Hitachi has announced that it has demonstrated the technical feasibility of magnetic recording at 610 Gbit/in2. While heads and media with an ultra-narrow track pitch of 65nm are still in development, these results indicate that current hard drive capacities can be increased by 2.5x.

Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE:HIT / TSE: 6501) and Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (Hitachi GST), announced today that they have demonstrated the technical feasibility of magnetic recording at 610 Gbit/in2. This considerably exceeds the previously demonstrated capabilities of current perpendicular recording technology found in mass-production hard disk drive (HDD) products. These results hold the potential for a 2.5x increase in the storage capacities of current-generation HDDs.
Nero announced today that it has partnered with Polar Frog Digital to bring on-demand video DVD creation and distribution to retailers and consumers. The joint Nero/Polar Frog Digital solution utilizes Nero's liquid media technology, which enables content creation anytime, anywhere and on any device.

Nero, creators of liquid media technology, and Polar Frog Digital, a provider of innovative on-demand video services for DVD and downloadable solutions, today announced an exclusive U.S. agreement to bring on-demand video DVD creation and distribution to retailers and consumers. Together, Nero and Polar Frog Digital are extending digital entertainment content beyond its traditional confines, enabling on-demand DVD production for online and traditional retailers and making the much-touted commercial DVD kiosk delivery model a reality.
A new survey conducted by ABI Research has found that consumers are delaying their Blu-ray player purchases. Of the 1000 people surveyed, more than half responded that they have no plans to purchase one. ABI Research also found that 23% were likely to buy a player, but not until sometime in 2009.

Blu-ray players are not flying off retailers’ shelves, at least not in the numbers the industry might hope for. A new consumer survey from ABI Research has revealed a widespread reluctance to commit to a Blu-ray player in the near future: over half of the 1000 respondents, citing “other priorities,” say they have no plans to purchase one; a further 23% are likely to buy, but not until sometime in 2009.

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The IEEE announced this week that it has approved the 1394-2008 standard. The new standard includes the complete specifications for S1600 and S3200, which provides speeds of up to 3.2 Gigabit/second. Add a comment
DigiTimes is reporting that CMC Magnetics will be raising the OEM price of blank CD-R and DVD+R/-R discs by 10% in August. The company also plans to raise the price again in the fourth quarter of 2008 in an attempt to improve the profitability of optical disc production.

CMC Magnetics, who plans to adjust its OEM quotes for blank CD-R and DVD+R/-R discs up by 10% on average in August according to a previous report, plans to further hike OEM prices in the fourth quarter of 2008 in an attempt to significantly improve the profitability of optical disc production, according to company chairman Robert Wong.

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LG Electronics has announced a new Blu-ray Disc player with Netflix streaming capability. The LG BD300 Network Blu-ray Disc Player will give Netflix subscribers the ability to instantly stream movies and television shows to their TV for no additional charge. The BD300 also plays BD-Live enabled Blu-ray titles, upconverts standard DVDs to 1080p and offers support for LG's SimpLink technology.

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Building on a groundbreaking technology partnership announced earlier this year, LG Electronics and Netflix, Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) today announced plans for the first Blu-ray disc player that will have the added benefit of being able to instantly stream a growing library of movies and TV episodes from Netflix directly to the TV.

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Hitachi sent out a press release earlier today, announcing two new CinemaStar hard drives. Developed for use in digital video recorders (DVRs) and set-top boxes, the CinemaStar 7K1000.B and 5K320 are optimized to run cooler, quieter and use less power.

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (Hitachi) today introduced two new CinemaStar™ hard drives optimized for use in digital video recorders (DVRs) and set-top boxes. The CinemaStar™ 7K1000.B is available in a broad range of capacities up to one terabyte (1TB) and the CinemaStar 5K320 delivers up to 320GB of capacity and incorporates innovative Hitachi CoolSpin™ technology.

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Imation announced today that it has expanded its line of Apollo Portable Hard Drives to include a 500GB model. Like previous versions, this ultra-slim drive is USB powered and features a midnight black-brushed surface with chrome detailing.
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Imation Corp. (NYSE: IMN - News) is among the first to introduce an external hard disk drive featuring a 500 GB 9.5 mm thick 2.5" HDD inside to its line of Apollo Portable Hard Drives. The sleek, compact and USB-powered 500 GB Apollo Portable Hard Drive is lightweight, stylish and extremely durable featuring a midnight-black brushed surface with chrome details. At just over a half an inch wide and weighing less than half a pound, the drive easily fits in the palm of your hand for convenience on the go.

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I-O Data Japan has announced a new Blu-ray Disc writer based on the Panasonic SW-5584. The BRD-SP8 features 8x BD-R, 8x BD-R DL and 2x BD-RE writing speeds as well as a maximum BD-ROM read speed of 8x. Here are some of the specs:

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Lite-On Europe announced this week, that it will begin shipping its new 22x DVD writers in October. Along with SecurDisc, the drives will support a new feature called SmartErase. Similar to Plextor's PlexEraser technology, SmartErase destroys the data on CD-R and DVD±R media without physically damaging the disc.