading hardware providers of both Blu-ray Discs and HD DVDs, CyberLink is demonstrating its full range of multimedia burning and playback products for delivering exceptional quality and enjoyment.

CyberLink BD Suite will be on display at the Blu-ray Disc Association's booth in Hall 6.2a, booth 104, while CyberLink HD Suite will be on display at the HD DVD Promotion Group booth in Hall 21a.

With the increasing availability of high-definition Hollywood movie titles and the growing demand for storage of personal high-definition content, CyberLink's BD Suite and HD Suite offer complete tools for enjoying quality playback, editing, authoring, and burning of high-definition content on the PC.

If you'd like to read more, CyberLink's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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Optical Storage

31 August 2007

DigiTimes has reported that Qisda (formerly known as BenQ) plans to introduce two new Blu-ray drives later this year. The low cost BR1000 BD-ROM is capable of reading Blu-ray Discs at 4x and is backwards compatible with CD's and DVD's. For those that need to burn their own Blu-ray Discs, Qisda is offering the DW1001. This new drive features a SATA interface and is capable of 4x BD-R and 2x BD-RE writing speeds.

The BR1000 is intended to target users who just want to enjoy high-definition (HD) BD movie discs, the company pointed out. In terms of price, a BR1000 in combination with a DVD burner is significantly less expensive than a BD Combo drive such as the Pioneer BDC-S02 which sells at US$299. In addition, the after-sale maintenance costs for a BD Combo are higher, Qisda noted. Qisda will not consider offering BD Combo drive models, the company indicated.

BW1001 supports writing in the following formats and speeds: 4x BD-R (recordable, write once), 2x BD-RE (rewritable), 12x DVD+R/-R, 4x DVD+R/-R DL (single-sided double-layer), 8x DVD+RW/-RW, 32x CD-R and 24x CD-RW.

According to Qisda's press release, the BR1000 and BW1001 are priced at 1,699 Yuan ($225US) and 4,999 Yuan ($663US) respectively. More information can also be found at DigiTimes. Add a comment

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Software

31 August 2007

ArcSoft has announced that they will be demonstrating ArcSoft Digital Theatre 2 at IFA. This playback software supports HD DVD titles, commercial and homemade DVDs, and a variety of high definition multimedia files.

ArcSoft, Inc. is demonstrating ArcSoft Digital Theatre 2 this week at IFA 2007 in conjunction with the HD DVD Promotion Group. Digital Theatre is a high definition video player that supports playback of HD DVDs, commercial and homemade DVDs, and a variety of high definition multimedia files. The HD DVD Promotion Group is showcasing Digital Theatre as part of its advancement of standards-based implementations of HD DVD playback.

"We are excited to be presenting our high definition solutions at IFA," said Michael Downs, ArcSoft Vice President of Marketing and Business Development. "We have been working closely with the HD DVD Promotion Group, leading graphics chipset companies, and the major Hollywood studios to ensure that we can provide complete, high performance, high quality HD DVD functionality."

While ArcSoft doesn't mention it in their press release, Digital Theatre 2 can also playback Blu-ray movies. If you'd like to read more, ArcSoft's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment