Corel sent out a press release this morning, announcing the HD Power Pack for Ulead DVD MovieFactory 6 Plus. This addon expands the capabilities of Ulead DVD MovieFactory 6 Plus by providing support for AVCHD, BDMV and HD DVD Advanced Content authoring as well as M2TS import.
Corel Corporation (NASDAQ:CREL; TSX:CRE), a leading developer of graphics, productivity, and digital media software, today announced that users of its Ulead DVD MovieFactory 6 Plus software can now install the new HD Power Pack to add AVCHD (Advanced Video Codec High Definition), BDMV (Blu-ray Disc Movie Video) and HD DVD Advanced Content authoring capabilities as well as M2TS import.

“With the new HD Power Pack, Ulead DVD MovieFactory 6 Plus users now have the world’s only all-in-one HD solution for creating professional-looking HD results fast,” said Jeff Hastings, President and General Manager, Digital Media at Corel. “Customers want to produce professional quality videos, whether they are using them in a business context or for the pure enjoyment of family and friends. Our commitment is to ensure we provide tools that are built to take advantage of the latest technologies, while also remaining easy to learn and use.”
Starting today, registered users of Ulead DVD MovieFactory 6 Plus can purchase the HD Power Pack for $19.99. Full details can be found here. Add a comment
CyberLink sent out a press release today, announcing that CyberLink PowerDVD has been certified for playback of the BD-RE 3.0 format. With support for BD-RE 3.0, PowerDVD users can now play BDMV content, including interactive menus, on rewritable Blu-ray Discs.
CyberLink Corp. (5203.TW), a world leader in digital home solutions, announced today that CyberLink PowerDVD has been verified by the Sony Verification Center to support playback of rewritable Blu-ray Discs BD-RE 3.0 (BDMV format on BD-RE).

Continuing its tradition of delivering superb quality for movie playback on the PC, CyberLink PowerDVD's support for BD-RE 3.0 allows users to play the BDMV content they have authored on rewritable Blu-ray Discs, and navigate the advanced interactive menus of the Blu-ray Disc format. PowerDVD has already been certified for BD-ROM Profile 1.0, BD+, AVCHD, and HD DVD.
If you'd like to read more, CyberLink's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
SlySoft sent out a press release earlier today, announcing the release of AnyDVD 6.1.8.4. This new version includes a number of new features, including support for new copy protections, CSS brute force cracking and Slysoft's new Artificial Intelligence (AI) Scanner. This new technology scans a DVD and automatically determines how to circumvent the copy protection. A full change log is listed below.
With today's release of AnyDVD 6.1.8.4, SlySoft has once again delighted its customers with the delivery of another masterpiece in the never-ending battle with manufacturers of DVD copy protection systems. The new Artificial Intelligence (AI) Scanner analyzes the entire DVD within just a few seconds and through the utilization of voluminous rules and exceptions "decides" dynamically exactly how to circumvent the copy protection on this particular DVD.

Giancarlo Bettini, SlySoft CEO, enthusiastically sums up the achievement this way: "The AI Scanner in AnyDVD is a new, pro-active copy protection circumvention method. It allows the user to make safety backups of his DVD movies even if the newest anti-piracy technology is used. It is our belief that the AI Scanner will even work on protections yet to be released, so we see this as a future-proof technology. This is indeed a hard nut to crack for the copy protection industry."

6.1.8.4 2007 10 11

- New (DVD): New "AI Scanner(tm)" copy protection removal
- New (DVD): Added support for new copy protections
- New (DVD): CSS brute force cracking (region code mismatch) works now much better with Arccos/RipGuard/ProtectDVD/FluxDVD ... protected discs
- New (DVD): UDF remastering of .IFO and .BUP files
- New (HD DVD & Blu-ray): Support for new titles
- New: Automatic creation of .zip files containing IFO files and other useful debug information in the user's "My Documents" folder, if "Enable Logging" is enabled in AnyDVD program's settings.
- Fix (DVD) AnyDVD ripper could complain, that the destination directory has insufficient space
- Fix (HD DVD & Blu-ray): Large I/O requests could cause the "Magic File Replacement(tm)" to malfunction
- Fix: Integrity check could issue a false alarm
- Some minor fixes and improvements
- Updated languages
If you want to check out the latest version of AnyDVD, it can be downloaded here. Otherwise, more information can be found on SlySoft's website. Add a comment
Roxio has announced the launch of their new media protection suite, BackOnTrack 3. This suite of applications provides real-time protection from system corruption and can backup individual files or an entire hard drive to any storage device, including CD, DVD, Blu-ray and HD-DVD discs.
Roxio, a division of Sonic Solutions (NASDAQ: SNIC), the leader in digital media software, today launched BackOnTrack 3, a comprehensive suite of applications that provide consumers a straightforward way to safeguard their irreplaceable personal media and critical documents. BackOnTrack uses a unique three-level protection strategy that includes instant system restoration in the event of a major system crash, disaster recovery in case of a lost or damaged hard drive, and automated data backup to secure important files such as treasured family photos, videos and financial records.
BackOnTrack 3 is available now and can be purchased directly from Roxio for $49.99. Full details can be found here. Add a comment
Corel announced today that the KDDI Corporation has selected their DVD burning technology for use with its new direct-to-disc movie distribution service. According to Corel's press release, this new service will allow consumers to download and burn a movie to DVD in as little as 11 minutes.
Corel Corporation (NASDAQ:CREL) (TSX:CRE), announced today that it has entered into a licensing agreement with KDDI Corporation, the largest international information carrier in Japan. Under the agreement, KDDI will use Corel’s DVD burning technology with its high-speed broadband network to provide a new service that enables consumers to download a full two-hour movie from the Internet and burn it directly to a DVD disc in as few as 11 minutes. Launched on September 27, the KDDI DVD Burning service will only be available in Japan.

KDDI’s advanced direct-to-disc movie distribution service is the first of its kind to be delivered anywhere in the world and the first business model to provide CPRM security for network downloading. By incorporating Corel’s DVD burning technology with KDDI’s unique movie download service, consumers can enjoy the movies they want, whenever they want without having to visit a video rental outlet or purchase online and wait for delivery. There are no subscription or monthly fees, no buy/wait/return problems; only a single, low-cost transaction for each movie selected from KDDI’s robust library of titles.
If you'd like to read more, Corel's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment