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Last week, Best Buy spokesperson Brian Lucas said the retailer would continue stocking HD DVD so long as studios release content in HD DVD and there is a market for the format.As someone who reads the Sunday circulars religiously, I can say that, in most cases, retailers are giving equal ad space to both formats. However, with Toshiba's latest round of price cuts and more titles being released on Blu-ray, things could swing either way. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment
“As far as we’re concerned there are still two formats and the format war is not really over,” Lucas said.
He said Best Buy would continue telling customers about the two formats and not take sides so they could make “an informed decision.”
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Serial ATA International Organization (SATA-IO), the consortium dedicated to sustaining the quality, integrity and dissemination of SATA technology, today announced its Power Over eSATA initiative. SATA-IO has begun work on a new specification that will provide power to external SATA (eSATA) devices without the need for a separate power connection. Led by the organization’s Cable and Connector group, the specification is targeted for completion in the second half of 2008.Power Over eSATA solutions, such as portable optical drives, are expected to be available as soon as the second half of 2008. More information can be found here. Add a comment
Today, eSATA devices require an external power adapter to supply the necessary voltage for operation. The new SATA-IO specification will eliminate this requirement by providing power for a single drive directly from the host system using the Power Over eSATA cable. Key benefits will be to maintain compatibility with the existing eSATA connector form factor and retain high performance at the current maximum interface transfer rate of 3Gb/s (gigabits per second). External SATA offers the only 3Gb/s bus optimized for storage performance. Data from IDC shows that eSATA can transfer a two-hour high-definition movie in less than one minute.
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Ritek, the second largest Taiwan-based producer of blank optical discs, has obtained OEM orders for blank HD DVD-RW (rewritable) discs from Toshiba, with shipments to begin in the first quarter of 2008, according to Chinese-language newspaper Economic Daily News (EDN).If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment
Ritek confirmed the report but declined to disclose the order volume and value, EDN pointed out. Toshiba will bundle three HD DVD-RW discs with sales of its latest Qosmio series notebook PCs, EDN indicated.
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Toshiba America Consumer Products,L.L.C. ("Toshiba") today announced that it is stepping up its successfulmarketing campaign for HD DVD as it experienced record-breaking unit salesin the fourth quarter of 2007. Major initiatives, including jointadvertising campaigns with studios and extended pricing strategies willbegin in mid- January and are designed to spotlight the superior benefitsof HD DVD as well as the benefits HD DVD brings to a consumer's current DVDlibrary by upconverting standard DVDs via the HDMI(TM) output to near highdefinition picture quality...While Toshiba claims that this new promotion is a result of their record-breaking sales, the steep price cuts make it look more like a last ditch effort to grab market share and clear out their existing stock of players. Either way, it will probably make the format war drag on for another few months. If you'd like to read more, Toshiba's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
...Taking the holiday season sales based on promotional prices into fullconsideration, these new manufacturer's suggested retail prices (MSRP) aredesigned to meet the potential demand for HD DVD players in the U.S.market. Effective on January 13, 2008 the MSRP of the entry-model HD-A3will be $149.99, the HD-A30, with 1080p output, $199.99, and the high-endHD-A35, $299.99.
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In this review we'll take a look at some of the features found on the LH-20A1L and see how it compares to some of the 18x and 20x DVD±RW drives from the competition. Does the LH-20A1L have what it takes? You'll have to read the review to find out.
If you have any comments or questions about this review or the Lite-On DH-20A3H, please post them in the forum. Add a comment
Lite-On DH-20A3H 20x Super AllWrite DVD±RW/RAM
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With Green the theme for the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, and Blu-ray the hot topic, Blue Ray Technologies has announced the first 100 percent eco-friendly Blu-ray plant in the world. It is designed as a showcase of how cutting edge technology can be profitable while working with earth instead of against it.If you'd like to read more, Blue Ray Technnologies' entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
"As Blue Ray leads high-definition and consumers into the 21st Century in movies and games, we take seriously the challenge to make manufacturing as clean as the picture on our Blu-ray discs," says Blue Ray Technologies founder Erick Hansen.
For the next-gen company, it's more than just lip service to the Green movement, it's a philosophy built in to every phase of Blue Ray Technologies' operations. Starting with a recycled historical building for its Spokane, Washington, plant, BRT uses underground tanks to cool its production water, solar panels to provide electricity, redirected heat from manufacturing to office space, rainwater collectors, eco-conscious raw materials and packaging plus energy-saving devices everywhere from clean room lighting to the kitchens. Any carbon footprint left is more than zeroed-out by support for tree-planting and methane-recycling programs.
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"Contrary to unsubstantiated rumors from unnamed sources, Universal's current plan is to continue to support the HD DVD format," said Ken Graffeo, executive vice president of HD strategic marketing for Universal Studios Home Entertainment and co-president of the HD DVD Promotional Group.Take note that this statement doesn't dispel any of the rumors claiming that Universal will support Blu-ray as well as HD DVD. In any case, we'll have to wait and see how this shakes out. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment
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Verbatim Americas, LLC, a key media developer for the new DVD Download specification from the DVD Forum, announced today a complete line of Qflix DVD media. Qflix technology, licensed from Sonic Solutions?, allows movies and other video content to be downloaded and legally burned using recordable Content Scramble System (CSS) technology. Backed by Verbatim’s decades-long reputation for delivering media with the highest-quality and broadest compatibility, the new product line will include both Qflix consumer media and printable Qflix Pro media for enterprise use. Verbatim Qflix media will be released to coincide with the availability of Qflix drives and video download services in Q1 2008.Verbatim's Qflix media will be available in Q1 2008. Qflix Consumer, pre-keyed with CSS, will be available in individual slimcases. For professionals, Verbatim will offer Qflix Pro in 50-pack spindles with a white inkjet or thermal-printable coating. Full details can be found here. Add a comment
The applications for Verbatim’s new Qflix media span every consumer, retail and commercial download and burn application, including DVD burning on home PCs, in-store kiosk burning, and manufacturing on demand (MOD) services.
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Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (Matsushita [NYSE symbol: MC]), best known for its Panasonic brand, today announced that the company will change its company name to 'Panasonic Corporation' effective October 1, 2008. The company will also unify its corporate brands to the 'Panasonic' brand across the world.If you'd like to read more, Panasonic's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
The change, that was approved at the company's extraordinary board meeting today, will be submitted for and subject to approval at its ordinary general meeting of shareholders to be held in late June this year.
Upon a company name change, the company will undertake its brand name change from the 'National' brand, which is used for home appliances and housing equipment in Japan, to the 'Panasonic' brand by the end of fiscal 2010, ending March 31, 2010. Subsequently, the 'National' brand will be abandoned and the corporate brands in Japan will be unified to the 'Panasonic' Brand.
