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Software

11 July 2007

Corel announced today that Pioneer has chosen to bundle WinDVD 8, Ulead VideoStudio 11 and Ulead Burn.Now 1.5 with their new Blu-ray Disc combo drive, the BDC-2202. Here's part of their press release:

Corel Corporation (NASDAQ:CREL; TSX:CRE), a leading developer of graphics, productivity and digital media software, today announced that Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. is bundling its next-generation Blu-ray Disc (BD) combo drive, the BDC-2202, with selected titles from Corel’s digital media software lineup. The software bundle includes special editions of Corel’s WinDVD 8, Ulead VideoStudio 11 and Ulead Burn.Now1.5.

Affordably priced at $299.99, Pioneer’s BDC-2202 drive offers a compelling solution for consumers who want to use their PC to view the growing number of high-definition Hollywood movies that are being released on BD.

In addition to ensuring compatibility with commercially released Blu-ray Disc movies, the Corel software that comes bundled with the new Pioneer BD combo drive allows users to create and burn personal DVD movies and digital photo slideshows, backup files to a DVD or CD, and create and burn music to a CD.

If you'd like to read more, Corel's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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Other

11 July 2007

Buying a computer with integrated graphics can save you money. However, when it comes to things like playing Blu-ray or HD DVD movies, they just don't have the horsepower. To give these computers the performance boost they need, Albatron has released a Blue Ray Decoder Card (Yes, they spell it "Blue"). By utilizing NVIDIA's Geforce 8500GT GPU, this low-profile VGA card can reduce CPU utilization by 60% during high-def video playback.

Albatron has recently announced the exciting new "Blue Ray Decoder Card" giving mainstream users a great alternative to Integrated Graphics. This low-profile VGA card can provide even the most basic systems with High Definition video playback including Blu-ray and HD-DVD. This card also supports DirectX 10, boosting 3D graphics performance for the Windows VistaTM operating system...

...The technology behind this high performance, high definition video playback is NVIDIA's PureVideo HD technology, embedded into the NVIDIA Geforce 8500GT GPU. One of the most practical aspects of this technology is that it focuses video playback mostly on the GPU, leaving your CPU to do other things. In fact, systems using Core 2 Duo processors with PureVideo HD usage has consistently shown CPU utilization under 20% during high definition video playback which also demonstrates up to a 60% reduction in CPU impact when using PureVideo HD versus using other technologies. This card also supports H.264, VC-1 and MPEG-2 encoding/compression formats used to record data on both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray disks.

In reality, Albatron's Blue Ray Decoder Card is nothing more than a low-profile version of the 8500GT-256 graphics card. No word yet on price or availability. As we find out more, we'll let you know. In the mean time, Albatron's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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Home Entertainment

11 July 2007

DigiTimes has reported that Samsung will introduce the Duo HD BD-UP5000 during the 4Q of this year. According to industry sources, this combo Blu-ray/HD DVD player will be priced at only $545.

Samsung Electronics, at an IFA (Internationale Funhausstellung in German) conference held in Hamburg, Germany last week, announced it will launch the Duo HD (high-definition) BD-UP5000, the world's second dual-format disc player model supporting both HD DVD and BD (Blu-ray Disc) next to the LG Electronics BH100. The device will be initially introduced in the European market at a tentative price of 400 euro (US$545) in the fourth quarter of 2007, according to industry sources in Taiwan.

It will be interesting to see if Samsung can deliver the BD-UP5000 at this price. If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes.

Update - Apparently, DigiTime's "sources" got the price wrong. According to heise online, the BD-UP5000 will cost about 400 euro more than their single format Blu-ray player, putting it in the same ballpark as the LG BH100. Add a comment

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Software

11 July 2007

After more than a year of no updates, Padus has released a new version of DiscJuggler. This major release offers complete support for MP3+G, WMA+G and WAV+G as well as Blu-ray and HD DVD burning.

Among the many features introduced in this new build (see version history) we are proud to announce complete support for MP3+G, WMA+G and WAV+G. The MP3+G and WMA+G consist of two files, the audio track compressed to the MP3 or WMA (Microsoft Windows Media Audio) format and a separate CDG file containing the graphic data. Depending on the compression ratio, these two files combined occupy about one eighth of the disc space of a standard CDG track. This offers a convenient and effective way to back up your karaoke discs to your hard drive and to create CD+G compilations by mixing and matching songs from different sources.

