We've gotten word through one of our industry contacts that Verbatim and its parent company, Mitsubishi Kagaku Media (MKM), recently agreed to purchase SmartDisk's portable hard disk drive and digital imaging business. To help smooth the transition, several SmartDisk employees will also be joining Verbatim. While neither company has officially announced the deal, the transaction is expected to close in mid to late June. As we find out more, we'll let you know. In the mean time, feel free to leave your comments in the forum. Add a comment
ASUS doesn't appear to be choosing a side in the battle between Blu-ray and HD DVD. At this year's Computex, the company unveiled the BC-1205PT Blu-ray Disc drive and HR-0205T HD DVD drive. As Tech-On reports, these drives will be priced at $270 and $180 respectively.

At COMPUTEX TAIPEI 2007 being held in Taipei, Taiwan, Asustec computer Inc. (ASUS) of Taiwan is exhibiting the BC-1205PT Blu-ray Disc (BD) drive and HR-0205T HD DVD drive, both for a desktop PC.

These models are available at very low prices of about $270 and $180 (USD), respectively, because they do not have data writing functionality for BD and HD DVD. Reportedly, the company is also planning to launch the products in Japan, targeting the release as early as summer 2007.

The BC-1205PT boasts a high reading speed of 5x from BD-ROM/R/RE. It is capable of both reading and writing various types of DVD and CD formats. The HR-0205T can read at 2.4x speed from HD DVD-ROMs.
If I had to guess, I'd say that the BC-1205PT and HR-0205T are based on the Pioneer BDC-S02 and Toshiba SD-H802A. I'm sure we'll find out when they ship later this year. In the mean time, you can read more about ASUS's new drives here. Add a comment

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Corel announced today that WinDVD 8 has been approved by Dolby Laboratories for Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Digital Plus playback. Here's part of their press release:
Corel Corporation, a leading developer of graphics, productivity and digital media software, today announced that Dolby Laboratories, Inc. has approved its InterVideo WinDVD 8 HD DVD/Blu-ray software for Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Digital Plus playback.

Dolby TrueHD unlocks the ultimate high-definition audio experience, delivering studio-master-quality sound from HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc formats, while Dolby Digital Plus delivers up to 7.1 channels of dramatic surround sound for HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc players and home theater systems.
If you'd like to read more, Corel's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
If you've tried to play Blu-ray or HD DVD movies on your computer, you've probably found that you need a relatively high end system. Broadcom is hoping to change this with their new media PC solutions. Available as an addin card or motherboard chipset, these solutions enable flawless HD video playback on a wide range of PCs, include those with integrated graphics chipsets.
Broadcom Corporation (Nasdaq: BRCM), a global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications, today announced new media PC solutions that enable flawless playback of high definition (HD) video content across the widest range of PCs in the industry. By lowering CPU utilization, and integrating seamlessly into Microsoft Windows Vista and Windows XP environments, Broadcom's media PC solutions enable mainstream PCs featuring integrated graphics to play back high definition content from either a Blu-ray Disc or HD DVD, as well as from HD downloaded or broadcast content. The new Broadcom media PC solutions are available in three add-in card formats (including desktop PCI Express, PCI Express mini-card or ExpressCard 34), and as a chipset solution for PC motherboard applications.
Broadcom's media PC solutions are in full production today and are priced at less than $40 each. More information can be found here. Add a comment
While the GGW-H10N has just started to ship, LG already has a new "Super Multi Blue" drive in the works. Details are still a bit sketchy. However, Tech-On reports that the GGW-H20N is an upgraded version of the GGW-H10N capable of writing to BD-R/RE media and reading HD DVD's.

Hitachi LG Data Storage, Inc. (Hitachi LG) has exhibited "GGW-H20N" prototype optical disc drive for desktop PCs that supports both Blu-ray Disc (BD) and HD DVD at its booth as a reference presentation at "COMPUTEX TAIPEI 2007" being held in Taipei, Taiwan.

"We have already started sample shipments and plan volume production and shipments for the second half of 2007," a booth attendant said.
Tech-On also reports that LG will be offering the GGC-H20N. This lower priced drive will lack the GGW-H20N's BD-R/RE recording capabilities. If you'd like to read more, Tech-On's entire article can be found here. Add a comment
Sonic announced today that MediaTek and PLDS (Philips & Lite-On Digital Solutions Corp.) will be integrating Qflix technology into their chipsets and optical disc drives. With support for Qflix, drives will be able to burn movies to DVD with Content Scramble System (CSS) encryption.
Sonic Solutions today announced that MediaTek, a market leader in fabless semiconductor technology for wireless communications and digital media solutions, is implementing CSS recording into the latest chipsets, which can ensure the Qflix compatibility of optical storage drives. Qflix technology enables the burning of Internet video content to DVD with Content Scramble System (CSS) encryption - the same copy protection found on commercially released DVDs. DVD writers using the new MediaTek chipsets, combined with online entertainment delivery services built on Sonic software, will create an ecosystem to provide consumers a safe, legitimate, and reliable way to purchase, download and record entertainment to DVD...

...Sonic Solutions today announced that PLDS (Philips & Lite-On Digital Solutions Corp.) is adopting Qflix technology for integration into a range of optical disc drives. The new drives will facilitate the recording of movies and video programs to DVD with Content Scramble System (CSS) encryption. As the industry-approved content protection mechanism used on mass-produced discs and incorporated into all DVD players, CSS has been deemed essential by major content providers for the on-demand digital distribution of premium entertainment. The optical disc drives from PLDS form a critical piece of the electronic sell through ecosystem, and will include Qflix branding as a symbol to consumers looking for legitimate and reliable "purchase, download, and burn" home solutions.
With big names like MediaTek And PLDS supporting Qflix, it only be a matter of time before other drive and chipset manufacturers get on board. If you'd like to read more, Sonic's press releases can be found here and here. Add a comment
CyberLink sent out a press release this morning, announcing that PowerDVD Ultra now supports the high-definition playback and content protection technologies found on Intel GMA 3000 series of integrated graphics chipsets.
CyberLink Corp. (5203.TW), a leader in digital home solutions, has announced Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD movie playback software PowerDVD Ultra now supports the high-definition playback and content protection technologies of Intel's GMA 3000 series integrated graphics chipsets.

"The Intel 3 series chipsets, featuring Intel's GMA 3100, X3100 or X3500 graphics, enable robust and cost-effective solutions that provide high-quality movie playback for standard and high-definition content, including Blu-ray Discs and HD DVDs," said Richard Malinowski, Vice President & General Manager of Intel's Chipset Group. "PowerDVD Ultra's optimization for Intel's GMA 3100, X3100 and X3500 graphics, ensures exceptional performance, enabling users to enjoy high-definition movies on many mainstream mobile & desktop PCs moving forward."
If you'd like to read more, CyberLink's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
SAI recently announced that they've released a Blu-ray device driver for Mac OS 10.4. According to their press release, the BlueDisk Driver gives Mac users the ability to format, read and write to BD-RE discs using the standard Mac Finder interface.
Software Architects, Inc., the leading developer of UDF file system technology for computers and consumer electronics products, announced its release of BlueDisk Driver v1.0 for Apple systems running OS X 10.4.

BlueDisk Driver enables both Intel and PowerPC based Apple computer systems to format, read and write to re-writable Blu-ray discs using the standard Mac Finder interface, including “drag & drop” writing to disc. Discs are formatted in standard Apple HFS+ format for readability on an any driver equipped Apple system. The native Mac OS does not support Blu-ray disc drives or BD-RE media.
SAI's BlueDisk Driver for OS X 10.4 is available now for $49.95. More information is available on their website. Add a comment
SanDisk recently announced that it has expanded its line of solid state drive (SSD) products to include 64GB SSD's for notebook PC's. According to their press release, their new SSD's offers greater durability, higher performance and lower power consumption than conventional notebook hard drives.

Reaching for the “sweet spot” of memory storage for laptop computers, SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) today expanded its line of solid state drive (SSD) products with the introduction of a 64-gigabyte (GB)1 SSD aimed at both enterprise users and early adopter consumers such as gamers. SanDisk 1.8-inch UATA 5000 and 2.5-inch SATA 5000 SSD products, which already are available in a 32GB capacity, are compatible as drop-in replacements for hard disk drives in most mainstream notebook computers.
No word on pricing or availably. However, SanDisk's new 64GB SSD's will be on display this week at Computex Taipei 2007. More information can be found here. Add a comment