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The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) today announced two new media specifications that use Blu-ray Disc technology to provide targeted functionality for commercial and consumer applications. The specifications for BDXL™ (High Capacity Recordable and Rewritable discs) and IH-BD (Intra-Hybrid discs) are expected in the next few months.
The BDXL specification, which is targeted primarily at commercial segments such as broadcasting, medical and document imaging enterprises with significant archiving needs, will provide customers with write-once options on 100GB and 128GB capacity discs and rewritable capability on 100GB discs. The discs reach these capacities by incorporating three to four recordable layers. A consumer version of BDXL is also expected, particularly in those regions where BD recorders have achieved broad consumer acceptance.
“Professional industries have expressed a desire to find optical disc solutions that enable them to transition away from magnetic media for their archiving needs,” said Victor Matsuda, Blu-ray Disc Association Global Promotions Committee chair. “Leveraging Blu-ray Disc to meet this need provides professional enterprises with a compact, stable and long term solution for archiving large amounts of sensitive data, video and graphic images using a proven and widely accepted optical technology.”
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inXtron has officially released their first SuperSpeed Hard Drive enclosure with USB 3.0. The device, which is called the SK-3500 U3 is designed to hold a 3.5" SATA hard drive and supports large drives over 2TB. The sleek aluminum enclosure features a large heatsink for passive cooling and is compatible with Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 operating systems.
USB, the world’s best known and most commonly used computer peripheral interface has now been revamped to enable super fast data transfer speeds of up to 4.8 Gbps with the new USB 3.0 (aka SuperSpeed USB). That makes USB 3.0 approximately 10 times faster than USB 2.0. Check out this link for a look at how USB 3.0 compares to 2.0 and eSATA.
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Transcend today launched its JetFlash® 500 retractable USB flash drive. The stylish JetFlash 500 features a smooth sliding USB connector that eliminates the need for caps and effortlessly extends and retracts with a simple flick of the thumb. With its user-friendly capless design, various color and capacity options and smooth contoured shape, the JetFlash 500 is an ideal portable storage solution for users with busy and active lifestyles.
Losing USB end caps can be quite annoying, not to mention the inconvenience of taking the cap on and off every time the drive is used. For extra convenience and protection, Transcend’s JetFlash 500 flash drive is designed with an innovative extension and retraction mechanism that enables users to bring out or hide the connector with a single flick of the thumb. The JetFlash 500’s capless design not only keeps dust and debris out of the drive, but also ensures there is no cap to misplace or lose. For further peace of mind, the JetFlash 500 is solidly built to withstand a few bumps and falls, so users can be sure its USB connector will never become loose, fall out, or accidentally slip back into the drive when plugging it into a computer.
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CyberLink Corp. is pleased to announce that PowerDVD is the first Blu-ray 3D player software to achieve certification from the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), under the new Blu-ray 3D standard (Profile 5.0).
"Blu-ray 3D has to be seen to be believed. We have entered an exciting new era, where home movies are more immersive, and more real.” said Alice H. Chang, CEO of CyberLink. "We are fully committed to leading the way with support for all of the latest 3D formats and display technologies on the PC. We are excited that PowerDVD is the first software player to be Blu-ray 3D certified, and we look forward to enabling this amazing home theater experience for all of our customers."
The certification ensures consumers that PowerDVD provides the full benefits of Blu-ray 3D on the PC. Consumers can enjoy the entire range of enhanced features in 3D including menus, subtitles, BD-J interaction and Blu-ray disc quality audio and video.
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World leading flash manufacturer Silicon Power announced today, the Tough Marine Warrior— Armor A70 Portable Hard Drive. Like previous Armor series of products, the Armor A70 is in compliance with US military grade MIL-STD-810F 516.5 procedure IV (Transit drop test).
In addition to its abilities to withstand most shock and vibration forces, it is also in compliance with IEC529 IPX7 waterproof tests! The test places the Armor A70 one meter under water for 30 minutes and yet, upon retrieving A70 submersion, it is not affected in any way and is still fully operation. Passing the two rugged tests mentioned above, the Armor A70 also features dust and pressure-proof characteristics. It is rock-solid inside and out just like a well trained military marine!
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The 7-bay NAS is shaping up to be the go-to desktop NAS device for users who require both massive storage and blazing performance. Today, Thecus® Technology is pleased to introduce the N7700+, a seven-bay storage server that retains all of the robust functionality of the N7700, but ups the ante with a PCIe x8 slot suitable for 10Gb Ethernet cards.
Thecus® constantly engineers new ways to squeeze the maximum performance from existing technologies. The N7700+ one-ups its predecessor by including an internal PCIe x8 slot. Compared to the x1 slot found in the N7700, the N7700+’s PCIe slot offers up to eight times more bandwidth, which makes it perfect for 10Gb Ethernet cards. Outfitted with one of these cards, the N7700+ is fully compatible with the latest 10Gb networks, delivering unprecedented data transfer rates for the most demanding users.
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Corsair, a worldwide leader in high-performance computer and flash memory products, today announced that it has set a new world record score in PC Mark Vantage, using a performance PC powered by eleven Corsair Force Series F200 SSDs in a high bandwidth RAID configuration.
The World Record score of 32,947 was achieved by a Corsair-built system based around the Intel® Core™ i7-980X six-core processor, cooled to sub-zero temperatures. The system was powered by a Corsair HX1000W PSU, 6GB of Corsair Dominator GTX2 memory, and eleven 200GB Force Series F200 SSDs. The recently-announced Force Series SSDs utilize the sophisticated SandForce SF-1200 SSD Processor to deliver unparalleled sequential and random read/write performance.
Using liquid nitrogen on a Kingpin Cooling F1EE LN2 pot, the team at Corsair's Labs in Fremont, California, overclocked the Intel Core i7-980X processor to a frequency of 5791MHz and The Corsair Dominator GTX2 memory to a frequency of 2144MHz, CL 7. Combined with the incredible performance of eleven Force Series F200 SSDs in RAID 0 using an Areca® ARC-1680D-IX-12 PCI-E RAID controller, Corsair was able to smash the previous world record score of 31,333 by 1,614 points.
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PQI’s USB 3.0 2.5” portable hard drive H566 has been officially released and it is world’s first USB 3.0 2.5” portable hard drive to the market. Since H566 began mass production last week, it has already resulted in a volume of inquiries from domestic and international buyers, making it the first USB 3.0 device with significant sales volume. PQI’s H566 not only have spectacular bandwidth of USB 3.0, its 2.5” hard drive dimensions is convenient to carry and has aesthetic looks, making it the new IT toy you just got to have!
Digital media these days are geared towards higher resolution and higher definition. USB 2.0’s maximum theoretical bandwidth is 480Mbps/sec, which can no longer meet the demands of transferring digital content. H566 uses the latest USB technology to meet these demands. It features a theoretical bandwidth of 5Gbps/sec, which is about 10x that of USB 2.0 and is backward compatible with USB 2.0. With its faster transfer rate, it means less time required when transferring the same amount of data which translates to less time and electricity used. It provides energy saving and is green, no doubt it will soon become the mainstream peripheral connection interface!
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WD today announced that it is now shipping 750 GB of storage capacity in a standard-height 2.5-inch notebook hard drive -- the industry's highest capacity to date in this form factor. Designed for mainstream notebook computers, the WD Scorpio Blue 750 GB hard drives utilize WD's leading 375 GB-per-platter areal density and Advanced Format technology.
An ideal solution for notebook computers and other portable devices whose users require extreme capacities in a small package, extended battery life and cool, reliable operation, the WD Scorpio Blue 750 GB hard drive is also one of the quietest 2.5-inch drives on the market.
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Patriot Memory, a global pioneer in high-performance memory, NAND flash and computer technology, today announced the immediate availability of its new Bolt secure USB flash drive. This small USB flash drive offers security for your data with its durable aluminum housing and data encryption.
Patriot’s Bolt series features hardware based 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) with a 512/2048-bit RSA engine for user authentication. Designed for consumer and small to medium-size business users, Patriot’s Bolt Series comes in a durable, yet compact metal casing. 256-bit AES hardware based encryption is widely recognized as a standard for data privacy, and with this feature built into the Bolt, users are comforted with the knowledge that their data is secure even from attempts to dismantle the drive to gain access to individual NAND flash chips.
