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LG Electronics (LG), a global leader and technology innovator in consumer electronics, filed a lawsuit against Taiwanese computer maker Quanta Computers (Quanta), for infringement of patents related to LG’s DVD technology. LG is seeking an injunction for Quanta’s use of this technology as well as monetary compensation in the suit that was filed in U.S. District Court, the Western District of Wisconsin on July 3, 2007.Sadly, this isn't the first time LG has sued Quanta over a patent. The company filed a suit against Quanta in 2000 and it has been tied up in the courts ever since. If you'd like to read more, LG's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
LG’s claims include infringement of four patents related to DVD standard. Quanta has been using these patents without LG’s permission to produce notebook computers that were supplied to U.S. computer companies.
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While details are still a bit sketchy, Panasonic is also developing a new Blu-ray Disc drive capable of writing to BD-R and BD-R DL media at 4x. According to their press release, this unnamed drive can write an entire 25GB BD-R disc in as little as 23 minutes. Add a comment
Panasonic, the leadingbrand by which Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. is known, announcedtoday that the company will globally introduce Write-Once Blu-ray Discs(BD-R) with 4x writing speed.
The new discs will be available in both 25GB and 50GB, which will beintroduced in the market this July and September respectively.
In conjunction with the launch of 4x BD drives, the new discs have thecapability of 4x speed writing and reading, allowing users to handle largeamount of data or High Definition content with greater convenience.Panasonic is the first company to announce the market introduction of 4xBD-R Discs.
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Alienware Area-51 7500 System @HardwareLogic
Cooler Master GeminII CPU/Motherboard Cooler @Tweaknews.net
Logitech X-540 Speakers @InsideHW.com
Sapphire Radeon HD 2600 PRO 256MB GDDR3 OC Edition @Hardware Zone
Toshiba USB 2.0 200GB External Hard Drive @I4U
Zotac GeForce 8800GTX AMP! Edition @TweakTown
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Hollywood's studios are racing to dig up files, emails and records of telephone conversations related to the competing Blu-ray and HD DVD formats after the European Commission sent out letters last month demanding evidence of their communications and agreements on the new generation of DVD formats.According to the article, HD DVD supporters lobbied the European Commission, asking them to investigate relationship with Blu-ray and its supporters. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment
The European Commission, the European Union's executive body, appears to be particularly interested in the activities of the Blu-ray group because of its dominance in Hollywood, according to people familiar with the situation. The commission is investigating whether improper tactics were used to suppress competition and persuade the studios to back their format.
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JVC has not announced a price. However, AV Watch expects the discs to cost about 1,400 Yen ($11US). Full details can be found here. Add a comment
Victor Company of Japan, the first company in the world to develop a single-sided Dual Layer rewritable DVD disc,today announced the release of single-sided Dual Layer DVD-RW disc for data capable of storing large amountsof data through continuous rewriting.
The new products have a single sided recording capacity of 8.5GB, which is similar to the single-sided Dual LayerDVD-R discs and 1.8 times recording capacity of conventional single-sided DVDs. In addition to the space savingadvantages provided by the new DVD-RWs, superior operability is attained through deletion and rewriting of data.The new DVD-RW discs are both economical and environmentally friendly as they can be reused repeatedly.
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According to AV Watch, Mitsubishi Chemical's 30GB HD DVD-R DL media is expected to cost about 4,800 Yen ($33US). More information can be found here. Add a comment
Mitsubishi chemical media corporation (head office: The tokyo Minato-ku, president: Otsuka heavily virtue), single sided 2 layer 30GB for the PC data HD DVD-R (postscript type) we sell the disk on this year July 20th.
This corporation in 2006 July sold the single sided 2 layer 30GB HD DVD-R disk for video recording for the first time in the world, digital hi-vision broadcast image while it was hi-vision picture quality actualized the fact that it records to the long haul disk. This time it continues to this, receives the sale of the corresponding equipment, single sided 2 layer 30GB for the PC data HD DVD-R (postscript type) sells the disk.
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Verbatim is also expanding their product lineup beyond storage media to include things like MP3 players, memory card readers and optical mice. Full details can be found here. Add a comment
Verbatim, the storage media specialist, is to introduce newly designed packaging. The worldwide branding uses a special colour system to make it easier for customers to select the correct media for their requirements. All products, such as different storage formats, can now be easily identified. Verbatim’s websites have also been redesigned in line with the new global branding.
From 1st July 2007 Verbatim will be introducing new, globally consistent packaging, on a world-wide basis. With the new, consistent global look, customer orientation is made easier. ”Increasing globalisation and mobility mean that consistent communications across country borders are now a necessity. The design of the packaging plays an essential role in this, as customers recognise products and manufacturers in the first instance from the way they look,” explains Rüdiger Theobald, Business Development and Marketing Manager Verbatim EUMEA.
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Taiwan's Asustek Computer Inc. (2357.TW: Quote, Profile, Research), the world's top computer motherboard maker, said on Monday it will split its contract manufacturing from its branded businesses in January to become more competitive.If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment
Asustek also said it would separate its contract manufacturing, or original equipment manufacturing (OEM), into two units: Pegatron, specialising in PC-related equipment, and Unihan, focusing on casing, modules and non-PC products.
The branded business will retain the company's current Taiwan listing and the Asustek name. The two OEM units could also be listed in Taiwan, but the company does not rule out a listing overseas, Chairman Jonney Shih told a news conference.
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Verance Corporation today announced the immediate availability of its audio watermark technology for licensing by manufacturers of Blu-ray and HD DVD players and components. The licenses provide access to technical specifications, implementations, and intellectual property rights necessary for the inclusion of the Verance audio watermark detection within their products on a reasonable and non-discriminatory basis...It will be interesting to see how well Verance's audio watermark technology works. If its anything like AACS, it will be cracked or bypassed in no time. If you'd like to read more, Verance's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
AACS LA, LLC (http://www.aacsla.com), the cross-industry consortium that is providing the content protection architecture for use in next-generation optical media formats (including HD DVD and Blu-ray), identified the Verance audio watermark technology as an element of its content protection solution and approved the use of Verance watermark on AACS-protected pre-recorded HD DVD and Blu-ray discs in February 2006. AACS is expected to release final license agreements requiring the inclusion of VCMS/AV detector technology in HD DVD and Blu-ray players in the coming months.
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Amazon.comInc. (Nasdaq: AMZN), and Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) today announced the1,000 HD DVD Indies Project, designed to lower the barriers to entry forfilmmakers to produce and distribute movies in the HD DVD format throughthe innovative manufacturing-on-demand technology of CustomFlix, a part ofan Amazon group of companies. Jointly sponsored by Amazon and Microsoft,the project will provide free authoring and setup services for up to 1,000selected indie titles.It will be interesting to see how this pans out. If indie film makers take advantage of this project, it just might be what HD DVD needs to jump back in the lead. Full details can be found here. Add a comment
"This collaboration with Microsoft is a great opportunity forindependent filmmakers to reach Amazon customers with their films via theHD DVD format," said Peter Faricy, vice president of music and movies atAmazon.com. "By working together with Microsoft and leveraging the provenCustomFlix DVD on Demand model, we can lower the barriers to entry forindependent filmmakers and dramatically increase the selection we offer ourcustomers."
The project will be spearheaded by CustomFlix, which will bring as manyas 1,000 feature-length independent films to Amazon customers using theCustomFlix DVD on Demand technology, which produces and ships DVDs only asthey are ordered. This model greatly improves the cost structure forindependent filmmakers by eliminating the need for costly inventory.
