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- Home Entertainment
Sigma Designs today announced the availability of its new SMP8646 media processor SoC. Designed for networked Blu-ray device manufacturers, the new multi-core chipset enables the latest consumer experiences including 3D video, Flash video, Android and the latest over-the-top (OTT) services. The SoC integrates powerful multimedia processing, a robust content security system, multiple on-chip CPUs, and a range of on-chip system peripherals.
"To attract a wider audience, Blu-ray device makers continue to expand the feature set of their Blu-ray players," said David Lynch, VP and General Manager, Media Processing Group of Sigma Designs. "With the new SMP8646, Sigma increases the sales potential for its Blu-ray customers by enabling 3D video broadcast playback and the latest over the top functionality at more than twice the speed of previous versions -- all at a very competitive price."
A demonstration of the SMP8646 running Android 2.1 OS on the media processor will be showcased at the Shangri-La's Far Eastern Plaza Hotel in suite # 3707 at this week's Computex 2010 Show, located in Taipei, Taiwan.
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Sonic Solutions and DivX, Inc. today jointly announced that they have signed a definitive merger agreement for Sonic Solutions to acquire DivX, Inc., a leading digital media company, based in San Diego, California. Under the terms of the agreement, approved by the boards of directors of both companies, Sonic would acquire all the outstanding shares of DivX and merge DivX operations into those of Sonic. DivX stockholders would receive a combination of cash and stock equal to $3.75 in cash and 0.514 shares of Sonic common stock for each share of DivX they hold. The acquisition, which is expected to close in September 2010, is subject to approval of the shareholders of both companies as well as applicable regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
For more than 20 years, Sonic has been the leader in developing technologies for the preparation and delivery of entertainment content in popular formats — CD, DVD, Blu-ray Disc and most recently Internet delivery of video. The acquisition of DivX is expected to advance Sonic's mission to deliver technology that makes it easy and convenient for retailers, online services, Hollywood studios, and manufacturers of CE and mobile devices to distribute premium digital video content over the Internet. DivX is expected to enable Sonic to deepen and broaden the technology it offers for Internet-based video delivery and expand its relationships with leading retailers and consumer electronics manufacturers.
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Pretec, the leader of the highest capacity (128GB) CF card, fastest CF card (667X), and first SDXC card in the world, announces P240 USB 3.0 High-Speed Multi-Card Reader, the 1st USB 3.0 card reader in the world supporting high-performance SDXC, CF and other major memory cards. A provider of “Cool Memories, the Ultimate in Style & Speed,” Pretec offers a full series of high-performance card readers in the world to be shown at Pretec booth at Computex Taipei 2010.
With interface speed of 5Gb/s (or 625MB/s, 10X faster than USB 2.0), USB 3.0 has solved the speed bottleneck for high speed memory card data transfer. Today’s high speed memory card can reach to >50MB/s for SDXC (Pretec SDXC card, also introduced today), >100MB/s for CF card (Pretec 567X/667X 128GB CF card, announced last week), >300MB/s for SSD (Pretec P4000 SATA II SSD, announced last week), all above have far exceeded the transfer speed of USB 2.0 (theoretical data is 60MB/s, and practical maximum is around 40MB/s) and hence much need the 10X speed enhancement of USB 3.0.
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SanDisk Corporation today introduced its latest solid state drive (SSD) products. The SanDisk® SSD G4 serves as a drop-in replacement for hard disk drives (HDD) in notebooks; while the SanDisk® SSD P4, the successor to the widely used pSSD modular drive, enables designers to offer even thinner netbook and tablet computers.
The new drives offer a unique balance of performance, high-capacity storage and long-term reliability. SanDisk SSD P4 and SanDisk SSD G4 offer up to 128 gigabytes (GB) and 256GB of storage respectively, double the capacities of the company's previous SSD offerings. The drives are available in various compact form factors, which SanDisk can customize according to manufacturers' specification, offering greater freedom and flexibility in how OEMs design their products. The SSDs use SanDisk's advanced 32-nanometer (nm) multi-level cell (MLC) process technology, which enables cost-competitive high-capacity storage with a tiny footprint.
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OCZ Technology Group, a leading provider of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) and memory modules for computing devices and systems, is attending this year’s Computex to be held June 1-5 2010 in Taipei, Taiwan. As a pioneer in the burgeoning global SSD market, OCZ is showcasing the latest storage technologies that deliver the highest levels of performance for both consumers and enterprise clients. For conference participants interested in viewing OCZ’s products, the company is hosting exhibition suites at the Grand Hyatt, rooms 1003 and 1004.
“Computex is always a good opportunity to showcase our latest solutions to both our clients and trade press and this year we have a complete range of solid state drive solutions that further push the envelope,” commented Ryan Petersen, CEO of the OCZ Technology Group. “At the show we will be demonstrating exciting new products, including a truly affordable PCIe SSD for consumer applications, ultra reliable enterprise drives and a first look at the HSDL (High Speed Data Link) interface that delivers far superior transfer rates over traditional SATA.”
OCZ’s solid state drives not only continue to redefine storage performance, reliability, and power efficiency, but also address a wide range of applications from top-tier data management to personal notebooks. Showcasing a demo system with new Deneva Series SSDs in an eight-way RAID configuration, these drives are qualified specifically for the highest throughput, compatibility, and reliability in enterprise environments. OCZ will showcase the innovative HSDL (High Speed Data Link) interface, which was developed to raise the bar in data throughput and management to solid state storage drives.
