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Amazon is running a new promotion where you get a $100 discount on a participatingBlu-ray player when you buy 4 Warner Bros titles. The promotion includes the Playstation 3 (80GB), Sylvania NB500SL9, Sony BDP-S350 and Sony BDP-S550. With the discount, the Sylvania NB500SL9and Sony BDP-S350can be picked up for less than $130. The list of titles includes I Am Legend, Speed Racer, Batman Begins and Superman Returns as well as 29 others.
To take advantage of this promotion, simply add one of the participating Blu-ray players as well as f Warner movies to your cart. Enter the promotion code AMAZONBD at checkout and a $100 credit will automatically be applied to your order. The promotion runs through December 31, 2008 so there is plenty of time to get a Blu-ray player before the holidays.
Update: The Sharp BDHP50, Sharp BDHP21U, Samsung BD-P2500, Panasonic DMP-BD55K, Pioneer BDP-51FD and LG BD300 have been added to the promotion. Unfortunately, the Sony BDP-S350 and Sony BDP-S550 no longer qualify.
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- Flash Memory
SanDisk announced today that it has developed an advanced flash file system for solid-state drives. This new flash management system, named ExtremeFFS, operates on a page-based algorithm which puts data where where it is most convenient and efficient. According to SanDisk's claims, ExtremeFFS has the potential to accelerate random write speeds by up to 100x. The company also proposed two metrics to make it easier for consumers to compare the performance and endurance of SSDs.
SanDisk® Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) today unveiled an advanced flash file system for solid-state drives (SSDs) that yields dramatic improvement in performance and reliability for computing applications. Called ExtremeFFS™, this next-generation patented flash management system – which has the potential to accelerate random write speeds by up to 100 times over existing systems – will ship in SanDisk products during 2009.
Speaking in Los Angeles at WinHEC 2008, Rich Heye, senior vice president and general manager for SanDisk’s Solid-State Drive (SSD) Business Unit, presented ExtremeFFS along with two metrics – vRPM and LDE – that can help end-users evaluate SSDs. vRPM enables comparisons in performance between an SSD and a hard disk drive (HDD) or another SSD, and LDE calculates the lifespan of a solid-state drive.
For SSDs to perform optimally in Windows Vista, and thus replicate or surpass the functionality of hard disk drives, a new flash management technology is needed to accelerate SSD write speed and endurance, he said. “SSDs will revolutionize client storage, but we need new benchmarks that allow them to be treated differently than HDDs.”
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Sony Music Entertainment has launched a new high quality audio CD format called the Blu-spec CD. While sticking to the red book (CDDA) standard, the Blu-spec CD uses the same polycarbonate material and Blue Laser Diode (BLD) cutting process used to manufacture Blu-ray Discs. Jitter has been further reduced by eliminating vibration during the cutting process as well as the use of fiber optics to improve the quality of the beam.
Sony plans to have 60 titles ready for launch on December 24th, including albums from popular artists like Billy Joel, Santana and Aerosmith. Most Blu-spec CD's are priced at around 2,500 Yen ($25US).
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- Optical Storage
With Plextor's new 20x and 22x DVD writers being manufactured by Lite-On, it shouldn't be too surprising that their upcoming Blu-ray drives are also based on Lite-On designs. According to our sources, Plextor will soon be introducing two 6x Blu-ray combo drives based on the DH-6E2S (iHES106). The internal PX-B310SA and external PX-B310U read single layer Blu-ray discs at 6x and are capable of 16x DVD±R, 8x DVD±R DL, 8x DVD+RW, 6x DVD-RW and 12x DVD-RAM writing speeds. At this point, it is unknown whether or not these drives will be supported by Plextor's PlexUTILITIES software.
Plextor also has a number of Blu-ray drives on tap for 2009. In the fall, the company plans to introduce a 10x Blu-ray combo drive based on the DH-10E3S/L as well as an 8x Blu-ray Disc writer based on the DH-8B2S/L. Unfortunately, not much is known about these drives at this time.
As I hinted at the other day, Plextor will also be basing their external slim drives on Lite-On designs. Our sources indicated that the company will soon be releasing the PX-610U. This battery powered drive is based on the DB-8A2SB and is capable of 8x DVD±R, 8x DVD±R DL and 5x DVD-RAM writing speeds. Plextor will also be releasing another slim 8x DVD writer based on the DB-8A3U in the spring of 2009 with a DB-6B1U based slim Blu-ray Disc writer coming later in the year.
And yes, you can expect to see a series of Plextor drives based on the DH-24AAU some time next year. Aside from the fact that it will burn DVD's at 24x, not much is known about the drive at this time.
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Plextor LLC has officially announced its new Qflix-enabled DVD writers. With the internal PX-806SA and external PX-Q840U, users can download movies and TV shows and then burn a permanent copy that can be played back on a standard DVD player. The two drives also offer 20x DVD±R, 8x DVD±R DL and 12x DVD-RAM writing speeds and support for Plextor's new PlexUTILITIES software.
Plextor LLC, a leading developer and manufacturer of high-performance digital media equipment, reenters the market with the availability of two new drives, the PX-Q840U external and the PX-806SA internal. Both drives feature Qflix recording technology from Sonic Solutions, enabling consumers to download and burn movie and TV titles at home.
The Qflix-enabled Plextor drives make it easy for consumers to download and burn their favorite movies and TV titles directly to a DVD for immediate viewing. Developed by Sonic Solutions and Pioneer in 2007, the unique Qflix software uses Roxio® Venue, a rich, user-friendly application that allows consumers to search for and download their favorite Hollywood hits from digital entertainment innovator, CinemaNow (www.cinemanow.com). Once downloaded, users are able to create a permanent and portable DVD-format copy onto Qflix- enabled optical media.
“The Qflix technology makes it easy for all consumers, not just the tech-savvy, to access and manage digital entertainment at home,” said Bob Gronski, vice president of sales and marketing for Plextor. “In an economic time when people are going out less and taking advantage of home entertainment more, it’s exciting for us to offer a solution with such limitless entertainment capabilities.”
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Transcend recently announced its new ultra-tiny USB drive, the JetFlash T5. While measuring only 29.9mm x 15.3mm x 6.1mm, the drive is rugged enough to resist bending, stress, vibration, shock and even full water submersion. The T5 also features a retractable connector and is compatible with Transcend’s JetFlash elite software.
Transcend Information, Inc. (Transcend), a leading manufacturer of flash memory products, today introduced a new ultra-tiny USB flash drive, the JetFlash® T5. Measuring just 29.9mm x 15.3mm x 6.1mm (L x W x D), the T5 is incredibly compact, and only weighs a mere 2g. Unlike other miniature USB flash drives, the T5 is constructed with non-breakable plastic and is rugged enough to resist bending, stress, vibration, shock, and even full water submersion. Its retractable connector design and eye-catching two-tone color schemes not only make the drive easier to handle and use, but also give it a unique fashion accessory look. With its convenient attachment loop, the ultra-light T5 can be used as a mobile phone dongle or a keychain fob, making it easy to carry and store in places where ordinary flash drives just do not fit.
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Asus 901 Eee PC @ Rbmods
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Intel Core i7 Processor and X58 Chipset @ Benchmark Reviews, CHW, Hardware Zone, HotHardware.com, Madshrimps and TweakTown
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With the world economy sliding into a depression, companies everywhere are facing difficult times. According to DigiTimes, Taiwan's optical disc manufacturers are being hit especially hard. Despite recent price hikes, CMC Magnetics and Ritek suffered net losses of NT$1.733 billion and NT$970.1 million, respectively, in the third quarter of 2008.
CMC Magnetics and Ritek, the top two Taiwan-based makers of blank optical discs, suffered net losses of NT$1.733 billion and NT$970.1 million, respectively, in the third quarter, according to their financial reports for the third quarter of 2008. However, CMC's third-quarter 2008 net loss shrank by 24.6% and Ritek's by 15.8% from the second quarter of 2008 mainly because the two companies increased their OEM prices for DVD+R/-R discs by about 10% in August, according to industry sources.
CMC and Ritek aren't the only disc makers losing money. Second-tier manufacturers Prodisc, Gigastorage and Princo also saw net losses per share for the first three quarters of this year.
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Transcend recently announced the release of its new 128GB high speed 2.5-inch Solid State Disk (SSD) drive. This MLC-equipped SSD features a new controller and SATA-II interface, making it capable of 145MB/s read and 92MB/s write speeds.
Transcend Information Inc. (Transcend®), the world’s leading manufacturer of memory products, is proud to release its all-new 128GB high speed 2.5-inch Solid State Disk (SSD). SSDs are made of reliable NAND flash memory that contains no moving parts, and therefore are not susceptible to mechanical failure resulting from vibration, shock or heat. Featuring a powerful new controller, Transcend’s MLC-equipped 128GB SSD far outpaces standard 2.5” hard drives, delivering exceptional sustained read/write speeds of up to 145MB / 92MB per second to guarantee fast throughput regardless of file size. With these high-speed transfer rates and virtually non-existent (0.2ms) latency, software applications and games open faster and run more smoothly, improving overall system responsiveness. Moreover, this SSD’s industry-standard SATA-II interface and 2.5” form factor allow easy and straightforward user installation in most notebook computers and mainstream PCs just like regular hard drives.
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Western Digital unveiled its new HD TV Media Player this morning. While lacking a built in hard drive, the WD TV HD Media Player lets users plug in up to two WD My Passport portable drives or other USB mass storage devices and play movies, photos and movies on their TV at resolutions up to 1080p.
WD® (NYSE: WDC), the world's leader in external storage solutions, today introduced a simple way for consumers to play their stored digital content on their HDTV in Full-HD 1080p resolution. The WD TV™ Media Player connects to a user's TV or home theater and plays digital movies, music and photos from WD's My Passport™ portable drive or other USB mass storage device. The WD TV Media Player is available now at WD's online store (www.shopwd.com) and select retailers.
According to research firm IDC, nearly 334 million GB of photos and more than 3.1 billion GB of video will be stored on consumer desktop and laptop computers in 2008. The research firm expects that to increase to 400 million GB and 5.8 billion GB, respectively, by 2010.
These large personal digital libraries are all but trapped on users' computers. In order to play their content on their TV, consumers have struggled with clumsy solutions such as copying onto multiple CDs and DVDs or connecting their PCs to their TV via wires or complicated home networking solutions. The WD TV HD Media Player enables consumers to easily and elegantly access their high-definition content on the biggest screen in the home.
