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Optical Storage
With growing pressure form OEM clients like Dell and HP, Taiwan's optical drive manufacturers have started to introduce more SATA equipped drives. According to DigiTimes, the volume of SATA DVD-ROM drives and DVD burners could exceed that of ATAPI models by the second half of this year.
While ATAPI has been popularly used in optical disc drives (ODDs), SATA (serial ATA) stands a good chance of replacing the former as the mainstream interface standard for DVD-ROM drives and DVD burners in the second half of 2007 due to increasing adoption of the latter by global OEM/ODM clients such as Dell and Hewlett-Packard, according to ODD makers in Taiwan.

Many international OEM/ODM clients have requested for use of SATA in place of ATAPI for new DVD-ROM drive and/or DVD burner models sent for product certification over the past four months, the sources pointed out. As a result, the total shipment volume of SATA DVD-ROM drives and DVD burners is likely to exceed that of ATAPI models in the second half of the year, the sources indicated.
While this isn't the first time DigiTimes has made these claims about SATA, ATAPI drives are definitely on the way out. If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment

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Flash Memory
At WinHEC 2007, SanDisk announced that their new 1.8-inch UATA solid state drive (SSD) has been certified by the Microsoft Windows Hardware Qualification Lab (WHQL). SanDisk's new SSD also scored very highly on the Windows Experience Index, indicating that Windows Vista will run optimally when installed on the drive.
SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) today announced that the Microsoft Windows Hardware Qualification Lab (WHQL) has certified the new SanDisk 1.8-inch UATA solid state drive (SSD), which is being used as a substitute for hard drives in selected laptop computers. The product also earned a high score on the Windows Experience Index, indicating that it is suited to a variety of Microsoft Windows Vista applications.

The announcement was made at the 2007 Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC 2007) at the Los Angeles Convention Center, where SanDisk is showcasing its comprehensive line of storage products for use in computing systems. On display at the exhibition are the SanDisk SSD products - which also include the 2.5-inch SATA SSD - as well as USB flash drives, the SD card family, uDOC memory modules and other flash-based storage products.
If you'd like to read more, SanDisk's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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Software
Nero sent out a press release earlier today, announcing that Nero 7 is the first multimedia suite to be certified for both authoring and playback of AVCHD.
Nero, leaders in digital media technology, announced today that Nero 7 is the first multimedia suite to be certified for both authoring and playback of the Advanced Video Codec High Definition (AVCHD) standard. Now users can create and enjoy their AVCHD content with one solution. AVCHD is a new recording format introduced by Sony and Panasonic that uses an MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) video codec to allow for greater compression efficiency as well as higher quality audio and video capturing.

In achieving certification for authoring and playback of AVCHD, Nero 7 has successfully passed the stringent quality standards and guidelines as outlined by Sony and Panasonic to ensure the best user experience for AVCHD. AVCHD playback features ensure that users can enjoy High Definition AVCHD video directly on a PC with Nero ShowTime 3. AVCHD authoring in Nero 7 empowers users to take their own HD content from AVCHD camcorders or other sources, and add menus, create chapters, edit, and encode into AVCHD. Nero 7's certified authoring capability ensures that content can be played on consumer devices such as PlayStation 3 and Blu-ray Disc players.
Support for certified AVCHD authoring and playback will be included in the next update of Nero 7, which, if things go as planned, should be available in the next week or so. If you'd like to read more, Nero's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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Other
If you've been looking to buy a portable media player, you might want to hold off a bit. According to an article at DigiTimes, the retail price of portable media players is expected to drop by more than half to $99-199. The price drop is due mostly to the decreased costs of LCD panels and the availability of on-chip MP4 compression.
Retail prices of PMPs (portable multimedia players) are expected to drop from US$299-399 to US$99-199, due to significantly decreased costs of LCD panels and other key components as well as the availability of on-chip MP4 compression, according to Taiwan-based makers of MP3 players.

Sales of PMPs have been short of expectations mainly because of high retail prices and the poor quality of video playback, the sources indicated. With adoption of on-chip MP4 compression, PMPs can play video at 20-24 frames per second making the resolution comparable with that of DVD video, according to the Taiwan-based MP3/PMP maker Ergotech.
If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment

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Home Entertainment
Panasonic has officially announced its next generation Blu-ray Disc player, the DMP-BD10A. While priced $700 less than their previous player, the DMP-BD10A features 1080p upconversion, BD-J interactive capabilities and an audio upgrade package which includes support for 7.1 channel surround, Dolby True HD and DTS-HD.

Panasonic, one of the industry leaders behind the development of Blu-ray Disc(TM) technology and the market leader in Plasma television, today announced the availability of the DMP- BD10A, Panasonic's next generation Blu-ray Disc player, at a SRP of $599.95. The DMP-BD10A features an audio upgrade package that brings high end surround audio to the viewing experience via the inclusion of 7.1 channel surround, Dolby True HD and 'dts-HD(TM) ' High Resolution Audio decoding technology. The DMP-BD10A also incorporates Panasonic's proprietary EZ-Sync(TM) system for integrated one-touch operation of Panasonic home-theater components. Panasonic's DMP-BD10A further distinguishes itself with the bundling of five mega hit Blu-ray discs. Included with each DMP-BD10A are - "Pirates of the Caribbean, Curse of the Black Pearl" and "Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man's Chest" from Disney, "Transporter" and "Fantastic 4" from Fox and "Crash" from Lionsgate.
More information, including a full list of features, can be found on Panasonic's website. Add a comment

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Other

HIS X1550 IceQ @Overclockers Online
Vizo Saturno 2.5" One Touch Backup SATA Hard Drive Enclosure @ThinkComputers.org
OCZ VBoost USB Drive @DV Hardware
Antec P182 Case @HardwareLogic
ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT @HardwareZone,TweakTown,ChileHardware
Bluetooth iPod Adapters @BlueTomorrow.com
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Duplicators
Aleratec has announced that it has started shipping its new Color Coded Duplicator Grade LightScribe CD-R Recording Media. These new discs ship in packs of 100, containing 20 of each color.

Aleratec, developer and manufacturer of Aleratec Award Winning DVD/CD Duplicating and Publishing Solutions, is now shipping its new Aleratec Color Coded Duplicator Grade LightScribe CD-R Recording Media. The new Aleratec duplicator grade LightScribe media is produced in 5 different colors to aid in segregating and organizing different types of data or multimedia. These color-coded discs are LightScribe-ready and can be direct-to-disc LightScribe labeled in LightScribe DVD-RW drives without a printer. The Aleratec Rainbow 100 Pack(tm) contains 20 each of 5 key colors (red, orange, yellow, green, and blue) for a wide range of disc identification options.
The Rainbow 100 Pack is available now for an estimated street price of $69.99. More information can be found on Aleratec's website. Add a comment

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Flash Memory
Lexar sent out a press release this morning, announcing their latest USB flash drive, the JumpDrive Secure II Plus. Building upon the original JumpDrive Secure II, the Plus includes a built-in capacity meter. With this meter, users can see how much storage space is available without plugging the drive into a computer.

Lexar, a world leader in advanced digital media technologies, today announced the introduction of JumpDrive Secure II Plus, a sleek, high-capacity USB flash drive designed for safely storing, transferring, and sharing multimedia and more. It offers the same advanced security software as original JumpDrive Secure II, including 256-bit AES encryption, but now includes an innovative, built-in capacity meter for ultimate convenience. Ideal for college students and traveling professionals, JumpDrive Secure II Plus is compatible with both PCs and Macintosh computers, and offers premium features at an affordable price.
The JumpDrive Secure II Plus is available now in capacities of MB, 1GB, 2GB, and 4GB. An 8GB version will also be available in the near future. If you'd like to read more, Lexar's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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Optical Storage
A few weeks ago we reported that Gigstorage was in the process of moving its CD-R manufacturing business to Thailand. According to a recent article by DigiTimes, the company's new factory is up and running and they've started volume production of CD-R discs.
Gigastorage, a second-tier maker of optical discs in Taiwan, early in May started volume production of CD-R discs at an initial monthly capacity of two to three million discs in Thailand, and will begin volume production of photovoltaic conductive paste, its new product, in July of 2007, according to the company.

Gigastorage completed its shift of CD-R disc manufacturing equipment from Taiwan to its factory in Thailand and then began production. While the factory's production will focus on CD-R discs for the time being, Gigastorage may also shift production lines of DVD+R/-R discs from Taiwan if demand in the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) market grows to a certain level, the company indicated.
If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment

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Other
Today, CDRLabs brings you an in depth look at ASUS's new Serial ATA equipped "Super-Multi" drive, the DRW-1814BLT. Sporting some pretty impressive specs, the DRW-1814BLT is capable of 18x DVD±R, 8x DVD+RW, 6x DVD-RW, 8x DVD±R DL and 14x DVD-RAM writing speeds and a maximum DVD read speed of 16x. Along with support for LightScribe, the drive also includes features like ASUS's FlextraLink, FlextraSpeed and QuieTrack technologies.

In this review we'll take a look at some of the features found on the DRW-1814BLT and see how it compares to some of the 18x DVD±RW drives from the competition. Does the DRW-1814BLT have what it takes? You'll have to read the review to find out.


ASUS DRW-1814BLT SATA 18x DVD±RW/RAM
If you have any comments or questions about this review or the ASUS DRW-1814BLT, please post them in the forum. Add a comment

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