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Plextor LLC, a leading developer and manufacturer of high-performance digital media equipment, announces its new PX-MMC-BMW1 (or PlexMedia ) networked media player, as well the compatible PX-B120U external BD-ROM drive, at Computex 2010 in Taipei, Taiwan.
Visitors can take a first look at Plextor’s new networked media player, the PX-MMC-BMW1 (or PlexMedia), while at the show. This is the first networked media player that can be connected to an external USB BD-ROM drive, making it possible to watch high-definition Blu-ray discs in your living room without having to purchase a Blu-ray disc player.
Simultaneously with the media player, Plextor also launches the PX-B120U, a compatible external BD-ROM drive. This portable drive can be connected to the media player to become your living room Blu-ray disc player, but is versatile enough to carry in a notebook bag or connect to a desktop PC – allowing you to enjoy HD everywhere.
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Pretec, the 1st in the world to offer SDXC 32GB card (2009) and the first to supply SDHC 233X Class10 cards, continues breaking its own world record by announcing the new Class 16 HD video grade SDXC 64GB card and SDHC Waterproof card, at Computex Taipei 2010.
The 1st in the world to offer highest capacity SD card (4GB) and fastest (133X) in the world since July of 2005, Pretec has consistently pioneered the highest capacity and fastest SD card, with 1st SDHC (8GB) card in the world compliant with SD specification 2.0 working with Sanyo Electrical Co., Ltd. of Japan in Sept. of 2006, and the 1st SDXC (32GB) card in the world compliant with SD specification 3.0 in March of 2009, and the world’s highest speed of Pretec SDHC 233X Class 10 card capable of transferring data up to the speed of 35MB/s with minimum write speed of more than 10MB/s.
The 2nd generation of Pretec high speed SD cards will enhance the sustained write speed to be more than 16MB/s, the fastest of any SD cards in the world in the range of Class 16. Available from 8GB ~ 64GB, Pretec SDHC 233X Class 10 series card will be upgraded to Class 16. Available from 32GB ~ 64GB, Pretec SDXC Class 16 card will be the fastest in the flash industry while the 64GB SDHC/SDXC card is the highest capacity in the world so far. Pretec SDHC/SDXC Class 16 64GB will start sampling by next month.
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CyberLink Corp. announced today that it will be showcasing a number of cutting-edge 3D applications that will be released throughout 2010 at the coming Computex, which is held in Taipei.
“CyberLink will be offering a wide range of fascinating 3D entertainment on PCs,” said Alice H. Chang, CEO of CyberLink. “These applications include 3D videos and movies, 3D photos and slideshows as well as fun interactive 3D augmented reality for webcams. Our goal is to upgrade all the media experiences to 3D.”
Blu-ray 3D Movie Playback
CyberLink’s 3D decoding engine is optimized with the latest CPU/GPU acceleration to deliver smooth flawless 3D visuals. It is also compatible with the full range of 3D hardware on the market, including glasses, and graphics cards available in the market. CyberLink has recently released 3D Zone assisting consumers with a comprehensive guide to 3D videos and Blu-ray 3D on PCs.
2D-to-3D Conversion
Featuring advanced TrueTheater™ 3D technology, PowerDVD converts 2D movies into a spectacular 3D experience. It is also optimized to playback DVDs and video files in 3D.
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Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (Hitachi GST) today announced the industry’s broadest family of ultra slim and light 7mm z-height drives. Whether customers need a slim 7mm drive that is the highest capacity, fastest or tuned precisely for A/V streaming, the new Hitachi Z-series family of Travelstar and CinemaStar drives delivers on the company’s proven strengths of reliability, low-power consumption, exceptional shock resistance and quiet acoustics. With the entire family offered in capacities up to 320GB – the industry’s highest 7mm drive capacity in a one-disk design – Hitachi is at the forefront, leading the shift from 9.5mm 2.5-inch drives to 7mm 2.5-inch drives across a broad range of market segments.
From laptops and handhelds to PVRs and blade servers, Hitachi’s new 7mm Z-series family of Travelstar and CinemaStar drives are designed as a direct replacement for today’s standard 2.5-inch, 9.5mm hard drives. All Hitachi Z-series drives feature common connectors and common mounting points for simple integration into existing systems, and enable greater design flexibility to differentiate and meet market demands for new, thinner, lighter and more robust devices.
When combining cost per gigabyte and gigabyte per cubic millimeter (GB/mm3), Hitachi 7mm drives are the most cost-effective and space-efficient storage solutions when compared to solid state drives (SSD), 2.5-inch 9.5 mm and 1.8-inch hard drives, offering a compelling value proposition for OEMs and system integrators.
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One of the world’s leading flash manufacturers, Silicon Power today announces a new addition to the ultra rugged Armor series lineup, the A80. The Armor A80 uses the royal blue color on its base frame that is commonly found in high performance sports cars; as for A80’s performance, its outstanding read/write speed is coupled with the latest USB 3.0 interface and is backwards compatible with USB 2.0. The USB 3.0 interface features a 5 Gbps/sec bandwidth which is 10x the bandwidth of a USB 2.0 interface. It saves users precious time backing up to and from the hard drive when transferring mass data files. Come and experience speed like a high performance sports car!
In addition to its excellent read/write performances, Armor A80 continues the Armor series rugged functionality feature. Armor A80 is in compliance with US military grade transit drop test (MIL-STD-810F 516.5 procedure IV) and it also passed IEC529 IPX7 (waterproof test). The Silicon Power Armor A80 can be placed under water up to a meter deep and for up to 30 minutes without damage. Under normal operations, it is also dust-proof and pressure resistant. Its’ hot plug and play functionality is supported by a convenient cable storage design, bringing its practicality up another level!
