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The AIMMA meeting included presentations by speakers representing both HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc. Member discussion focused on the economics and efficiencies of transitioning to either format, including equipment costs and installation timing.If you'd like to read more, AIMMA's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
"Given that the HD DVD manufacturing process uses essentially the same equipment as existing DVD production, the format is far more compatible with the companies in our organization than the Blu-ray Disc format," said Ray Zerrusen, AIMMA president and president of member company OEM. "In a marketplace facing increasingly squeezed margins, HD DVD is the logical choice for our membership, providing a lower cost of entry and shorter ramp-up timing" he continued.
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As members of the AV Science Forum were the first to discover yesterday, Sony has once again pushed back its estimate of availability for its first wave of Blu-ray Disc player consoles, the BDP-S1.While many people have speculated that the delay is due to laser diode shortages, TVPredictions.com has reported that a "software issue" has forced Sony to postpone the release. Let's hope Sony can work out these issues in time for the holidays. Add a comment
According to the company's SonyStyle Web site, US customers should expect to see the player on December 4, with MSRP remaining set at $999.95 USD. The BDP-S1 had been slated for release next week.
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HP already produces PC-use HD DVD drives, with Toshiba producing the internal drives and Lite-On IT producing an external HD DVD-ROM drive (HD100), the sources indicated. For HP's planned OEM production of BD drives, Lite-On IT will compete for the orders with South Korean and Japanese makers, the sources said. Unlike its competitors though, Lite-On does not sell own-brand products in the international market and stands a good chance of being selected by HP, the sources pointed out.The article also mentions that Lite-On will begin producing Blu-ray Disc drives for other clients later this quarter. If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment
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Due to ship to OEMs in December, Maxell's holographic storage technology is in beta tests with several broadcasters. With its first generation cartridges holding 300 GB of data, Maxell -- in conjunction with InPhase Technologies -- is developing 2nd and 3rd generation cartridges to hold 800 GB and 1.6 TB of data respectively...If you'd like to read more, Maxell's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
...Maxell will also display its Blu-ray and HD DVD technology formats, both of which are designed to meet currently expanding digital video requirements for recording and viewing large amounts of data including high definition movies. Maxell's continual advanced developments with this technology will provide for high transfer rates and better rewritability, which will be needed for the video and storage requirements of the future.
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As the current maximum writing speed on DVD±R/RW/CD-R/RW media for slim-line drives are 8x/8x/24x/24x, the Plextor PX-608CU are up-to-date on these specifications.If you'd like to read more, CD Freaks' entire review can be found here. Add a comment
Bitsetting on DVD+R DL media is also a welcome inclusion and ensures good playback compatibility with set top DVD players.
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Nero, leaders in digital media technology, announces that its premier digital media software suite will be Microsoft Windows Vista-certified for the new operating system's launch in January 2007, and will carry the Certified for Windows Vista logo. Nero 7, the latest version of Nero's software suite, is the industry-leading all-in-one solution for the management of data, audio, video, photo, phone and TV content.As I reported earlier this week, the current version of Nero 7 (7.5.7.0) does work with the RC1 of Vista. If you'd like to read more, Nero's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
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VidaBox LLC, an innovator of media center systems, announced today the world's first dual HD-DVD & Blu-Ray Media Center lines. The Dual HD upgrade allows the rack-mountable, premium LUX and MAX systems to play both high definition disc formats.Unfortunately, VidaBox's systems aren't exactly cheap. Prices for the LUX and MAX start at $3499 and $4399 respectively and that's without the Dual HD upgrade. More information can be found on VidaBox's website. Add a comment
"The Dual HD LUX & MAX systems are perfect for those who can appreciate convenience, high-fidelity audio, and high-quality video performance in a single, easy-to-use package," says Steven Cheung, co-founder of VidaBox. "High definition is the new video standard, and many customers want the ability to play both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD discs. Combining that ability with the attractive, rich feature set of media center allows everyone to conveniently use the VidaBox as the center of all their digital entertainment needs. There's no need to buy two separate high definition disc players, nor is there a need to use a PVR/TiVo, stereo, DVD player, etc. when everything - TV, movies, music, pictures, and more - can be easily accessed from a single remote at the touch of a button."
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In the "Micro-Reflector recording" demonstrated by Sony, a laser light emitted from a blue violet semiconductor laser diode is split into two so that one of them irradiates the front side of a medium as a reference light while the other is emitted to the backside as a recording light. By precisely aligning focal points of the two lights with a servo technology, a minute interference fringe corresponding to a 1 bit recording mark is formed. When a laser light (reproduction light) is emitted on the front side of the medium having interference fringes, the recording light is reproduced. This light advances from the fringes to the medium front side as if the fringes reflect the reproduction light. This is why the system is called "Micro-Reflector recording".While this new recording system sounds promising, Sony still has a lot of work ahead of them. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment
The medium comprises a 0.3 mm thick photopolymer sandwiched by 0.6 mm glass substrates. Since the depth of the interference fringes can be controlled by changing the depth of the focal points of the laser lights, multi-layer recording with 10-20 layers can be provided. The recorded interference fringes are small enough to prevent the photopolymer from expanding/contracting due to temperature change. This eliminates the need of adjusting the wavelength of the laser in accordance with the temperature. Therefore, a commercial blue violet semiconductor laser diode is expected to be used as is. Moreover, the setup can easily achieve a reduction in component cost because it requires no spatial light modulators, CMOS sensors or other parts.
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Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. has developed a 4-layer Blu-ray Disc (BD) medium using Te-O-Pd film for inorganic recording layers. Total capacity reaches 100 GB with each layer having 25 GB storage capacity. This is the company's first report of four-layer BD discs. By revising a Te-O-Pd composite proportion, the company reportedly achieved durability that allows data playback after 100 years.I wouldn't get too excited yet. TDK developed their 100GB disc back in 2005 and the technology still has not made it past the prototype stage. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment
