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Sonic Solutions, today announced that a broad and diverse range of professional authoring facilities across Europe have recently acquired Scenarist(R) BD systems, representing a major expansion of the region's Blu-ray Disc (BD) production capacity. The newly Sonic-equipped BD-capable studios, which include premier facilities in the United Kingdom, Germany, The Netherlands, France, Italy, Poland, and Russia, underscore Pan-European confidence in BD as an immediate and long-term growth and profit opportunity in professional content production.
"For years Sonic has provided the technology, products and support that have enabled facilities across Europe to produce millions of DVD titles. Now, as BD has proven its appeal in the European market with significant player expansion and title sales over the last 12 months, Sonic is on-hand to provide the products and expertise our customers need as they expand their business services with BD," said Chris Neely, VP of European Operations, Sonic Solutions. "With owners of movie content eager to build on BD's momentum, Sonic has been able to tap the resulting demand for BD production capacity with products like Scenarist BD and CineVision(R) which combine proven performance and stability with a feature set tailored to the needs of the post-format-launch era. We've invested in a strong product line to make sure we're able to meet the demanding needs of our family of customers as they take advantage of this growing market opportunity."
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Addonics Technologies today announced the Pocket Blu-ray/DVDRW and the Pocket DVD-RRW drive. They are believed to be the first portable optical drives with built-in eSATA and USB interface.
The Pocket Blu-ray/DVDRW is a portable Blu-ray player, DVD player and burner that comes with the extremely fast eSATA and the ubiquitous USB 2.0 interface. With the Blu-ray player, you can turn a notebook or desktop computer into a high definition cinema and enjoy the high definition video quality and the dynamic sound effects of Blu-ray. The Pocket Blu-ray/DVDRW supports practically all types of DVD or CD content from Blu-ray discs to regular DVDs and CDs in various file formats. It is also a high speed DVD+/-RRW and CDRW burner.
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Despite a rapid rise in the sales of consumer Blu-ray players, a fall in their prices and an increase in the number of high-definition movie titles, Blu-ray Drives (BDs) in PC systems have been left singing the blues, according to iSuppli Corp. By 2013, BDs will be found in only 16.3 percent of PCs shipped, up from 3.6 percent in 2009.
“BDs won’t be replacing DVDs as the primary optical drive in PC systems through at least the year 2013,” said Michael Yang, senior analyst for storage and mobile memory at iSuppli. “They eventually will find success, but during the next five years, that success will be limited in the PC segment. According to Yang, the two main reasons hampering the adoption of Blu-ray drives in PCs include costs as well as the lack of a library of movies that justifies the need for consumers to move to a different drive in their PCs.
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Buffalo Japan has announced a pair of 10x Blu-ray Disc writers based on the LG BH10NS30. The internal BR-H1016FBS-BK and external BR-H1016SU2 are capable of 10x BD-R, 8x BD-R DL, 6x BD-R LTH, 2x BD-RE and 2x BD-RE DL writing speeds and a maximum BD-ROM read speed of 10x. The BR-H1016SU2 can be connected via eSATA or USB 2.0. However, as Buffalo is quick to point out, the drive's BD-R writing speed is limited to 8x when USB is used. The BR-H1016FBS-BK and BR-H1016SU2 are expected to ship at the beginning of September and are priced at 28,500 Yen ($303US) and 33,800 Yen ($360US), respectively.
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Lite-On (www.liteonit.com), a global leader of optical storage solutions, announces the external slim DVD/CD writer, eTAU208. Created for optimum portability, the external eTAU208 is USB-powered, lightweight and features a unique top-load design. As an external drive, the eTAU208 is also a great power-saver, using less current than a typical internal drive.
The eTAU208 is a great travel companion for any notebook or netbook without a built-in optical drive. It is powered directly from the notebook through the enclosed USB cable, so there is no need for an AC adapter or nearby outlet. Weighing less than 0.7 lbs, the lightweight device fits easily in any notebook bag and is ideal for travelers, busy professionals and students.
The eTAU208 is a compact, sleek, and round corner designed portable device. With the distinctive built-in USB cable holder, you can neatly store the USB cable and also be certain the cable is in place every time you use the drive. It is also integrated with a top-loading mechanism for convenient CD/DVD backup and playback.
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Lite-On Europe has announced its new external slim DVD writer, the eTAU108. The highly portable eTAU108 is an ideal solution for those who own a notebook without an optical drive included, but who still want to burn files to discs, playback content, and access data or install software from CD or DVD discs.
Portability is the key for this new external DVD writer, which suits the mobile user. Power supply comes directly from the notebook through the enclosed USB cable, so there is no need to be close to a power socket to operate the drive. The drive has robust top-loader design and round corners. The eTAU108 will be available in a piano black and a pearl white version. And with less than 350 grams, this lightweight device fits easily in any small (notebook) bag.
Writing speeds of the eTAU108 are 8X for DVD±R and DVD+RW, 6X for DVD±R DL and DVD-RW, 5X for DVD-RAM and 24X for CD-R(W). Reading speeds are 8X for DVD-ROM and 24X for CD-ROM.
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Alliance Storage Technologies, Inc. (ASTI) became the owner and exclusive manufacturer of Plasmon brand technologies in January 2009 and today announces key programs and operational capabilities that enable it to address the market need for trusted long-term archival storage with professional Ultra Density Optical (UDO) solutions.
“ASTI worked very closely with Plasmon over the past ten years as a sales and service provider of optical technology for archival applications,” said Chris Carr, ASTI CEO and President. “When Plasmon ran into financial difficulty late last year, we were motivated to buy the intellectual property and assets, and re-engage with professionals who feel our passion for the technology. There are over 17,000 installations of UDO technology that are not only depending on our software and firmware support to extend the value and life of their original technology investment, but want us to enhance their products and develop next generation solutions. UDO media enables archival data retention for 50+ years on a secure, reliable and permanent archive. If ASTI did not acquire the Plasmon UDO technology, customers would have been forced to go to less reliable, more expensive and less environmentally-friendly alternatives. Today we are announcing key milestones in re-establishing the business and technical operations under the ASTI banner and re-engagement with key channel partners, technical services, and ISV communities where UDO has been and will continue to be an integral part of their business and value proposition to customers,” said Carr.
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Recognizing the growing popularity of netbook and notebook products, Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. today announces a new slim portable DVD/CD writer, the DVR-XD09, that features the industry’s most compact design to date. The new DVR-XD09 weighs approximately eight ounces and has an overall size that is slightly larger than a music CD case. Simply connecting the DVR-XD09 to a PC through the USB 2.0 port allows users to easily transport, connect and back up valuable data files in virtually any location setting as well as across multiple computers.
“With more than three decades of optical disc advancements, we are excited to once again modernize the DVD/CD computer writer category with our new drive that combines high capacity, high quality performance in one of the world’s most slender form factors,” said Steve Cohn, director of optical sales for Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc.
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Lite-On (www.liteonit.com), a global leader of optical storage solutions, announces the availability of the iHES208 8X internal Blu-ray disc combo at more than 2,000 Walmart stores across the country. Walmart is a leading destination for Blu-ray technology and this cost-effective solution is a perfect upgrade for the computer market.
The iHES208 model has the ability to playback Blu-ray movies and content, and is also a standard DVD and CD writer/reader. This combination of functions creates an affordable yet innovative way to address the majority of the market demand for playback of high-definition content, while maintaining the capability of archiving personal data files onto CD or DVD.
The drive reads Blu-ray discs at up to 8X and supports the following writing speeds: DVD±R at 16X, DVD±R DL and DVD+RW at 8X, DVD-RW at 6X and DVD-RAM at 12X.
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Plextor (www.plextor.com), a leading developer and manufacturer of high-performance digital media equipment, announces the new PX-B320SA Internal BD Combo Super Multi Drive. The drive features Blu-ray read speeds of up to 8X and comes standard with CyberLink’s BD Suite software package, which includes the new TrueTheater™ HD technology to provide users with the latest in high-quality movie playback.
This 8X Blu-ray reader plus Super Multi DVD+RW drive gives consumers an all-in-one solution for playing Blu-ray discs, while maintaining the capability of archiving data onto CD or DVD. Bundled with CyberLink’s TrueTheater™ HD technology, consumers can easily boost DVD video and audio quality to achieve HD-like results and smoother playback.
“We’re pleased to be able to offer consumers a versatile, multi-feature drive that offers faster Blu-ray read speeds as well as a way to burn data to CD or DVD,” said Christine Hsing, Marketing Manager at Plextor. “Additionally, having Cyberlink’s BD Suite software included will make it easy for consumers to enhance existing DVD content using the same drive.”
