Details
Other
Erick Hansen of Blue-ray Technologies has responded to Paramount's and DreamWorks Animation's decision to drop support for Blu-ray, calling the $150 million deal an act of desperation by HD-DVD.
The founder of the first and only indie Blu-ray factory in the U.S, Erick Hansen of Blue Ray Technologies, spoke out strongly about the reported $150 million in incentives Toshiba and the HD-DVD cadre gave to Paramount and DreamWorks Animation to shun Blu-ray discs.

"Toshiba and HD-DVD offered this deal because they are desperate. The public has chosen Blu-ray discs with their pocket books, buying BDs 2-to-1 over HD-DVDs this year," Hansen said.

"For retailers, it's like being forced to stock VHS tapes after the public chose DVDs," he added. "For the consumer it creates more confusion that hurts the industry-wide move to hi-def." Hanson noted DVD retail leaders Blockbuster and Target stores will only stock Blu-Ray on their shelves.
Hansen definitely isn't pulling any punches in his response to the deal. If you'd like to read more, the entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

Details
Optical Storage
DigiTimes has reported that the demand for half-height and slim-type DVD burners has been higher than expected this quarter. As a result, the supply of key components like pick-up heads and digital signal processors has been well short of demand.
HLDS is suffering insufficient supply of pick-up heads (PUHs) and DSPs (digital signal processors) and as a result the company's shipment volumes of some H/H DVD burner models and 9.5mm super slim DVD burners are short of demand by as much as 20-30%, Son pointed out. However, the gap in shipment volume is much smaller for H/H DVD-ROM and Combo drives as well as 12.7mm slim-type DVD burners, Son indicated.

Lite-On IT is facing a shortage of PUHs used in H/H DVD burners and, in turn, has felt pressure from its US and European clients in asking for shipments to be sent by air instead of sea, according to recent reports.
If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment

Details
Home Entertainment
Fujitsu has announced that they've developed a new transcoder LSI that can compress and decompress HD H.264 video in real-time. By converting video to H.264, the MB86H52 can extend the recording time of a device by more than 2.5 times while maintaining the quality of the video.

Fujitsu Limited today announced the development and launch of a new transcoder large-scaled integrated (LSI) chip that can convert full HD (1920dot x 1080line) MPEG-2(1) video data to H.264(2) data and compress data size to less than one-half that of MPEG-2. Sample shipments of the new chip, the MB86H52, will start from September 1, 2007. This new transcoder makes it possible to extend recording time of recording devices such as hard disk recorders by over 2.5 times, as the chip enables data size compression without compromising video quality. The transcoder can also be embedded in a multitude of equipment requiring reduction of data size, and can realize full HD over narrower bandwidths used for home network, the use of which is anticipated to spread hereafter.
Samples of the MB86H52 will start shipping on September 1st and are expected to cost about 25,000 Yen ($215US). More information can be found on Fujitsu's website. Add a comment

Details
Home Entertainment
While HD DVD backers are looking to Paramount and Dreamworks to swing the balance in their favor, the research firm Understanding & Solutions has stated that Blu-ray will still be the winner. According to the firm, most of the industry's support is still behind Blu-ray and this recent decision will do nothing more than prolong the format war.
Research firm Understanding & Solutions reiterated its stance that Blu-ray Disc will prove victorious in the high-definition format war, despite Paramount Home Entertainment’s and DreamWorks Animation’s move to back rival HD DVD exclusively.

During a breakfast update on consumer downloading and high-definition issues here Wednesday, U&S director Jim Bottoms cited as reason the larger number of studio titles produced exclusively for Blu-ray. Also, the Paramount/DreamWorks move to HD DVD exclusivity did not add any new titles to that side, he noted, since the studios until this week supported both formats.
If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment

Details
Other

Antec P182 Performance One Elite Computer Case @Tweaknews.net
ASRock Conroe1333 eSATA2 Motherboard @TweakTown
CoolIT Systems Freezone CPU Cooler @Futurelooks
Corsair Padlock USB Flash Drive @Metku.net
CyberPower CP1500AVRLCD 1500VA 900W LCD UPS @Benchmark Reviews
DFI Infinity P35 Blood-Iron Motheboard @Madshrimps
ECS G33T-M2 (V1.0) Intel G33 mATX Motherboard @Bigbruin.com
iOne Scorpius N2T Wireless Keyboard @ThinkComputers.org
Leadtek WinFast PX8600GT TDH 256MB (Lost Planet Edition) @Hardware Zone
Nyko Gameface 360 @OCModShop
Saitek Cyborg Rumble Pad @I4U
SteelPad QcK+ Monster Pad @BCCHardware
Steelsound 3H Gaming Headset @Futurelooks
UBiQUiO 503G Windows Mobile 6 Smartphone @TweakTown
Zerotherm ZT-100 High Performance Thermal Grease @Tweaknews.net
Add a comment

Details
Optical Storage
I-O DATA Japan has announced a series of drives based on the LG's new "Super Multi Blue" drive, the GGW-H20N. The internal BRD-SH6B and external BRD-UXH6 feature 6x BD-R, 4x BD-R DL and 2x BD-RE writing speeds and a maximum BD-ROM read speed of 6x. The two drives can also read back HD DVD-ROM's at 3x. Here are some of the specs:



Writing Speeds:
BD-R: 6x
BD-R DL: 4x
BD-RE: 2x
DVD±R: 16x
DVD±R DL: 4x
DVD+RW: 8x
DVD-RW: 6x
DVD-RAM: 5x
CD-R: 40x
CD-RW: 24x

Read Speeds:
BD-ROM (Single): 6x
BD-ROM (Dual): 4.8x
BD-R: 6x
BD-R DL: 4.8x
BD-RE: 2x
HD DVD-ROM: 3x
DVD-ROM (Single): 16x Max
DVD-ROM (Dual): 8x Max
DVD±R: 12x Max
DVD±RW: 10x Max
DVD±R DL: 8x Max
DVD-RAM: 5x Max
CD-R/RW/ROM: 40x Max

The BRD-SH6B and BRD-UXH6 will ship in the middle of September and are priced at 63,500 Yen ($552US) and 69,000 Yen ($600US) respectively. More information can be found here. Add a comment

Details
Flash Memory
Toshiba Japan sent out a press release this morning, announcing three new SD High Capacity (SDHC) cards. Along with a 16GB SDHC card and an 8GB microSDHC card, the company plans to introduce the world's first 32GB SDHC card in January of 2008.

Toshiba Corp., a leading innovator in memory card solutions, today reinforced its line up of SD High Capacity (SDHC) cards with three new cards, including the worlds first 32-gigabyte (GB) memory card in this high density. Alongside the 32GB SDHC card, Toshiba also announced a 16GB SDHC card and an 8GB microSDHC card. All the new cards meet the Class 4 specification in the SD Speed Class, ensuring they deliver the high level performance and functionality essential for advanced mobile phones and other personal digital products.

The 16GB SDHC card will be available worldwide from October, and the 32GB SDHC card and 8GB microSDHC card will be launched worldwide in January next year.
All three cards feature a maximum read speed of 6MB/s and a sustained writing speed of 4MB/s. Full details can be found here. Add a comment

Details
Other
The DVD6C Licensing Group recently terminated the patent license agreement of two Chinese manufacturers. According to DigiTimes, AKI Digital Electrical Appliance and Chaoyue (Jiangsu) Digital failed to fulfill their material obligations of royalty reporting and/or royalty payment under the agreement.
The DVD6C Licensing Group (DVD6C) has terminated its Patent License Agreement with AKI Digital Electrical Appliance, a maker of DVD players based in Shenzhen, because the company failed to fulfill the material obligation of royalty reporting and/or royalty payment under the agreement, with the termination having taken effect on August 12, according to a DVD6C press release.

The news follows the cancellation of another China-based licensee, Chaoyue (Jiangsu) Digital, on August 2, and Chinese makers, which comprise the majority of DVD6C licensees of DVD player technology, are now concerned about a possible crackdown by the licensing organization.
If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment

Details
Home Entertainment
As we reported yesterday, Paramount and DreamWorks Animation have decided release their titles exclusively on HD DVD. While both studios claimed that the format's lower costs made it the better choice for consumers, the true motivator appears to be a "promotional considerations" paid by HD DVD backers. According to a blog post at Deadline Hollywood Daily, Paramount and DreamWorks Animation received a total of $150 million to drop support for Blu-ray.
I've learned there will be two new developments announced later this week today in the ongoing Blu-ray vs HD-DVD format war: separate HD-DVD deals with Paramount and DreamWorks Animation that involve major millions of dollars. I've got a confidential report from Pali Research managing director Richard S. Greenfield, a media analyst for entertainment and cable, that discussed the deals (see below), spinning them as "the format war is now set to intensify". But sources have given me updated details which show the HD-DVD side is paying through the nose -- I'm told $50 million to Paramount, and $100 million to DreamWorks Animation -- to try to show the strength of what we all know is a dying format.
If you'd like to read more, the entire blog post can be found here. Also, feel free to join the ongoing discussion in our forum. Add a comment

Details
Other

Eagle Tech Consus W-Series 3.5" USB External HDD Enclosure @Madshrimps
ePower Technology EP-1200P10 xScale 1200W PSU @Benchmark Reviews
Foxconn GeForce 8600GTS @ChileHardware
Hitachi P50S601 1080p Plasma HDTV @I4U
iON EC-2 Aluminum ATX Media Center/HTPC Desktop Case @Madshrimps
Kingston DDR3-1066MHz @InsideHW.com
Logitech diNovo Edge Ultra Slim Bluetooth Keyboard @Futurelooks
Logitech X-240 2.1 Speaker System @ThinkComputers.org
Vantec USB External 5.1 Audio Adapter @Virtual-Hideout
Zalman Z-Machine GT1000 Case @BCCHardware
Add a comment

Latest Reviews

Latest Headlines

Latest Forum Threads