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    MPEG LA announced this week that they have filed a lawsuit against the consumer electronics company, Audiovox. According to the MPEG LA's press release, Audiovox failed to report fully its manufacture or sale of products that use the MPEG-2 or IEEE 1394 (FireWire) standards. MPEG LA also alleges that Audiovox failed to make full payments related to these products and would not allow an audit as permitted by contract.
    MPEG LA, LLC, world leader in alternative one-stop patent licenses, today announced that it has commenced an action against Audiovox Electronics Corporation (“Audiovox”) for breach of contractual obligations as a Licensee to MPEG LA’s MPEG-2 Patent Portfolio License (the “MPEG-2 Contract”) and 1394 Patent Portfolio License (the “1394 Contract”).

    According to the complaint filed in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Audiovox has breached its contractual obligations by failing to report fully its manufacture or sale of products such as DVD players and digital TVs that use the MPEG-2 digital video compression standard or employ the high-speed transfer digital interface provided for in the IEEE 1394 standard, failing to make full payments for its manufacture or sale of such products, and refusing to allow an audit as permitted by the MPEG-2 Contract and 1394 Contract (collectively, “the Contracts”).
    MPEG LA is seeking monetary damages, an account of all products that fall under the contracts and an injunction prohibiting Audiovox from manufacturing or selling MPEG-2 and 1394 products. Full details can be found here. Add a comment
    While Digital Playground dropped Blu-ray in favor of HD DVD earlier this year, the adult film studio has had a change of heart. Due to pressure from Playstation 3 owners, Digital Playground will release its first Blu-ray title, Pirates, later this year.
    Digital Playground founder Joone says the decision hinged on cost. “The advantage of HD DVD over Blu-ray is the cost factor, both in manufacturing and the players,” he says, adding that the rest of the porn industry is “basically behind HD DVD because of manufacturing costs. It costs a lot more to put out a title on Blu-ray.”

    HD DVD has done well for Digital Playground, and the company claims to have an 80-percent share of the market for HD porn. Joone says that about one-third of the publisher’s video shipments are now HD.

    So why go with Blu-ray? Joone explains, “A lot of people were emailing that bought a PlayStation and they were basically saying, ‘When are you guys going to release Blu-ray?’ They really have no preference in format yet because it’s so now. When it comes down to image quality, there is no difference between the two.”
    While the image quality is the same, Digital Playground is taking full advantage of Blu-ray's extra capacity. The extras on the Blu-ray version Pirates will be in 1080p instead of the standard def content found on the HD DVD release of the movie. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment
    RITEK announced this morning that they will be the first company to launch 16x DVD+R DL media. According to the information on their website, an entire 8.5GB disc can be written in as little as 10 minutes.

    RITEK Corporation, the global leading manufacturer of storage media, has once again outdone competitors with its outstanding technology to become the first company to launch DVD+R DL 16X. RITEK's DVD+R DL offers up to 16X of writing speed and is undoubtedly a welcoming product for modern PC users who are always concerned about speed.

    Before Blu-ray discs become the next mainstream media, RITEK Corporation has offered its new DVD+R DL 16X as consumers' best solution for backups and data storage. Apart from having the advantages of large capacity of 8.5GB and the convenience of not having to change sides during the burning process, at a writing speed at 16X, it will only take 10 minutes to write 8.5GB of data on to the disc. This is equivalent to 4 hours of high-resolution DVD image; 16 hours of VHS quality image or 120 hours of MP3 music. RITEK DVD+R DL 16X offers a substantial increase in data/image/music burning speed and convenience for the consumers and it is most suitable for company or individual use when there is a need for backup for massive amount of data. With RITEK DVD+R DL 16X, the days of long waiting time for data backup are over.
    While RITEK may be the first company to get 16x DVD+R DL media to market, Ricoh launched their own discs back in March. If you'd like to read more, RITEK's entire announcement can be found here. Add a comment

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    Add a comment
    Sonic announced today that they have signed a Qflix technology licensing agreement with one of Taiwan's leading media manufacturers, CMC Magnetics. According to Sonic's press release, CMC is beginning production on Qflix DVD media and it is expected to be in use by next year.
    Sonic Solutions(R)(Nasdaq: SNIC), the leader in digital media software, announced today thatCMC Magnetics Corporation (TSEC: CMC), a leading optical storagemanufacturer, has signed a Qflix(TM) technology and IP licensing agreement.CMC is beginning production on Qflix DVDs, which enable the secure,on-demand recording of digitally distributed entertainment with the sameprotection as commercially mass-produced titles. CMC is currently takingorders for two versions of Qflix media expected to be in broad use nextyear. The first type will be employed by duplication system operatorsproviding custom DVD publishing services to retailers. The second type isdesigned for use in retail movie kiosks as well as in the home, where theywill enable consumers to legally record premium entertainment downloadedfrom the Internet.
    If you'd like to read more, Sonic's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
    Nero sent out a press release this morning, announcing that Nero 8 has been certified for authoring and playback of Blu-ray Disc Video (BDMV) titles. The latest update for Nero 8 also offers improved file encoding speeds and support for Mini HD DVD-Video discs.
    Nero 8 has received certification for authoring and playback of writeable Blu-ray Disc Video (BDMV) titles and with the new update now supports advanced and interactive features for High Definition audio and video. The certifications were presented by Sony Corporation’s Blu-ray Disc testing center and ensure maximum compatibility with other Blu-ray devices for trouble-free operation.

    The latest update of Nero 8 also includes play back of Mini HD DVD-Video discs, and burning of HD DVD-Video onto DVD-R/RW media. Smart Encoding, a feature that detects compliant incoming data formats from AVCHD camcorders, avoids time-consuming re-encoding by skipping the recoding step for AVCHD content when the destination format is also AVCHD. Advancements in the Nero 8 home entertainment features offer even more flexibility by letting users fast forward, and pause content streamed throughout the digital home via Nero’s home media server application.
    While the latest Nero 8 update adds these new features, you will still need to buy the Blu-ray/HD DVD Plug-in to take full advantage of them. If you'd like to read more, Nero's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
    Nero released a new version of Nero 8 this morning. There is no change log yet. However, this new update brings the version count up to 8.2.8.0. If you'd like to check it out, the update can be downloaded here. As usual, feel free to share your experiences in our forum. Add a comment
    The battle between Blu-ray and HD DVD could be coming to an end next year. According to the research firm Screen Digest, the battle could come to an end if major players decided to change allegiances and support one or both formats.
    The battle between high-definition formats HD DVD and Blu-ray is also set for a resolution next year, although which side will deliver the knockout blow is still unclear.

    "It would only take one major player to shift allegiances to push the tipping point one way or another," said analyst Richard Cooper.

    Sony's Blu-ray has enjoyed a good year, boosted by sales of the PlayStation 3 hardware and software. With both sides engaged in price-cutting of their hardware delivery systems, 2008 will see the battle shift to the content arena.
    Screen Digest isn't naming any names. However, they're probably expecting Warner to choose a side in the battle between Blu-ray and HD DVD. While the company has been releasing titles on both formats, its been rumored that they may support Blu-ray exclusively. If that was the case, the format battle could very likely be decided by the end of next year. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment
    Sony has finally released the v2.10 firmware for the Playstation 3. This highly anticipated update adds DivX and VC-1 (WMV) video playback support and upgrades the console's Blu-ray Disc player to Profile 1.1. From the Playstation Blog:
    Firmware Update v2.10 is now live. This new system update enhances media playback on the PLAYSTATION 3 in a number of ways that the PS3 community has indicated are important.

    We are introducing a much-requested video playback format with this update: DivX and VC-1 (WMV) videos become playable in the Video section of the XMB. This update also brings the PS3’s Blu-ray drive up to Profile 1.1. “Picture in Picture” and other enhancements become available on Profile 1.1 compatible Blu-ray discs.
    While the first Profile 1.1 compatible titles won't hit stores for another month or so, its good to see that the Playstation 3 is ready for their release. If you'd like to read more, the entire blog post can be found here. Add a comment