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Home Entertainment

16 July 2008

Sony made a number of announcements at E3 this week. Along with a new 80GB PlayStation 3 priced at $399, the company unveiled its new video delivery service. The service will offer standard and high definition videos from studios like Disney, Fox, Paramount and Warner Bros. Once downloaded, the videos can also be transferred from the PS3 to the PSP.

Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) today launches the company’s new video delivery service on PLAYSTATION®Store for PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) and PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) systems in the United States. Consumers will have the ability to download full-length movies, television shows, and original programming accessible through the PLAYSTATION Store on PLAYSTATION®Network. With nearly 300 full length movies and more than 1,200 TV episodes, many available in both standard-definition (SD) and high-definition (HD), PLAYSTATION Network’s video delivery service makes PS3 the ultimate entertainment platform and enhances PSP’s status as a portable entertainment marvel. PLAYSTATION Network’s video delivery service will become available later this evening.

Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) will initially make available to consumers content for video rental and electronic sell-through from top movie studios including: 20th Century Fox, Lionsgate Entertainment, MGM Studios, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Warner Bros. Entertainment as well as titles for rent from The Walt Disney Studios and a wide-ranging menu of popular titles from a variety of television partners.

Consumers who rent a movie from the PLAYSTATION Network’s video delivery service have 14 days to watch the content. Once playback has begun, they have a full 24 hours to watch their rental. Pricing for rental movies ranges from $2.99 to $5.99, and pricing for purchased movies ranges from $9.99 to $14.99. If you'd like to read more, Sony's entire announcement can be found here. Add a comment

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Home Entertainment

15 July 2008

NEC Electronics announced this week that it expects to double the sales of its Blu-ray products to 40 billion yen ($378 million) by March 2011. The company also plans to take over Blu-ray chip market by introducing affordable single-chip LSIs like the new EMMA 3P.

Japan's NEC Electronics Corp said on Tuesday it expects to double sales of its Blu-ray products in the next two years by matching steep price falls hitting its clients, manufacturers of DVD players.

NEC Electronics, which competes with Matsushita Electric Industrial Co, Broadcom Corp and Sigma Designs Inc, aims to take over half the global Blu-ray chip market by March 2011 from an expected 40 percent at the end of March 2009.

If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment

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Flash Memory

15 July 2008

Advanced Media sent out a press release today, announcing its Ridata Ultra-S Plus MLC Series of Solid State Drives (SSD). These new MLC-based SSDs are available in 32GB, 64GB and 128GB capacities and offer 128MB/s read and 80MB/s write speeds.

Advanced Media, Inc., is a manufacturer and marketer of the popular Ridata brand of recordable CD and DVD media, electronic storage products, and digital media accessories. The company is pleased to introduce its Ridata Ultra-S Plus Series of Solid State Drives (SSD) featuring faster transfer speeds than current Ultra-S products. Ultra-S Plus MLC now offers users products featuring a Multi-Level Cell (MLC) SATA configuration for fast read and write speeds plus larger storage capacities at a lower cost.

"We are pleased to offer laptop and other mobile computing device users an affordable SSD alternative to Hard Disk Drives (HDD). SSD drives offer a host of benefits over traditional hard disk drives especially for notebooks. Cool and silent running, low battery usage, fast data access, dependable performance and resistance to temperature, shock, vibration and humidity make SSD ideal for the mobile computing environment," remarked Harvey Liu, Advanced Media President.

The 32GB, 64GB and 128GB versions of the Ridata Ultra-S Plus MLC SSD will be available in late July and are priced at $168.90, $294.90, $539.90, respectively. If you'd like to read more, Advanced Media's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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Optical Storage

15 July 2008

Pioneer Japan has announced two new 20x DVD writers, the DVR-A16J (PATA) and DVR-S16J (SATA). Along with support for Labelflash, the two drives feature 22x DVD±R, 12x DVD-RAM and 12x DVD±R DL writing speeds and Pioneer's new Optimal Write Speed function. Here are some of the specs:

Writing Speeds: DVD+R: 20x, 18x, 16x, 12x, 8x, 6x, 4x, 2.4x DVD-R: 20x, 18x, 16x, 12x, 8x, 6x, 4x, 2x, 1x DVD+R DL: 12x, 10x, 8x, 6x, 4x, 2.4x DVD-R DL: 12x, 10x, 8x, 6x, 4x, 2x DVD+RW: 8x, 6x, 4x, 3.3x, 2.4x DVD-RW: 6x, 4x, 2x, 1x DVD-RAM: 12x, 8x, 6x, 6x, 3x, 2x CD-R: 40x, 32x, 24x, 16x, 10x, 4x CD-RW: 32x, 24x, 20x, 16x, 10x, 4x

Read Speeds: DVD-ROM (Single): 16x Max DVD-ROM (Dual): 12x Max DVD±R: 16x Max DVD±RW: 13x Max DVD±R DL: 12x Max DVD-RAM: 12X Max CD-R/ROM: 40x Max CD-RW: 32x Max Buffer: 2MB

The DVR-A16J and DVR-S16J will ship in mid-July and are expected to cost about 10,000 Yen ($95US). More information on both drives is available on Pioneer Japan's website. Add a comment

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Home Entertainment

15 July 2008

Microsoft announced this week at the E3 Media & Business Summit that it has formed a partnership with Netflix that will give Xbox 360 owners the ability to instantly stream movies and TV shows to their television via the console. The service will launch this fall and will be available to Xbox LIVE Gold members who are also Netflix subscribers.

An exciting new home theater experience is coming to living rooms this holiday season. At E3, Microsoft and Netflix, the world's largest online movie rental service, today unveiled an exclusive partnership to offer the ability to instantly stream movies and TV episodes from Netflix to your television via Xbox 360®.

Xbox 360 will be the only game system that lets you instantly watch movies and TV episodes streamed from Netflix. This movie-watching innovation will be available to Xbox LIVE® Gold members who are also Netflix subscribers, and will let those users enjoy streaming movies from Netflix on Xbox LIVE at no additional cost.

A growing library of more than 10,000 movies and TV episodes will be available from Netflix when it launches on Xbox LIVE in late fall, with more choices added over time. Through this agreement, along with the existing Video Store, Xbox 360 will be home to more movies and TV shows on demand than any other device connected to the TV. Xbox LIVE quickly and easily connects you and your friends to the entertainment you want—with no PC required for viewing.

With the recent price cut and this partnership with Netflix, its becoming harder not to buy an Xbox 360. Now if they'd just offer a Blu-ray add-on... If you'd like to read more, Microsoft's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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Flash Memory

15 July 2008

Kingston announced this week that it has added 8GB microSD High-Capacity (SDHC) flash memory cards to its mobile memory storage line. With an 8GB card, users can store more than 1,500 digital songs, more than 4,000 images from a 5MP cameraphone or up to eight hours of video on their phone.

Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the independent world leader in memory products, today announced the addition of 8GB microSD High-Capacity (SDHC™) Flash memory cards to its mobile memory storage line. Shipping immediately, the new 8GB microSDHC cards offer greater storage options to the latest mobile phones and digital devices in the smallest footprint available.

“Consumers are demanding more from their mobile phones, expecting them to double as music and portable game players, instant cameras, email communicators, browsers and navigators. Having enough storage capacity, particularly in the form of memory cards, keeps internal device memory free to deliver all this multi-functionality,” said Wendy Lecot, Flash card business manager, Kingston®. “Our 8GB microSDHC cards are so roomy that mobile users can easily move entire digital libraries from a PC to their mobile phones — and beyond.”

Kingston's new 8GB microSDHC card is available now for a suggested price of $58.00. If you'd like to read more, Kingston's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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Hard Disks

14 July 2008

Fujitsu recently announced a 500GB version of its HandyDrive. This USB-powered, portable hard disk drive comes with an 8MB buffer and has a maximum data transfer rate of 60MB/s. The HandyDrive also features an internal shock-endurance mechanism which protects it against drops up to 70cm in height.

Fujitsu Europe Limited today announced its newest travel-ready portable HandyDrive additions, featuring the world’s highest capacity 2.5-inch external hard disk drive (HDD) with up to 500GB* of storage space in one drive. Suitable for the busy mobile professional looking for a compact-size external HDD with industry-leading capacities, Fujitsu HandyDrives are equipped with the necessary components for safe and easy data transports. Its utility management reduces the drive’s power consumption in stand-by mode by 35% over normal idle mode. And for extra security, Fujitsu provides a new password lock tool option to secure stored data and prevent unauthorized access.

The 500GB HandyDrive will be available at the end of July for a recommended retail price of 229€. If you'd like to read more, Fujitsu's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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Software

14 July 2008

Nero released a new version of Nero 8 this morning. As usual, there is no change log. However, this new update brings the version count up to 8.3.6.0. If you'd like to check it out, the 188MB update can be downloaded here. As usual, feel free to share your experiences in our forum. Add a comment

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Home Entertainment

14 July 2008

While Blu-ray won the format war, consumers have been slow to go high-def. One of the biggest reasons is the the high costs associated with the format. Players are still very expensive and Blu-ray titles usually cost $10 or more than the standard DVD release.

Warner is trying to rectify this somewhat through its new Blu-ray Disc promotion. According to Video Business, Warner will be launching a point-of-sale rebate program where retailers will be able to get catalog titles for around $11. With this rebate, consumer pricing is expected to fall somewhere between $17 and $20.

In this program, retailers will buy the titles at their present pricing but obtain rebate money back upon the sale of each unit. That should ultimately amount to a relatively inexpensive $11 cost for retailers.

Additionally, Warner will offer rebates, although less extensive, for newer Blu-ray releases, including 300, The Departed, I Am Legend, Ocean’s 13 and We Are Marshall. This layer of the Blu-ray program also will run from early September to the first quarter, according to store sources.

The consumer price for these titles is likely to fall somewhere between $17 and $20. That would still represent a deal for shoppers, as titles such as 300 are now falling between $24 and $30 at outlets such as Amazon and Best Buy.

This is great news for consumers who are looking to pick up older Blu-ray titles for their library. Hopefully, other studios will follow Warner's lead and offer their own discounts. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment