Details

• Print

Optical Storage

09 May 2007

Pioneer has announced that they will be shipping their new Blu-ray combo drive to European retailers by the end of May. The drive is expected to cost about €250.

The BCD-S02 will read both single and dual-layer Blu-ray disc formats and provide high-speed read and write compatibility for a wide range of DVD and CD discs . The drive will be available though our distribution network for around €250.

You’ll have the choice of both black and beige colour options.

The new drives provide a cost-efficient, high-performance and simple method for you to experience Blu-ray entertainment on your home PC.

More information, including a full list of specs, can be found here. Add a comment

Details

• Print

Optical Storage

03 May 2007

As promised, Pioneer is bringing their new Blu-ray combo drive to the US market. The company announced this morning that the BDC-2202 will be available beginning next month for a suggested retail price of $299.

Demonstrating its continued commitment to high definition optical disc technology, Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. today announces the BDC-2202, a robust Blu-ray Disc computer drive, which will be available to consumers beginning next month for a suggested price of $299. When installed in a properly configured PC, the Pioneer Blu-ray Disc combination drive allows users to playback new high definition Blu-ray Disc film titles as well as read and write digital content to DVD and CD, fulfilling their storage and entertainment needs.

The drive can read BD-ROM/BD-R/BD-RE at up to 5X and can read BD-ROM (DL) and BD-R/-RE (DL) at up to 2X speed. It comes bundled with media software that ensures compatibility with commercially released Blu-ray Disc movies. It also allows users to create personal DVD movies and digital photo slideshows, securely backup personal data and media files to DVD or CD, and create and burn favorite music to CD. The software also offers a Direct-to-Disc feature allowing aspiring filmmakers to capture movies directly from the camcorder to DVD without the inconvenience of using vital hard drive space.

While the BDC-2202 is still a bit pricey, its considerably cheaper than most of the Blu-ray drives currently on the market. If you'd like to read more, Pioneer's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

Details

• Print

Optical Storage

01 May 2007

DigiTimes has reported that CMC Magnetics recently received level A certification for its single layer BD-R media. According to the article, they are the first Taiwanese manufacturer to do so.

CMC Magnetics, the largest producer of optical discs in Taiwan, on April 30 announced it has obtained level A certification for its Blu-ray Disc (BD)-R (recordable, write once) SL (single-sided single-layer) disc from an international vendor. The company stated that it is the first among makers of optical discs in Taiwan to receive this certification.

If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment

Details

• Print

Optical Storage

30 April 2007

With media manufacturers continually raising prices, you'd think that they'd be able to turn a profit. In Ritek's case, they've been in the red the last 10 quarters. It wasn't until the first quarter of 2007 that the company was able to rebound and return a net profit.

Ritek's board of directors, at a meeting on April 27, approved the company's 2006 financial report, with net losses of NT$12.275 billion (US$368.6 million) and net losses per share of NT$5.76 both the highest annual levels ever on record, according to the company. Ritek also published its financial figures for the first quarter of this year on April 27, posting net profits of NT$101.5 million after suffering net losses consecutively for 10 quarters since the third quarter of 2004.

The return to profitability was primarily due Ritek modifying its production equipment to increase yield rates and by forming strategic alliances with OEM clients. If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment

Details

• Print

Optical Storage

24 April 2007

Advanced Media has announced their new RIDATA Double-Sided 8x DVD+R media. With a capacity of 9.4GB, these double sided discs can hold four hours of DVD-quality video, 16 hours of VHS-quality video, or over 120 hours of MP3 audio.

Advanced Media, Inc., manufacturer and marketer of the popular RIDATA brand of recordable CD and DVD media, electronic storage products, and digital media accessories, is introducing a Double-Sided 8x DVD+R disc to its comprehensive DVD product line. With an amazing 9.4GB of storage capacity, the advanced, double-sided disc is a cost effective solution for virtually any business or household application. Shipments will begin immediately.

The double-sided disc is more cost effective for retailers to carry because it reduces shipping costs over traditional single sided DVD+/-R's. It is highly compatible with legacy DVD drives and many newer drives can close the disc as a DVD-ROM solving even more compatibility issues.

Advanced Media's Double-Sided 8x DVD+R media is available now for a suggested retail price of $0.70 per disc. If you'd like to read more, Advanced Media's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

Details

• Print

Optical Storage

24 April 2007

Could the battle between Gigastorage and Philips finally be over? According to DigiTimes, Gigastorage recently terminated the compulsory license granted by the Taiwanese government, giving them the right to use Philips' CD-R disc patents. The company will instead shift production to Thailand where the license is meaningless.

Gigastorage, a second-tier maker of optical discs in Taiwan, on April 23 applied at the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) under the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) to terminate its compulsory license to use CD-R disc patents belonging to Royal Philips Electronics, bringing to an end the long-time dispute between the two companies, according to industry sources.

Gigastorage has decided to shift its production of CD-R discs to Thailand and the TIPO-granted compulsory license will thus become meaningless, the company pointed out.

While the move to Thailand will mean lower labor costs and relaxed export laws, Gigastorage will probably still be under pressure from Philips to license the necessary patents. If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment

Details

• Print

Optical Storage

23 April 2007

At this year's Consumer Electronics Show, LG and Nero unveiled their SecurDisc technology. This hardware and software based solution not only prevents unauthorized access to data, it increases reliability through a redundancy-based defect management system.


To give you an idea of what to expect from SecurDisc, I've put together a short article. This article not only gives an overview of the technology, it goes through the process of writing and reading a disc protected by SecurDisc. If you have any comments or questions, please leave them in the forum. Add a comment

Details

• Print

Optical Storage

23 April 2007

Acoustica has announced that they've released an update for Acoustica CD/DVD Label Maker. According to their press release, version 3.08 adds support for simultaneous multi-drive LightScribe printing.

Acoustica Inc. has released Acoustica CD/DVD Label Maker Version 3.08, which adds support for simultaneous multi-drive LightScribe Direct Disc Labeling.

Users with multiple LightScribe drives attached to their computers can print multiple copies of LightScribe labels simultaneously, or can now print multiple label designs on different drives concurrently.

Only the number of LightScribe drives attached to a user's computer limits the number of simultaneous LightScribe print jobs. LightScribe (www.lightscribe.com) -- a laser disc labeling technology found in many popular brands of disc burners, laptops and PCs -- gives people the ability to easily burn silkscreen-quality photos, graphics, images and text directly onto discs.

Acoustica CD/DVD Label Maker is available now for $21.95. If you'd like to give it a try, a 7-day trial can be downloaded from their website. Otherwise, more information can be found here. Add a comment

Details

• Print

Optical Storage

23 April 2007

Buying Memorex apparently wasn't enough for Imation. The company has announced that they've agreed to buy TDK's recording media business for $300 million in stock and cash. Depending on the financial performance of the acquired business, TDK may also receive additional payments of up to $70 million.

ImationCorp. (NYSE: IMN) and TDK (NYSE: TDK) announced today that they havereached a definitive agreement under which Imation will acquire TDK brandworld wide recording media business and use of the TDK brand name forrecording media products, for $300 million in a combination of Imationcommon stock and cash with potential for payment of up to an additional $70million based on future financial performance of the acquired business. TDKwill retain its R&D, manufacturing and OEM business. The boards ofdirectors of both companies have approved the transaction.

As with Memorex, Imation will continue to supply TDK brand products to the market. TDK will also continue R&D and manufacturing operations for recording media and will supply Imation as well as its other OEM customers. If you'd like to read more, Imation's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment