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Optical Storage
Sony NEC Optiarc Europe has announced that they will be showcasing a number of Blu-ray Disc drives at CeBIT 2008. Along with the Sony BDU-X10S BD-ROM, the company will have two new BD combo drives on display, the half-height BC-M110S and the slimline, slot loading BC-5600S.
The Optiarc BC-M110S BD Combo drive is a versatile drive which plays Blu-ray and burns DVDs and CDs. The BC-M110S is connected to the computer’s SATA interface, and it fits in a conventional 5.1/4 inch drive aperture.

As announced, Optiarc will be putting the Sony BDU-X10S BD-ROM drive onto the retail shelves in February. It’s part of a retail package being marketed under the Sony brand name which upgrades the PC to a Blu-ray Disc player so that it can play BDs as well as DVDs and CDs. The package also includes the CyberLink PowerDVD BD Edition program. At the end of last year, Optiarc also began marketing the flagship product Sony BWU-200S, which writes Blu-ray recordable discs at 4x speed. Optiarc has additionally launched two fast 20x DVD burners, the Sony DRU-190A (PATA) and the DRU-190S (SATA). drive onto the retail shelves inFebruary. It’s part of a retail package being marketed under the The package also includes the program. At the end of last year, Optiarc also began marketing the flagship product Sony BWU-200S, which writes Blu-ray recordable discs at 4x speed. Optiarc has additionally launched two fast 20x DVD burners, the Sony DRU-190A (PATA) and the DRU-190S (SATA).

Additionally Optiarc is extending its notebook drive portfolio. There is a new drive specifically for ultra-thin notebooks in the pipeline, plus the Optiarc BC-5600S slot-in BD Combo drive, a high performer when space is limited. It reads Blu-ray Discs at 2x speed and burns DVD blanks at up to 8x speed. at 2x speed and burns DVD blanks at up to 8x speed.
No word yet on pricing or availability. As we find out more, we'll let you know. In the mean time, Optiarc's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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Home Entertainment
Sony sent out a press release this morning, announcing two new Blu-ray Disc players. The BDP-S350 and BDP-S550 feature an ethernet port and are capable of accessing advanced interactive features such as Bonus View and BD-Live. Both models also offer 1080/60p and 24p True Cinema output as well as Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Digital Plus decoding and bit-stream output. The BDP-S550 ups the ante even further with a 1GB storage device and support for dts-HD High Resolution Audio and dts-HD Master Audio decoding.

The BDP-S350 and BDP-S550 models both support Bonus View (Picture-in-Picture) featured on some of the new Blu-ray Disc theatrical releases. The BDP-S350 model is BD-Live ready featuring an Ethernet port for an easy firmware update and access to Internet-based interactive content features. The BSP-S550 is Bonus View and BD-Live capable when it ships.

Both models also feature an external port for local storage, so users can add optional USB flash-based memory. The BDP-S550 ships with a 1GB storage device.

“Building on the exceptional picture and sound quality of previous players, Sony’s next-generation Blu-ray Disc models bring exciting interactive features to life and offer consumers a ground-breaking experience,” said Chris Fawcett, vice president of marketing for Sony Electronics’ Home Product Division. “These new devices bring home movie experience beyond the cinema and into a whole new realm of entertainment.”
The new BDP-S350 ships this summer for about $400 and BDP-S550 will be available this fall for about $500. Full details can be found here. Add a comment

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ADATA 2GB Mickey Mouse USB Drive @Virtual-Hideout
ASUS P5K64 WS Intel P35 DDR3 Motherboard @ThinkComputers.org
ATP Petito and ToughDrive mini USB Flash Drives @Techconnect Magazine
Cooler Master Cosmos S Full Tower Case @Bigbruin.com
IPEVO Trio USB Handset Speakerphone Hybrid @Everything USB
Noctua NF-S12 Fan @ASE Labs
Radeon HD 3870 X2 Round-Up: Asus & HIS @HotHardware.com
Sandio 3D O2 Gaming Mouse @BCCHardware
Scythe Ninja Copper CPU Cooler @HardwareLogic
Thermaltake BlacX HDD Docking Station @BCCHardware
Zalman ZM-DS4F Dual Stereo Headphones @Hi-Tech Reviews
ZOTAC GeForce 8800 GT 512MB AMP! HDMI Video Card @Benchmark Reviews
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Home Entertainment
Microsoft announced over the weekend that they too will be dropping support for HD DVD. According to Bloomberg.com, the company will stop making HD DVD players for the Xbox 360 and will drop the price of the addon to only $49.
Microsoft Corp. plans to stop making HD DVD players and cut the price of existing supplies by more than half after the leading promoter of the high-definition video format conceded defeat to Sony Corp.'s Blu-ray last week.

``From tomorrow, we will cut the price to $49,'' said Grace Chou, a Taipei-based spokeswoman for the Redmond, Washington- based company. Microsoft's Xbox 360 game console includes a standard DVD player, and customers can buy an HD DVD machine to use with the console at $119.99 through retailers such as Amazon.com.
There is still no official word from Microsoft as to whether or not we'll be seeing a Blu-ray player for the Xbox 360. Hopefully, we'll hear something soon. In the mean time, Bloomberg's entire article can be found here. Add a comment

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Home Entertainment
While many electronics retailers in the US have put Toshiba's HD DVD players on clearance, six of Japan's major retailers have pulled them from their shelves altogether. According to INQUIRER.net, these retailers have asked Toshiba to take back its stock of players.
As of Friday, six major Japanese electronics retailers -- Yodobashi Camera, Kojima, Nojima, Edion, Best Denki and Joshin Denki -- had suspended all sales of HD DVD, company officials said. The chains are in talks with Toshiba for the electronics giant to take back its stock either fully or partially.

Edion, which operates 1,000 stores across Japan under various names, announced an offer for any customer who bought HD DVD hardware from Toshiba to switch for a Blu-ray machine sold by Sony, Panasonic or Sharp. The offer is available only in March, with customers expected to pay any price difference if the Blu-ray machine was more expensive.
While I'd be surprised if Toshiba took back their stock of HD DVD players, its good to see that some retailers care enough about their customers that they'd give them a way to move to Blu-ray. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment

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Hard Disks
Transcend recently announced their new shock-resistant portable hard drives. Available in 160GB and 250GB capacities, the StoreJet 25 mobile features a rugged silicone outer case and a shock absorbing suspension system to protect the internal hard drive from damage.

Transcend Information, Inc. (Transcend), a global leader in the digital storage industry, proudly announces its new shock-resistant high capacity portable hard drive - the StoreJet 25 mobile. The new StoreJet 25 mobile is lightweight (206g) and easy to carry around, with compact measurements of just 134mm by 80.8mm by 18.8mm. Inside its extra-rugged shockproof silicone outer case is a high-capacity hard drive that lets you backup and store up to 250GB of data. To protect against data loss or damage from accidental slips or falls, the StoreJet 25 mobile meets U.S.military drop-test standards (MIL-STD-810F - Transit Drop) with advanced two-stage anti-shock technology, literally making it one of the safest places to keep your data. In order to ensure maximum compatibility with most desktop and notebook computers, the StoreJet 25 mobile uses a high-speed USB 2.0 interface, which provides data transfer rates up to 480Mb per second while offering the convenience of plug and play.
If you'd like to read more, Transcend's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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Other
Belkin In-Desk 3" Grommet Hole USB Hub @Everything USB
ECS A770M-A (V1.0) AMD 770 Motherboard @Bigbruin.com
Fanatec Porsche 911 Turbo Wheel for PC & PS3 @I4U
Foxconn Mars Motherboard @InsideHW.com
Noctua NH-U12P CPU Heatsink @Madshrimps
NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT 512MB @Hardware Zone
Palit GeForce 9600GT Sonic @ChileHardware
QNAP TS-109 Pro SATA Gigabit NAS @Benchmark Reviews
RaidMax Aztec Case @TweakPC
Rosewill RX81-MP 3.5" e-SATA Enclosure @Virtual-Hideout
Sigma Shark 635W Power Supply @ThinkComputers.org
XFX 9600 GT Video Card @I4U
ZOTAC GeForce 9600GT 512MB AMP! Edition @TweakTown
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Optical Storage
Traxdata has announced the availability of Europe's first 16x DVD+R DL media. According to their press release, an entire 8.5GB disc can be written in as little as 10 minutes.

Traxdata, a leading optical and flash media storage vendor, has today announced a European market first with the availability of its Double Layer(DL) DVD+R 16x media enabling users to store 8.5GB on one disc.

Traxdata’s DVD+R DL 16x can burn 8.5GB of audio, video or data files in just 10 minutes compared to the standard DVD+R DL 8x which takes nearly 20 minutes to burn the same amount of content. This equates to up to four hours of DVD quality video, 16 hours of VHS quality video, or more than 120 hours of MP3 audio.
Traxdata's 16x DVD+R DL media is available now in packs of five. Full details can be found here. Add a comment

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Optical Storage
While Taiwan's media manufacturers have been reluctant to mass produce blue-laser discs, Toshiba's recent announcement has motivated companies like CMC and Ritek to invest in the production of BD-R and BD-RE discs.
CMC and Ritek are technologically poised to kick off production of BD discs, as they have each obtained level A laboratory certification for 4x BD-R SL and 2x BD-RE SL formats, the sources pointed out.

Among second-tier Taiwan-based makers, Prodisc Technology and Daxon Technology are willing to step into the production of BD discs while Lead Data and Gigastorage hold a conservative attitude, the sources indicated.
While Blu-ray has become the high-def standard, manufacturers do not expect the market for blank BD-R and BD-RE discs to take off for another year or two. If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment

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Home Entertainment
Paramount, the last Hollywood studio to support HD DVD, has announced that it too will be releasing titles on Blu-ray. In a statement sent to The Hollywood Reporter, Paramount announced that it was pleased that the industry was moving toward a single format and that it would would begin releasing titles on Blu-ray in the near future.
Paramount Home Entertainment quietly came onboard via a statement sent exclusively to The Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday: "We are pleased that the industry is moving to a single high-definition format, as we believe it is in the best interest of the consumer," the statement reads. "As we look to (begin) releasing our titles on Blu-ray, we will monitor consumer adoption and determine our release plans accordingly."
While Paramount has provided any details in regards to a release schedule, a Blu-ray version of Transformers has already shown up in Circuit City's computers. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment

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