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I-O DATA DEVICE USA, INC., (I-O DATA) today announced the retail availability of the number one selling High Definition DVD player in Japan. The AVeL LinkPLayer2 is a networked digital media player and DVD player with support for High Definition (HD) file formats such as Microsoft Windows Media Video 9 (WMV9) HD, MPEG2-TS, and DivX HD. Starting August 1, the award-winning AVeL Linkplayer2 will be sold at CompUSA stores nationwide with a suggested retail price of US$249.00. CompUSA customers will also receive a mail-in coupon for one HDNet video title (WMV9/780p) with qualifying purchase of the AVeL LinkPlayer2.The AVeL LinkPlayer2 will be available on August 1st for a suggested retail price of $249. More information can be found here. Add a comment
Designed for home theaters and digital media networks, the AVeL LinkPlayer2 features 1080i/780p HD video playback capability (1920x1080 resolution), with support for nearly every digital media file format, including MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG2-TS, MPEG4, DivX, XviD, and WMV9 for video; MP3, AAC, WMA, PCM, and Ogg Vorbis for audio; and JPEG, BMP, GIF, and PNG for photos. The AVeL LinkPlayer2 reads media from a wide variety of data sources, including CD/DVD dics, USB memory sticks and hard disk drives, digital cameras, memory card readers, iPods and MP3 players, and Windows, Macintosh, and Linux PCs.
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Optical disc drive (ODD) makers such as Lite-On IT and BenQ recently expressed concerns that a tight supply of key component laser diodes may affect the release of Blu-ray Disc burners, according to the Chinese-language Commercial Times.If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment
The yields for Blu-ray laser diodes are still low due to a high technical barrier, with only Sony and Nichia being the only suppliers, stated the paper. In addition, Sony is setting aside a major proportion of its laser diode capacity for its upcoming PS3, which may also affect the availability of its Blu-ray laser diodes, the paper said. Sony is currently the major supplier of laser diodes for Royal Philips Electronics, BenQ and Lite-on IT, the paper indicated.
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Ricoh Co has developed a device that can read both the Blu-ray and HD DVD next-generation DVD formats, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported.If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment
The newspaper, without identifying any sources, said Ricoh was aiming to commercialize this technology as soon as the end of next year.
Blu-ray uses a wider blue laser beam than HD DVD and records data at a distance of 0.1 mm from the surface, while HD DVD records at a distance of 0.6 mm.
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Blu-ray and HD DVD are supposed to be highly secure. There is AACS and HDCP, which when enforced make it impossible to copy movie data from a disc.Toshiba has reportedly acknowledged the copy protection hole and has stated that future versions of the player software will not have this issue. If you'd like to read more, head on over to I4U News. Add a comment
The premier German computer magazine found now out that you can make copy each frame of a movie by just pushing print screen on a computer. They tested this with the Blu-ray Sony Vaio VGC-RC 204 and the HD DVD Toshiba Qosmio G30 notebook.
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In this review we'll take a look at some of the features found on the GSA-H10N and see how it compares to some of the 16x and 18x DVD±RW drives from the competition. Does LG's new "Super-Multi" drive have what it takes? Is it the fastest DVD writer around? You'll have to read the review to find out.
If you have any comments or questions about this review or the LG GSA-H10N, please post them in the forum by clicking the link below.
LG GSA-H10N Super-Multi DVD±RW/RAM
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Thomson (Euronext:18453) (NYSE:TMS - News) announced that leading consumer electronics, software and technology companies are implementing its Film Grain Technology(TM). Developed by Thomson's Technology division in collaboration with its Technicolor business, Film Grain Technology was recently adopted as a Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) registered disclosure document. Consumer electronics giants Toshiba and RCA; technology innovators Broadcom, Sigma Designs, Horizon Semiconductors and NVIDIA; and software leaders Microsoft and Sonic Solutions are set to deploy Film Grain Technology, with two Toshiba HD DVD players, an RCA HD DVD player and a Broadcom IC decoder now entering the marketplace...I can't say I know too many people that would want their HD DVD movies to look old and grainy but whatever floats your boat. If you'd like to read more, Thomson's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
..The first tool of its kind formally documented in cooperation with SMPTE, DVD Forum selected Film Grain Technology for mandatory inclusion in HD DVD(TM) products. The technology allows compressed motion pictures to be delivered more efficiently and improves their visual quality. It enables film grain that is extracted before content is compressed to be faithfully re-created during playback.
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The sources said the orders that Foxconn landed are mainly for H/H DVD burners and this is the first time that Foxconn has landed such orders from Matsushita. As Matsushita mainly focuses on slim-type ODDs, the company has sunk to number six in the global H/H DVD burner market, trailing Hitachi LG Data Storage (HLDS), Pioneer, NEC, Toshiba-Samsung Storage Technology (TSST) and Lite-On IT, the sources commented.It will be interesting to see if they use Matsushita's own designs or the ones Foxconn was using for BTC's drives. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment
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Universal Music Group International, the world's largest music company, announced Wednesday that it is overhauling the packaging of compact discs sold in Europe as part of an effort to slow the decline of CD sales as downloading takes hold.I have to give Universal credit. Instead of suing grandmas and college students, they're trying to adapt to current market trends. If you'd like to read more about Universal's new packaging, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment
The company unveiled a new three-tiered packaging system for both new albums and older recordings -- "DeLuxe" packaging for top artists' latest releases, "Standard" packaging for all new releases and a slim "Basic" sheathing for old classics.
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InterVideo, Inc. (NASDAQ:IVII - News) an industry leader in next-generation DVD and multimedia software, announced today that its Taiwan branch, InterVideo Digital Tech, and Ulead Systems (TSE:2487 - News) will be officially merged.InterVideo definitely took their sweet time finalizing this merger. It's been nearly a year since they decided to purchase a controlling interest in Ulead. If you'd like to read more, InterVideo's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
InterVideo Taiwan acquired the remaining shares of Ulead Systems Inc. in order to consolidate resources efficiently, reduce operational costs, and enhance operational efficiency. InterVideo currently owns 67 percent of Ulead and will pay NT$30 per share to buy back the remaining 33 percent of shares from Ulead shareholders.
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We still have not heard if or when the GBW-H10N will be available in the U.S. As we find out more, we'll let you know. In the mean time, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment
LG Electronics Taiwan Taipei (LGETT), the Taiwan subsidiary of LG Electronics, on July 3 announced the launch of the its GBW-H10N Blu-ray Disc burner in the Taiwan market. The unit will be in stores later this week at a recommended retail price of NT$29,900 (US$923).
The GBW-H10N supports single-sided single-layer (SL) BD, DVD+RW/-RW, DVD-RAM (rewritable), CD-R/RW burning as well as SL and single-sided double-layer (DL) DVD+R/-R burning, according to LGETT. The model can also record and play back video in BD/DVD/CD formats, the company indicated.
