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- Optical Storage
Ideal for users who want to upgrade their laptop or desktop PC to Blu-ray, the BR-X816U2-EU attaches via any USB 2.0 port with no additional AC power required and is ready to use immediately without any complicated installation process.
Perfect for storing, editing or watching high definition content, or writing large amounts of data to an optical drive, Buffalo’s new external 8x Blue-ray drive is also backward compatible with existing DVD and CD formats.
The drive features in-built CyberLink Blu-ray Disc Suite software which allows users to view their DVDs in near high definition quality as well as offering the option to create back-up discs of important data.
Paul Hudson, Northern European Sales Director, Buffalo Technology, said: “More and more people are expecting to watch their favourite films in high definition quality and more PCs and televisions are now supporting this. This new external Blu-ray drive provides consumers with a low-cost option for watching their own high definition content and taking advantage of the latest technology.”
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- Home Entertainment
ASUS today unveiled the O!Play Air HDP-R3 HD media player that enables users to access all their digital content from various sources wirelessly—for the most convenient multimedia entertainment experience. The O!Play Air HDP-R3 streams a wide variety of audio, photo, and high-definition video formats from PCs, NAS, card readers and other USB or eSATA-connected devices. Formats supported include MPEG1/2/4, H.264, VC-1, and the popular RMVB. Additionally, the HD media player delivers up to 1080p Full HD image rendering.
The O!Play Air HDP-R3 inherits premium High Definition playback features and extremely wide file format support from its predecessor—the highly popular O!Play HDP-R1 media player. However, the new O!Play Air HDP-R3 further raises the bar on performance by including new networking features and convenient memory slots for rapid and convenient digital data access. Equipped with the latest Wi-Fi support, the HD media player streams content wirelessly from PCs and NAS. Also, built-in card reader slots allow users to access digital files and photos effortlessly from CompactFlash (CF) and Secure Digital (SD/MMC) cards, or Memory Sticks (MS/MS Duo)—enabling users to view digital photos instantly.
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- Home Entertainment
ZiiLABS, a pioneering media processor and platforms company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Creative Technology Ltd. today announced, the ZMS-08, its 3rd generation media-rich applications processor that brings 1080p Blu-ray quality H.264 decode to low-power devices. Delivering more than four times the performance of previous generation devices, the ZMS-08 combines the flexible multi-format media processing capabilities of ZiiLABS’ StemCell Computing array with an 1GHz ARM® Cortex™ processor to deliver the low-power, high performance media-rich processing required of next-generation connected devices such as web tablets, netbooks, connected TVs, video conferencing systems and home media hubs.
The ZMS-08 is sampling now to certain customers and is supported by ZiiLABS’ optimized Linux-based Android™ and native Plaszma™ operating systems and development platforms.
The ZMS-08’s proven StemCell Computing array provides the media processing capabilities to deliver full HD 1080p high-profile H.264 video decode, simultaneous H.264 encode and decode at 720p, 1080p 24fps encode, accelerated OpenGL ES 2.0 3D graphics at up to 1 Gpixels/sec, 2D processing, compositing, image processing and advanced Xtreme Fidelity™ X-Fi Audio effects. With the low-power ARM Cortex processor running at up to 1GHz, the ZMS-08 is aimed at small form factor devices that enable content currently accessed via the PC to spread to mobile and low-energy devices.
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- Home Entertainment
The ES9016 Sabre32 Ultra DAC is the latest addition to the world’s highest performance and critically acclaimed Sabre32 Reference DAC (ES9018) introduced in early 2009. Unlike conventional sigma-delta (ΣΔ) DACs, the ES9016 Sabre32 Ultra DAC incorporates innovative patented circuits to deliver spectacular music with an unsurpassed sound stage, with up to 128dB dynamic range and 0.0003% (-110dB) total harmonic distortion, and free from clock jitter common in digital audio systems. The patented circuits in the Sabre32 DAC include the 32-bit HyperStream™ modulator, capable of 100% modulation and unconditional stability, the Revolver™ Dynamic Element Matching which ensures the highest performance over an extremely wide audio dynamic range, and a Time Domain Jitter Eliminator to remove the digital jitter that causes distortion.
The ES9016 Sabre32 Ultra Audio DAC supports either 8-channel or stereo conversion from a digital audio input (up to 500kHz sampling rate) in PCM, DSD or SPDIF formats, features click-free soft mute, volume control, de-emphasis, programmable zero detect, per-channel customizable roll-off filter characteristics and consumes less than 100mW.
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- Flash Memory
Active Media Products, manufacturer of SSDs and endangered species series USB drives, today released a new line of Windows® 7 compatible SaberTooth S4 SATA Mini PCIe SSDs that achieve sequential read speeds up to 130MB/sec. Available now in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB capacities, these drives are guaranteed compatible with many models of Asus Eee PC including 900, 900A, 901 and 1000 models.
The company posted a detailed Benchmark Report on the SaberTooth S4 tested on an Eee PC 1000 under Windows XP here. The benchmark results show the S4 soaring to read speeds over 120MB/sec, nearly four times faster than the default SSD in the Eee PC 1000. "We optimized the SaberTooth S4 for exceptional read performance", explained Active Media Products Vice President of Sales, Jerry Thomson. "But it also runs circles around the default SSD in write speeds, scoring about 2X faster than the default SSD in write tests."
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- Software
VSO Software announces the release its video converter and burning software, ConvertXtoDVD 4. With this much awaited new version, go a step further to convert and burn your internet and camcorder videos to DVD with outstanding image quality!
“To build this Version 4, we simply asked our customers: “Do you want better quality or faster conversion?” The majority favoured the quality, so we listened to our customer’s advice.” says Fabrice Meuwissen, business manager at VSO software.
To achieve the best quality possible, a new feature has been added: the 2 pass encoding. This method includes the latest technology and is particularly efficient with large files that need to be compressed to fit on the DVD. New resizing filters developed in house by VSO have also been implemented to give the choice of the best upscaling/downscaling method depending on the video, once again in favour of quality.
However, conversion speed has not been forgotten, with the new Multicore support.
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- Flash Memory
Speed plays a decisive role in computing. When the computer runs slowly, not only will the work progress be delayed, even our thoughts will be interrupted. Therefore, hard drives with higher speed will mean efficiency to professional graphic designers. The 2.5-inch P2 IDE Solid State Disk (SSD) from Team Technologies not only enhances the computer startup and data transfer speed, but also loads programs much faster than conventional mechanical hard drives. The excellent speed performance of the P2 IDE SSD is particularly felt when users open many windows at the same time. This saves designers a lot of time from searching images and drawings and allows them to enjoy speedy reading and writing, thus fully displaying computing performance and speed.
With the excellent read/write speed, low power consumption, no noise, shockproof and lightweight features, the 2.5-inch P2 IDE SSD from Team allows users to experience the unprecedented sense of computing speed and makes it superior to conventional mechanical hard drives. As its maximum transient read speed is much faster than conventional hard drives, it enhances the efficiency of heavyweight software. When compared with 2.5-inch SATA conventional hard drive of the same size, it runs 140% faster, i.e. its data transfer performance has exceeded that of conventional hard drives. Also, Team equips the P2 IDE SSD from Team with the leveling read/write technology to prolong the life of the hard drive and extend the running time of laptops, thus enhancing overall work performance!
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- Software
Nero, creators of liquid media technology, announced today that Nero 9 Lite, a free entry point to the Nero 9 “Reloaded” suite, offering disc copying and data disc burning functionality, is now available to consumers as a download from www.nero.com. This easy-to-use product offers the Nero StartSmart command center application providing simplified disc copying and data disc burning functionality for CDs and DVDs along with Windows 7 compatibility. Customers have the opportunity to experience two of the features integrated into the full Nero 9 Reloaded suite, the company’s flagship integrated digital media and home entertainment software solution.
“Disc copying and data disc burning complements the digital lifestyles of PC users everywhere.” said Kris Barton, EVP, Global Products, Nero AG. “By offering these widely requested features as a free download, we’re filling a gap in the functionality of the new Windows® 7 operating system and opening the Nero product family up to computer users around the world.”
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- Hard Disks
Toshiba Storage Device Division (SDD), a division of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. and the industry pioneer in small form factor hard disk drives (HDDs), today announced new additions to its 1.8-inch Serial ATA HDD product line, covering the full range of mobile computing applications. The introductions include a high-performance 5,400 RPM family, offering an industry-leading 320GB capacity, as well as a power-efficient, slim 4,200 RPM model with 120GB of storage for applications that require low-power consumption and an ultra-compact form factor.
Toshiba has designed these 1.8-inch HDD products to meet a variety of mobile computing needs based on specific market requirements. With high capacity and top-end performance, the MKxx33GSG series is available in 320GB, 250GB and 160GB capacities and uses 42 percent less power during seek operations than best-in-class 5,400 RPM 2.5-inch HDDs. The single-platter 120GB, MK1235GSL is the most power-conservative HDD on the market and offers a high-capacity, low 5-millimeter profile for battery-conscious ultra-mobile computers.
Significantly surpassing 2.5-inch HDDs in durability, Toshiba's 1.8-inch HDDs can tolerate up to 1,500Gs of non-operational shock and 500Gs of operational shock, which are 50 percent and 25 percent more durable than the most rugged 2.5-inch HDDs. As a result of this extreme ruggedness, 1.8-inch HDDs have been incorporated into some of the most demanding applications for shock and vibration.
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- Flash Memory
Active Media Products, manufacturer of SSDs and innovative USB drives, today began shipping an eco-friendly silicone rubber Koala drive, that is both waterproof and shock resistant, in capacities from 2GB to 16GB.
The Koala drive is exceptionally rugged. The sealed COB style USB drive has a soft silicone rubber outer casing that provides outstanding protection from the elements and protects the drive if it is dropped or banged around. "Customers will enjoy the Koala drive's durability as much as its stylish design." commented Active Media Products' VP of Sales, Jerry Thomson. "The Koala drive merges form with function, and the result is an awesome little product with great visual appeal and a soft tactile feel that protects its contents much better than most USB drives".
