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01 March 2007

Samsung CLP-300 Color Laser Printer @BCCHardware
Palit Radeon X1950GT "Super" 512MB Graphics Card @TweakTown
Dell Inspiron 6400 Multimedia Notebook (Centrino Duo) @HardwareZone

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01 March 2007

The DVD Forum has announced that it will be celebrating its 10th anniversary at the annual general meeting being held today in Tokyo, Japan.

The DVD Forum, the international organization that defines formats for DVD products and technologies, today celebrated its official 10th anniversary at the annual general meeting of its members held in Tokyo. The Forum, which has been hailed as a model for collaboration between the consumer electronics, IT and entertainment industries, was founded in August 1997, to assume and extend the work of the DVD Consortium, the ten-company organization that initially developed the DVD format. When it started its work in developing the DVD format and promoting its widespread dissemination, the DVD Forum could count 86 members. Today, it has about 220 member companies, drawn from all over the world.

Technically, the DVD Forum's anniversary isn't until August 7th, but considering all that they've done, they deserve to celebrate. If you'd like to read more, the DVD Forum's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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Optical Storage

01 March 2007

Earlier this week, there were some reports that Toshiba had submitted their new 51GB HD DVD disc to the DVD Forum for approval. Some even went as far to say that the format had been approved and would be launched by the end of the year. InfoWorld has now reported that none of this is true. According to their article, Toshiba's 51GB HD DVD disc is still in development and has not been submitted for approval.

In the last few days a number of Web sites and blogs have reported the format has been submitted for approval to the DVD Forum and some have said that approval has been received, but Toshiba says nothing of the sort has happened.

"We're puzzled ourself by where these reports came from," said Junko Furuta, a spokeswoman for the company in Tokyo. She said Toshiba hasn't made any further announcements about the disc since CES, and it wasn't submitted to any steering committees during this week's DVD Forum meetings in Tokyo.

When Toshiba first announced the disc in January, it said it hoped to get approval for the disc some time in 2007.

Sorry HD DVD fans. It looks like Blu-ray still has the upper hand in regards to capacity, at least for the time being. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment

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Software

01 March 2007

LightScribe Direct Disc Labeling has announced the launch of its new labeling tool, LightScribe Simple Labeler. Available for computers running Windows, Mac and Linux, this new tool lets you create and customize a label in three fast and easy steps.

LightScribe Direct Disc Labelingannounced today that the LightScribe Simple Labeler, an intuitive labeling tooldesigned to enhance customers' initial CD and DVD labeling experience, isimmediately available for free download and is also now bundled with manyLightScribe-enabled PCs and aftermarket drives. LightScribe customers can labeldiscs in a few easy clicks.

If you'd like to check it out, LightScribe Simple Labeler can be downloaded for free from the LightScribe website. More information can also be found here. Add a comment

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28 February 2007

SplitFish edgeFX Sony PS2 Mouse Controller @I4U
VIZO Propeller Dual-Fan Card Cooler @Futurelooks
Foxconn N68S7AA-8EKRS2H (NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI) @HardwareZone
Noctua NC-U6 Northbridge Cooler @BCCHardware
Samsung SyncMaster 940BW Widescreen LCD Monitor @Tweaknews.net
Samsung 226BW LCD Monitor @Overclockers Online

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Software

28 February 2007

Back in November, we reported that Sonic Solutions had filed a patent infringment suit against Nero, claiming that their video editing software infringes upon a patent related to certain techniques for "digital multimedia composition." After months of talks, Nero has announced that the suit has been voluntarily withdrawn by Sonic.

Nero, leaders in digital media technology, today announced that the patent infringement suit brought against it by Sonic Solutions in November 2006 has been voluntarily withdrawn. The suit, filed in the United States district court in Marshall, Texas, alleged that Nero's video editing software infringed on Sonic's U.S. Patent No. 6,204,840.

"Throughout this process we were adamant that the allegations were baseless and that Nero is not guilty of any improprieties in the design and performance of its video editing software," said Udo Eberlein, COO, Nero AG. "We commend Sonic for realizing the unwarranted basis of this claim and voluntarily dropping the lawsuit."

If you'd like to read more, Nero's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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Home Entertainment

28 February 2007

Sony has officially announced its second Blu-ray Disc player, the BDP-S300. According to Sony's press release, the BDP-S300 sports a new design, advanced audio codecs, BRAVIA Theater Sync and CD playback. Best of all, its priced at only $600.

The new BDP-S300 model can output 1920 x 1080p (progressive) high-definition video, currently the highest resolution high-definition signal available through an HDMI connection. The player supports various video formats, including MPEG2, MPEG4-AVC and VC1.

For those who own an HDTV set without HDMI, an analog component output for 1080i (interlaced) is available as well.

The new BD player is compatible with most standard DVDs and has the added feature of 1080p upscaling through HDMI to 1080p capable HDTVs, improving the picture performance of existing DVD libraries.

The BDP-S300 is expected to ship some time this summer. More information is available on Sony's website. Add a comment

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Home Entertainment

27 February 2007

New Medium Enterprises (NME) has announced that they've signed a deal with PC Rush, giving them the ability to distribute and market the HD VMD Media Player Duo and HD VMD Media Player Quattro in the US. Both players will be available in the 2Q of 2007.

New Medium Enterprises (NME) (OTC BB:NMEN.OB - News) today announced its first U.S.-based distribution deal with PC Rush to bring its HD Versatile Multilayer Disc (VMD) players to the U.S. market for the first time. Through this three-year distribution deal, PC Rush will distribute and market the HD VMD Media Player Duo and HD VMD Media Player Quattro, which will allow consumers to play their existing standard-definition DVD collections up-converted to HD, as well as allow consumers entrance into the HD playback market with the high quality, and high value VMD disc format. The HD VMD Media Player Duo, starting at $199 (MSRP) and the HD VMD Media Player Quattro, starting at just $249 (MSRP), will both be available from PC Rush in Q2 2007.

The HD VMD Media Players Duo and Quattro will fill the market need by delivering high-definition discs and players at an affordable price for a broad consumer base. With HDTV adoption continuing to grow, consumers need a proven technology and affordable solution for content storage and playback. Utilizing red laser technology, the same technology used to produce today's global DVDs, NME is bringing consumers an HD option at a comparable cost to the current consumer DVD market.

While I don't think Blu-ray or HD DVD have anything to worry about (yet), HD VMD does offer an affordable alternative. Of course, NME will need to get the support of Hollywood for the format to really take off. If you'd like to read more, NME's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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26 February 2007

Alienware Aurora m9700 17-inch Laptop @ThinkComputers.org
ifrogz Silicone iPod Case @Bigbruin.com
Sandisk e270 Media Player @BCCHardware
ASUS DRW-1814BLT 18x DVD Writer @HardwareZone

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