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17 October 2006

Here's an interesting bit of news. While Apple is a member of the Blu-ray Disc Association, Think Secret has reported that the company is planning on supporting both the HD-DVD and Blu-ray Disc formats.

Apple joined the Blu-ray Disc Association in March 2005 but has kept largely mum on its support and adoption of the next-generation disc technology. At the time, Apple's decision to put its weight behind Blu-ray was seen as a coup for Blu-ray and blow to the competing HD-DVD format, but documents recently obtained by Think Secret indicate that Apple may in fact be planning to support both formats equally.

While members of the Blu-ray camp, which include Dell, Panasonic, Pioneer, and Sony, have kept their distance from HD-DVD, which is backed by Microsoft, Toshiba, and Intel, among others, Apple would not be the first vendor to side with both formats: Hewlett Packard actively supports both formats.

With there being no clear winner in the format wars, it makes sense for companies like Apple to straddle the line, providing support for sides. Of course, at this point its just a rumor so I wouldn't get too excited yet. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment

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Optical Storage

17 October 2006

LaCie sent out a press release this morning, announcing that they are the first to offer a complete burning and LightScribe Direct Disc Labeling solution for all operating systems, including Linux.

Innovative LightScribe technology enables consumers and businesses to burn silk screen-quality labels on to LightScribe-enabled CDs or DVDs right in the drive­no printing supplies are required. LaCie¹s LightScribe Labeler for Linux offers direct-to-disc label burning for projects burned with K3b. New Mac software is Universal and supports simultaneous printing to multiple drives. Free software downloads for Mac and Linux are available at www.lacie.com/lightscribe for anyone with a LightScribe-enabled drive.

LaCie Product Manager Anne Bordet said, "We're the first company to offer an all-in-one data writing and LightScribe labeling solution for all operating systems. LaCie was first to ship a LightScribe-enabled CD/DVD drive for the Mac, and now our user-friendly LightScribe labeling software is available for free to Mac and Linux users with LightScribe-enabled drives. With LaCie¹s complete burning solution, people can easily and simply create professional looking CDs and DVDs on Mac, Linux or Windows."

This is great news for anyone that owns a LightScribe enabled drive, especially considering LaCie is making the software available for free. If you'd like to check it out, LightScribe Labeler for Linux and the Mac can be downloaded here. Otherwise more information is available on LaCie's website. Add a comment

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Optical Storage

17 October 2006

While PC-based Blu-ray Disc burners have been available for a number of months, HD-DVD burners are still no where to be found. To find out why, PC World has talked to Maciek Brzeski, vice president of marketing for the Toshiba Storage Device Division.

Blu-ray Disc burners have been shipping for months now--why is HD DVD taking so long to catch up? Chalk it up to a philosophical difference, not a technological one, says Brzeski. Toshiba, he says, views HD DVD more as a technology for delivering prepackaged (Hollywood) high-definition video, not for creating your own disc-based content. "I honestly don't believe in these early days that many people will be using HD DVDs and Blu-rays to back up content. If you look at the cost per GB to back up to disc, it's not cost-effective."

The HD DVD specs of the first drive will be limited to recordable, write-once HD DVD-R media at 1X, to both single-layer 15GB and dual layer 30GB discs; the drive won't support any of the HD DVD flavors of rewritable discs. However, the drive will support writing to standard DVD: 4X DVD±R (2X for double- and dual-layer), 4X DVD±RW, 3X DVD-RAM, and 16X CD-R.

These specs aren't exactly impressive. Hopefully, second generation HD DVD burners will be faster and include support for rewritable HD media. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment

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Software

16 October 2006

TMPG, Inc. has announced their new video editing and conversion software, DVD Source Creator 4. Based on the TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress engine, DVD Source Creator 4 can take virtually any existing video-file format and make it DVD ready by encoding it to MPEG 1 or 2.

TMPG, Inc. (www.tmpg-inc.com), the company that makes digital video easy, is set to add its new DVD Source Creator 4 software to its growing TMPGEnc-brand lineup. The product provides effortless editing and enhancing of almost any video file, which it then encodes to standard DVD compliant MPEG files. Multiple clips can be encoded into one file, or separate files can be encoded for each clip. Release date is scheduled for Wednesday, October 18.

"This powerful new software is based on our award-winning TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress engine," commented Kimi Matsuki, TMPG CEO. "DVD Source Creator 4 utilizes the engine's most important features, such as an easy-cut editor, video filtering, and automatic scene-change detection. Furthering its functionality, the TMPGEnc DVD Source Creator 4 is optimized for the latest Intel Core 2 Duo technology."

DVD Source Creator 4 will be available for purchase through TMPG's website on October 18th for $39.95. More information can be found here. Add a comment

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Software

16 October 2006

Ulead has announced a new version of VideoStudio 10 optimized for Intel's Core 2 Duo processors. Here's part of their press release:

InterVideo, Inc. (NASDAQ: IVII) and its subsidiary Ulead Systems, Inc. (TSE:2487), industry leaders in video, image and DVD software, today announced Ulead VideoStudio 10 and Ulead VideoStudio 10 Plus, the company's award-winning consumer video editing products, are optimized for Intel Core 2 Duo processors.

"We are very excited that Ulead has added support for Intel Core 2 Duo and Intel Core 2 Extreme processors to VideoStudio 10 and VideoStudio 10 Plus," said Jason Chen, Country Manager of Intel Taiwan. "VideoStudio's friendly step-by-step workflow makes it an excellent choice for home users and people new to digital video editing. And when it comes time to burn video to DVD, VideoStudio users will love how fast things go with systems featuring Intel Core 2 Duo processors."

Ulead has also added support for HDV camcorder write-back and the newest hard drive camcorders to VideoStudio 10 Plus. If you'd like to read more, then entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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Software

16 October 2006

Nero released another major update to Nero 7 this morning. While there is no change log yet, we've heard from sources within Nero that version 7.5.7.0 will offer support for Windows Vista. If you'd like to check it out, the update can be downloaded here or via BitTorrent. As usual, feel free to share your experiences in our forum. Add a comment

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Optical Storage

16 October 2006

Plextor LLC sent out a press release this morning, announcing the PlexEraser PX-OE100E. Using a laser beam, the PlexEraser destroys the data-logging portion of a CD/DVD disc, making it unreadable and unrecoverable.

Plextor LLC, a leading developer and manufacturer of high-performance digital media equipment, today announced PlexEraser (PX-OE100E), the world's first CD/DVD drive to enable security-conscious organizations to destroy discs using a method that is both environmentally friendly and secure.

PlexEraser is a standalone unit that does not require a personal computer to operate. This high-tech alternative to the disc shredder was designed for organizations in such industries as finance, government/military, and research - as well as any company with commercially sensitive data. PlexEraser enables discs to be destroyed without the organic dye leaking from the disc - something not possible with a disc shredder/manual shattering - and leaves them ready to be recycled without any data being recoverable.

The PlexEraser PX-OE100E is expected to ship in November for a suggested retail price of $249.99. More information can be found here. Add a comment

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Optical Storage

16 October 2006

With Ritek adopting Philips' Veeza licensing scheme, many people, including myself, expected other Taiwanese media manufacturers to follow suit. According to DigiTimes, this isn't the case, as many are still concerned with unfair competition from manufacturers in China and Hong Kong that have not accepted Veeza.

Royal Philips Electronics has scored no additional points in promoting Veeza, a new licensing system for its CD-R disc patents, in Taiwan since Ritek was the first among Taiwan-based makers of CD-R discs to join the program late last month, according to industry sources.

The Taiwan Office of Philips Intellectual Property & Standards (PIPS) is negotiating with several companies, including CMC Magnetics, Prodisc Technology and Optodisc Technology, to accept Veeza, the sources indicated. These Taiwanese makers are willing to sign up for Veeza, but are asking for favorable conditions, the sources pointed out.

The article also mentions that Philips is barring imports of non-Veeza CD-R discs in some of the world's major markets. While they see this as a way to eliminate the competition from manufacturers in China and Hong Kong, it also forces the remaining Taiwanese manufacturers to get on board. If you want to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment

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Duplicators

13 October 2006

Rimage has announced the release of the Everest III. According to their press release, it is the "world's only permanent thermal retransfer direct-to-disc printing solution".

Everest III, which is an enhanced version of Rimage's pioneering thermal retransfer printing technology, enables users to create custom, colorful, high-resolution labels bonded directly to the surface of CDs and DVDs -- a permanent solution essential for many retail, medical and banking/finance applications.

The Everest III enhancements include increased color accuracy, added hardware and software functionality, and enhanced ribbon communication, resulting in a combination of unmatched reliability, long print run capabilities, print permanence and the industry's lowest cost per disc.

The Everest III is available now and can be purchased as stand alone unit or with Rimage's disc publishing systems. If you'd like to read more, Rimage's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment