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Hard Disks

19 June 2008

CDRLabs has put together a brief review of Western Digital's new dual-disk storage system, the My Book Mirror Edition. Like the name suggests, the My Book Mirror Edition automatically "mirrors" your data between the two disks so that if one should fail, your data will remain safe. The My Book Mirror Edition also features a built in capacity gauge and with its fan-less design and GreenPower hard drives, it uses a third less power than other dual-drive systems.

In this review we'll take a look at some of the features found on the My Book Mirror Edition and see how it performs. Is it a good choice for those looking to backup their data and keep it safe? You'll have to read the review to find out.

Western Digital 2TB My Book Mirror Edition

If you have any comments or questions about this review or the Western Digital My Book Mirror Edition, please post them in the forum. Add a comment

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Optical Storage

19 June 2008

NEC Electronics has announced a new system LSI capable of 8x Blu-ray writing speeds. According to Tech-On!, the SCOMBO/UM2A's analog and digital signal processors have also been combined into a single chip. As a result, the SCOMBO/UM2A is 20% smaller and uses 33% less power than NEC's previous model.

This time, NEC Electronics employed a wideband analog signal processing circuit in order to support Blu-ray 8x recording and playback. The circuit was originally developed for use in 20x DVD systems. Furthermore, the company adopted the CMOS technology to produce the analog circuit, instead of using the BiCMOS technology.

As a result, the analog circuit can be integrated with the digital signal processing unit in a single chip. Compared with the company's existing product, the footprint of the latest chip is 20% smaller, and the power consumption was reduced by 33% to 1.8W.

NEC is currently shipping samples of both the SCOMBO/UM2A and SCOMBO/UM2P (playback only) and are priced at $14 and $19, respectively. The company currently plans to produce 300,000 units per monthy, increasing to 1,000,000 per month by the end of 2008. If you'd like to read more, Tech-On's entire report can be found here. Add a comment

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Software

19 June 2008

TMPG, Inc. announced this week that it will be releasing an updated version of TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress at the end of June. This new version of their encoding software adds input support for AVCHD, AAC in an MPEG-2 stream and embedded MPEG-4. It also provides output support for High Definition MPEG-4 video and Blu-ray BDAV/BDMV templates.

TMPG, Inc. (www.tmpg-inc.com), the company that makes digital video easy, is introducing an updated version of its popular video encoding software TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress. Due to user demand TMPG, Inc. has now added input support for AVCHD, AAC in an MPEG-2 stream and embedded MPEG-4 input support. The new update also provides output support for High Definition MPEG-4 video and Blu-ray BDAV/BDMV templates. The software upgrade will be available at the end of June at www.tmpg-inc.com and will be free for current TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress users. New users may purchase the updated software for $99.95 per license.

"We have had many requests for these particular high definition video and Blu-ray upgrades and we are pleased to now offer them to our customers,” stated Kimi Matsuki, TMPG Inc. CEO. “As always, we will continue to keep TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress relevant and up to date with support for the latest formats for our customers."

More information, including the entire list of new features, can be found on TMPG's website. Add a comment

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Other

18 June 2008

Asus MK241H 24" Widescreen LCD Monitor @HotHardware.com
BFG 9600 GT OCX Video Card @I4U
CoolIT Systems nVIDIA 8800 Series Dual Drive Bay VGA Cooler @Futurelooks
HP DVD-1040e External DVD Writer @CD Freaks
Motorola Bluetooth Headset H680 @ BlueTomorrow.com
MSI P45 Platinum Motherboard @TweakTown
Thermaltake Armor+ MX Case @BCCHardware

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Optical Storage

18 June 2008

Samsung held its yearly "Storage Power Lunch" in New York today. At the event, the company unveiled a number of storage products, including its new slim, portable DVD writer, the SE-T084M. Along with 8x DVD±R, 6x DVD±R DL and 5x DVD-RAM writing speeds, the SE-T084M supports Samsung's TruDirect technology for easy and fast DVD title creation.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a worldwide leader in digital consumer electronics and information technology, is expanding its TruDirect[tm] line of optical disc drives with the development of a slim, slot-in external model, the SE-T084M/RSWD. Samsung's revolutionary TruDirect technology allows consumers to create DVDs and burn digital content through a PC without the need for a hard drive. The time-saving TruDirect[tm] SE-T084M provides easy and fast real-time recording of DVDs.

"Samsung offers consumers best-of-breed technologies and the new TruDirect SE-T084M continues to lead the pack in ODD innovation. With its slim and light portable design, the TruDirect SE-T084M lets users easily create DVDs more quickly and conveniently than ever before," said Richard Aguilera, national sales manager, Samsung Storage Division.

Samsung's External TruDirect[tm] drive weighs less than one pound and even works without a power cord. To make a DVD movie with TruDirect[tm], users only need to connect a digital video camera to their PC, press 'PLAY' on the camera, click the TruDirect shortcut icon that pops up in the TruDirect™ program window, and then click the 'RECORD' icon. All you need is a PC and TruDirect™ to turn wherever you are into a true DVD creation studio.

The SE-T084M will ship in July for a suggested retail price of $149. If you'd like to read more, Samsung's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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Hard Disks

18 June 2008

Western Digital sent out a press release this morning, announcing its latest dual-drive storage system, the My Book Mirror Edition. Configured out-of-the box in RAID 1 mode, the My Book Mirror Edition automatically mirrors your data for extra protection.

WD® (NYSE: WDC) today introduced its new My Book® Mirror Edition™ dual-drive storage systems, which can automatically store valuable personal content not once, but twice, to maximize data safety. This RAID-based continuous data protection feature, called mirroring, makes WD's My Book Mirror Edition storage systems the safest place for storing irreplaceable data.

Personal collections of digital content, such as photos, music, and videos, continue to grow on desktop and notebook computers around the world. Consumers are increasingly aware that taking precautions to protect their data is vital and are looking for a simple solution.

When users store their personal content on a My Book Mirror Edition system, their valuable data is automatically mirrored for extra protection - making it easy and economical to benefit from the data redundancy typically found in corporate data centers. This mirroring technology makes the new dual-drive systems an ideal storage solution for photographers, home users and small offices and anyone looking for extra assurance that their data is safe.

My Book Mirror Edition is available now in 1 TB and 2 TB capacities and is priced at $289.99 and $549.99, respectively. Additional information is available on Western Digital's here. Add a comment

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Optical Storage

18 June 2008

While 6x Blu-ray writers, like the LG GGW-H20L, have been around for some time, media capable of these speeds has been in short supply. To meet these needs, Panasonic has announced the launch of the world's first 6x BD-R media. Available in both 25GB and 50GB capacities, these new discs have a maximum data transfer speed of 216Mbps.

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Other

17 June 2008

ASUS P5E64 WS Evolution X48 ATX Motherboard @Bigbruin.com
ASUS Rampage Formula Motherboard @InsideHW
Cyber Snipa Sonar 5.1 Gaming Headset @ThinkComputers.org
In Win Powerman Commander 1200 Watt Power Supply @Tweaknews.net
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 Video Card @Benchmark Reviews,CHW,Hardware Zone,HotHardware.com,InsideHW
Sunbeamtech Acrylic HTPC-style ATX Case @Madshrimps
SunbeamTech Core-Contact Freezer CPU Cooler @BCCHardware
Super Talent Project X PC3-16000 2GB Memory Kit @HardwareLogic
Tuniq 3 Mid-Tower ATX Computer Case @Futurelooks
XFX GTX 280 Video Card @I4U
ZOTAC GeForce GTX 280 AMP! Edition @TweakTown

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Home Entertainment

17 June 2008

While Blu-ray recorders haven't made their way to the US quite yet, they're very popular in Japan. So popular, in fact, that the Japanese government plans to add a copyright fee to the price of Blu-ray recorders and discs. As with other digital recording devices, this fee is meant to compensate content owners and allow consumers to copy or record digital TV broadcasts. Add a comment