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Optical Storage
Pioneer recently debuted their BDC-S02 Blu-ray Disc combo drive in Beijing. According to a report at DigiTimes, the drive will initially be sold in China before being made available in other markets later this year. The price of the BDC-S02 is expected to be about $299.
Pioneer on April 17 debuted its BDC-S02 Blu-ray Disc (BD) Combo drive model in Beijing, for immediate launch in China and later in other markets around the world at a recommended retail price of US$299, according to Pioneer's Taiwan subsidiary Pioneer High Fidelity Taiwan.

The BDC-S02 can playback high-definition movies on BD-ROM, BD-R (recordable), BD-R DL (single-sided double-layer), BD-RE (rewritable) and BD-RE DL discs as well as common DVD and CD discs, according to Pioneer's Optical Disc Drive Sales general manager Shannon Yu for the Asia-Pacific region.
While the BDC-S02 is still a bit pricey, its considerably cheaper than most of the Blu-ray drives currently on the market. If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment

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Optical Storage
Faster write once Blu-ray is finally on the way. At the NAB 2007 show, Panasonic announced that they will introduce 4x BD-R media this summer. Released alongside their new 4x BD drive, these discs will be available in capacities of 25GB and 50GB.

Based on its 35-year experience in optical disc development, Panasonic succeeded in developing a new phase-change recording layer to achieve a 4x writing speed. The maximum data transfer speed for a 4x disc is 144Mbps, which means it can copy a 1GB folder in just one minute. This phase-change recording technology is used both for single and dual layer structures and ensures precise and stable recording at speeds ranging from 1x to 4x.
No word on price yet but like most Blu-ray media, Panasonic's new 4x discs probably won't be cheap. If you'd like to read more, Panasonic's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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Hard Disks
While not optical storage related, its worth mentioning that Toshiba has introduced a 200GB USB 2.0 portable external hard drive. Based on the company's 2.5" hard disk platform, the drive is small enough to fit in a pocket and can be powered off a computer's USB bus.

Toshiba Storage Device Division (SDD), the industry pioneer in mobile storage products, today introduced a 200GB 2.5-inch USB 2.0 portable external hard drive capable of storing up to 57,000 digital photos, 52,000 MP3 music files, 88 DVD videos or 23 high-definition videos. The 200GB portable external hard drive delivers the highest capacity of any backup solution in the compact 2.5-inch hard drive class.
Toshiba's USB 2.0 portable external hard drives are available in capacities ranging from 100GB to 200GB. Their new 200GB model will set you back a cool $229.99. More information is available on Toshiba's website. Add a comment

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Software
Roxio sent out a press release this morning, announcing the release of their CinePlayer DVD Decoder Pack. Designed specifically for Windows Vista, the pack includes the Microsoft audio and video decoders that come standard in the Home Premium and Ultimate versions of the OS.
Roxio, a division of Sonic Solutions (NASDAQ: SNIC), the leader in digital media software, today released CinePlayer DVD Decoder Pack, an enhancement for Windows Vista that provides high-quality DVD viewing in Windows Media Player. The CinePlayer DVD Decoder provides full-screen, full-frame rate playback of DVD-Video and MPEG-2 files with amazingly sharp and detailed picture quality. The Windows Vista version of Sonic's extremely popular plug-in for Windows XP, CinePlayer DVD Decoder now also supports Dolby Digital 5.1-channel surround sound for enhanced audio enjoyment...

...Designed specifically for optimal performance on Windows Vista, CinePlayer DVD Decoder Pack includes the Microsoft audio and video decoders that are standard in Windows Vista Home Premium and Windows Vista Ultimate. With CinePlayer DVD Decoder Pack, users of other versions, including Windows Vista Home Basic, Windows Vista Business, and Windows Vista Enterprise, can enjoy high-quality DVD and MPEG-2 video playback in Windows Media Player.
Roxio's CinePlayer DVD Decoder is available now and can be purchased directly from their website for $14.99. Complete details can be found here. Add a comment

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Maxell has announced that they will be demonstrating their SVOD (Stacked Volumetric Optical Discs) system for the first time at this year's NAB show. By stacking 100 ultra thin optical discs, Maxell's SVOD system can store as much as 5 terabytes of data in a single cartridge.
The Maxell SVOD technology leverages the DVD format to create a cost- effective archive storage solution. It is targeting the broadcasting and content service market in addition to a wide range of applications for small to large businesses including examples such as regulatory compliance, medical records and imaging, and video surveillance. Not commercially available yet, the Maxell SVOD prototype is designed using 100 disc cartridges providing a storage capacity that ranges from 940 GB to 5 terabytes. The prototype is scalable to a rack type storage system for capacity of more than one patabyte.
While Maxell originally intended to introduce SVOD early this year, the technology is still in development. If you'd like to read more, Maxell's entire press release can be found here Add a comment

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Optical Storage
It's been some time since we've seen a new CD-RW drive from Plextor. While many people, including myself, were hoping that Plextor LLC would bring the Premium2 to the US, we're going to have to settle for their new Vista compatible 52x CD-RW drive, the PX-240A.

Plextor LLC, a leading developer and manufacturer of high-performance digital media equipment, today announced the immediate availability of the PX-240A Ultimate 3-in-1 CD-RW Drive. The new CD-R/RW/ROM drive is RoHS compliant and fully compatible with the new Windows Vista operating system. The PX-240A drive introduces a new level of CD drive performance and features - all backed by Plextor's reputation for quality.

The PX-240A 3-in-1 CD-RW drive delivers lightening fast CD recording speeds of 52X CD-R and 32X CD-RW, as well as 52X CD-ROM playback, with broad-base CD media compatibility. The drive features a 2MB buffer and Buffer Underrun Proof Technology to prevent buffer underrun errors and allow multi-tasking. High-quality Digital Audio Extraction (DAE) eliminates pops, clicks, and hisses for superior sound quality. The PX-240A also supports Ultra DMA-2 for fast data transfer, and S/PDIF connector for digital audio equipment. For easy connectivity with personal computers running the Microsoft Windows 2000/XP/Vista operating systems, the new internal Plextor drive features an E-IDE ATAPI interface.
The PX-240A ships with Roxio Easy Media Creator 9 is available now for a suggested retail price of $59.00 USD. More information can be found here. Add a comment

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Duplicators
Rimage has announced that it will be launching its new Video Protect technology at the NAB 2007 show. According to their press release, Video Protect prevents ripping of copying of DVD's while ensuring a very high level of playback compatibility.
When digital content must be guarded against inappropriate copying, Rimage customers can trust Rimage Video Protect to provide a solid barrier against unauthorized copying. This new feature is built into the Rimage software suite, ensuring seamless execution and streamlined workflow when using QuickDisc or Rimage Rapid API authoring operations. Pre-release content, screeners and on-demand production DVDs can now be protected on-the-fly using Rimage Video Protect on a Rimage digital publishing system.

"With Rimage Video Protect, our customers can protect their sizeable investments in original content," said Dave Suden, chief technical officer for Rimage. "This exclusive technology is highly desired by our customers in the digital content production and distribution marketplace, and we believe it delivers a stronger and more compatible anti-rip solution than others on the market."

Rimage Video Protect inhibits ripping and disc copying software, not playback devices, from performing as intended, ensuring excellent playback compatibility. The seamless integration of Rimage Video Protect into the Rimage system allows content producers to protect revenue and distribution plans without changing workflow processes or compromising deadlines.
Video Protect is built into the Rimage software suite and will be available as a feature on the Producer III series and 5100/5300 series digital publishing products beginning in June 2007. More information can be found here. Add a comment

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Software
Sonic sent out a press release this morning, announcing their new parallel stream encoder, CineVision PSE. Based on Microsoft's VC-1 encoding technology, CineVision PSE can be deployed across an array of parallel processing computing systems, giving authoring facilities the ability to encode multiple simultaneous streams in near real-time.
Sonic Solutions (NASDAQ:SNIC), the leader in digital media software, today announced that it has entered into a commercial agreement to broadly deploy Microsoft's advanced VC-1 encoding technology, known as the PEP Encoder, in the professional high-definition title creation industry. Already used by studios to prepare video assets for a significant number of HD DVD titles, the all new version of the PEP Encoder, re-branded as Sonic CineVision PSE (Parallel Stream Encoder), is being released worldwide and supported by Sonic. Ideal for enterprise-level authoring facilities with large processing infrastructures, CineVision PSE is a best-of-breed VC-1 encoding platform that provides an unprecedented level of fine-parameter and pre-processing controls to tackle the intricate high-level image quality requirements of Hollywood.
If you'd like to read more about CineVision PSE, Sonic's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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