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According to Sony's press release, their 25GB BD-R and BD-RE media have suggested retail prices of $20 and $25, respectively. Expect to pay nearly double this when their 50GB media ships in June. If you'd like to read more, Sony's press release can be found here. Add a comment
Leading the charge toward the next generation of optical disc-based high-definition media, Sony Electronics has begun shipping its 25GB single layer Blu-ray Disc recording media with AccuCORE technology. In addition, a dual layer 50GB capacity disc is set to debut in June.
"Sony knows Blu-ray technology like no other company," said Mike Lucas, director of marketing for Sony Electronics' Media and Application Solutions Division. "Coupled with our uniqueAccuCORE technology, we expect our Blu-ray recording media to take the high-definition experience to a new level of performance."
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Nero, leaders in digital media technology, announced today the release of the new Fast CD-DVD Burning Plug-in including MPV (MusicPhotoVideo) technology support.Nero's CD/DVD Burning plug-in is available now and is free to owners of Nero 7. More information can be found here. Add a comment
Leading off Nero's MPV push is the new Nero Fast CD-DVD Burning Plug-in for Windows Media Player 10. This Plug-in became immensely popular for Windows Media Player 9 owing to its considerable performance improvement for optical disc recording. Now, Nero takes Windows Media Player 10 a leap further by delivering not only a giant boost to burn speeds but plenty more functionality.
Windows Media Player 10 users leveraging the Nero Fast CD/DVD Burning Plug-in will find they have the ability to create audio CDs, data DVDs under WMP's Burn tab as well as Nero Digital Audio format discs. What's more, the new plug-in delivers MPV support. This function creates a multimedia-rich table of contents on the disc that can be easily and conveniently read by or viewed on a wide range of software applications and consumer electronics devices, such as MPV-compatible DVD players. Music, photo, and video collections burned through the Nero Fast CD-DVD Burning Plug-in for Windows Media Player 10 will be more accessible and enjoyable than they ever could have been before.
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While high-definition DVD titles trickle into stores, the arrival of the first titles in the rival Blu-ray Disc format has been pushed back by a month until June 20.I'm sure Toshiba is enjoying this. Of course, its not like they didn't delay the launch of HD DVD... twice. In any case, if you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment president Benjamin Feingold said his studio's first batch of Blu-ray releases will be ready May 23, as planned.
"But the majority of our retail base and hardware partners have requested that we reconsider this date to better coincide with the first commercially available Blu-ray-compatible hardware," Feingold said.
The decision to hold off shipping Blu-ray titles to retailers comes several weeks after Samsung announced its first Blu-ray player wouldn't arrive in stores until June 25, a month behind schedule.
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CyberLink Corp. (5203.TW), a world leader in digital home solutions, today launched the latest version of its industry-defining DVD player software, PowerDVD. Featuring new-look controls and advanced features for audio and movie enthusiasts, PowerDVD 7 delivers a fun home theater experience on both desktop and notebook computers.PowerDVD is available online and in retail shops. The standard and deluxe versions are priced at $49.95 and $69.95 respectively. More information on both versions can be found on CyberLinks's website. Add a comment
New features for PowerDVD 7 include:
Integrated support for high-definition H.264 playback
Five interface modes, new skins and colors
Say-it-Again - one-click dialog looping
Read-it-Clearly - moveable subtitles
See-it-All - automatically activated time stretching for when mobile PCs run low on power
Power-saving settings for notebooks and an onscreen battery meter
UPnP media player support and premium content protection
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InterVideo, Inc. (NASDAQ:IVII - News) announced today that its new WinDVD and DVD XPack supports the revolutionary NVIDIA PureVideo(TM) technology. Delivering superior clarity and picture quality, XPack enables DVD playback using Windows Media Player on Windows XP.If you'd like to read more, InterVideo's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
"With NVIDIA's unrivaled high-definition support, we're delighted to offer the ultimate DVD playback solution," said Steve Ro, CEO and President of InterVideo. "People can now install and enjoy the same DVD decoding engine as used by the over 125 million users of WinDVD -- the world's number one DVD player software."
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CyberLink Corp. (5203.TW), a world leader in digital home solutions, today strengthened its credentials in the field of burning of Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD disc media with the online retail release of CyberLink Power2Go 5.5 Next-Gen Edition. The new release delivers an extremely versatile burning solution for data, videos, photos, and music by offering an application that supports all disc formats.Power2Go 5.5 Next-Gen Edition is available now for US$39.95 and can be purchased from CyberLink's online store. More information can be found here. Add a comment
Next-generation disc support provides a major leap in the capacity to store personal data, with 15 GB for single-layer HD DVDs and 25 GB for single-layer Blu-ray Discs. Power2Go 5.5 offers total flexibility for burning discs, with support for today's complete range of disc formats: CD-R/RW, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, DVD-RAM, double-layer DVD-R and DVD+R, BD-R, BD-RE, HD DVD-RAM, and HD DVD-R.
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TMPG, Inc. (www.tmpg-inc.com), the company that makes digital video easy, is about to make it even easier. The newest addition to its TMPGEnc product line, MPEG Editor 2.0, is a video editing software package that offers a variety of advanced features, along with a wizard-like interface, which combine to make digital editing faster and easier than ever before. The product will be available for download on the company's website beginning May 10, 2006, with an MSRP of $59.95.MPEG Editor 2.0 will be available for purchase through TMPGEnc's website on May 10th for $59.99. More information can be found here. Add a comment
"Digital and high-definition recording is quickly becoming more and more prevalent in American households," commented TMPG CEO Kimi Matsuki, in announcing the new product's availability. "Our TMPGEnc MPEG Editor 2 software provides users with an array of easy-to-use features that make editing any MPEG-2 or MPEG-1 file unbelievably fast, abundantly easy, and incredibly precise. It is the next logical step in the evolution of our MPEG editing software."
The software allows anyone with a DVD recorder to import footage directly from their DVD recorder into TMPGEnc MPEG Editor 2.0, where annoying commercials and unwanted scenes can be edited out and the file played back on a DVD Recorder, since MPEG Editor 2.0 processes the video with practically no re-encoding. Likewise, the software can edit high-definition content, giving users a product that helps maintain HD's razor-sharp picture from start to finish with no compromise in quality.
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Your favorite drive didn't make it onto the list? Then go and vote for May's top DVD writer. Add a comment
- 1. BenQ DW1650/1655
- 2. BenQ DW1640
- 3. Plextor PX-716A
- 4. LG GSA-4167B
- 5. NEC ND-4550A/4551A
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Imation Corp (NYSE: IMN) today announced that it has completed the previously announced acquisition of Memorex in an all cash transaction, from Hanny Holdings of Hong Kong and other shareholders of Memorex. Actual purchase price was $329 million, after net asset adjustments were made to the original purchase price of $330 million. Additional cash consideration ranging between $5 million and $45 million will be paid out over a period of up to three years after close, contingent on financial performance of the purchased business. In addition, customary closing costs and advisory fees of approximately $5 million have been incurred.According to the press release, Memorex will continue to do business as usual. However, they will now be a division of Imation. If you'd like to read more, Imation's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
"This acquisition is a major strategic milestone for Imation, as we implement our profitable growth strategy," said Bruce Henderson, Imation Chairman and CEO. "We are adding a powerful consumer brand and the U.S. market share leader in recordable CDs and DVDs, as well as an experienced retail team. With Imation's deep technology expertise, strong business-to-business brand, global footprint, broad product portfolio and industry experience, we are creating a new global powerhouse in the data storage industry. Over the past three months, we have completed detailed integration planning and look forward to a rapid transition to the combined company."
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The results for Sony's game division during the current fiscal year will not be good however, as the company ramps up investments for the PlayStation 3, which launches worldwide this November. Sony expects the segment to hemorrhage 100 billion yen ($871.6 million) in operating losses during the business year as it prepares the PS3 for launch.Knowing Sony, the company won't have any problem making this money back, especially if the PS3 is as popular as their previous consoles. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment
That said, in the future Sony believes it can cut down on PS3 related costs quite a bit. "We believe that we can lower costs dramatically (on the PS3) through chip shrinkage and by cutting the number of parts but there is no way to avoid high costs in the first year," Sony Senior Vice President Takao Yuhara told a Tokyo news conference, according to Reuters.