Serial numbers for DiscJuggler 4 do not work with this new version. You will need to purchase an update ($5.99) or upgrade ($14.99) license. If you'd like to give DiscJuggler 6 a try before purchasing, a demo can be downloaded here. Add a comment

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Optical Storage

10 July 2007

Atmel has announced the availability of their new ATR0881 laser diode driver. While small in size, the ATR0881 can connect up to three laser diodes, giving drives the ability to support DVD and CD as well as blue laser formats like Blu-ray or HD DVD.

Atmel(R) Corporation(Nasdaq: ATML) announced today the availability of the ATR0881 laser diodedriver IC for use in combined HD-DVD/Blu-ray, DVD, and CD drives. TheATR0881 is housed in a 4 mm x 4 mm QFN24 package. This is the industry'ssmallest laser diode driver solution and is especially suited for smallslim drives used in notebook computers as well as for half-height drives indesktop PCs and consumer DVD recorders.

The ATR0881's QFN housing is a lead-free paddle-up package with theexposed paddle on top to improve heat dissipation. A bottom-located exposedpaddle, as found in conventional QFN packages, causes difficulties due toits inaccessibility for circuit design, particularly in optical pick-upproducts. This design restriction is eliminated with Atmel's ATR0881.

Samples of the ATR0881 are nowavailable and are priced at US $5.00 in quantities of 10k. If you'd like to read more, Atmel's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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Optical Storage

09 July 2007

Advanced Media sent out a press release today, announcing their new RIDATA Double-Sided 8x DVD-R media. With a capacity of 9.4GB, these double sided discs can hold four hours of DVD-quality video, 16 hours of VHS-quality video, or over 120 hours of MP3 audio.

Advanced Media, Inc., manufacturer and marketer of the popular RIDATA brand of recordable CD and DVD media, electronic storage products, and digital media accessories, is adding a Double-Sided 8x DVD-R disc to its comprehensive DVD product line. With an amazing 9.4GB of storage capacity, the advanced, double-sided disc is a cost effective solution for virtually any business or household application.

"Our new double-sided discs now in both the +/-R formats solve the storage need for those who don't own a dual layer DVD recorder, but would appreciate a larger storage capacity per disc. They are the ideal solution for the ongoing recording of a TV series or DVD quality movies. Users of the RIDATA 8x DVD-R Double-Sided medium, and its dramatically increased storage capacity, will enjoy fast, reliable storage with a wide range of playback options." stated Harvey Liu, Advanced Media president. "We are pleased to expand our offering of this cost effective product."

Advanced Media's Double-Sided 8x DVD-R media is available now for a suggested retail price of $0.59 per disc. If you'd like to read more, Advanced Media's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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Home Entertainment

09 July 2007

For the last week or so, its been rumored that Sony would be lowering the price of the 60GB Playstation 3 by $100. Earlier today, Sony confirmed the rumor, stating that the 60GB model will now be priced at $499. To fill the $599 price point, the company will be releasing a new version of the console that includes an 80GB hard drive and a copy of the game MotorStorm.

Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA), Inc. today announced a new 80GB model of its PLAYSTATION3 (PS3(TM)) computer entertainment system. Beginning in August, the new PS3 model will be available in North America for a suggested retail price of $599/$659 CND and will be sold with the popular online-enabled racing game MotorStorm(TM). In conjunction with this news, the company also announced that effective immediately, the current 60GB PS3 model will be available in North America for $499/$549 CND, or $100 below the original launch price.

By featuring an expanded hard disk drive (HDD), the new 80GB PS3 is designed to appeal to the online gaming and entertainment enthusiast, providing ample storage space to download more games and other entertainment content from PLAYSTATIONNetwork. There are currently more than 60 playable games and game-related downloads available through PLAYSTATIONStore, with expanded entertainment content coming soon. The new model features the million-selling game MotorStorm in the box, allowing up to 12 players to play online at one time, hitting the dirt in this visually-arresting, fast-paced racing title.

If the $100 price cut isn't enough, remember that you can also get five free Blu-ray movies by mail. Full details on Sony's price cut and the 80GB PS3 can be found here. Add a comment

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Optical Storage

09 July 2007

Plextor LLC sent out a press release this morning, announcing their new external "Super Multi" drive, the PX-810UF. Along with support for both FireWire and USB 2.0, the PX-810UF features 18x DVD±R, 10x DVD±R DL and 12x DVD-RAM writing speeds.

Plextor LLC, a leading developer and manufacturer of high-performance digital media equipment, today announced the immediate availability of the PX-810UF DVD Super Multi Drive. This external drive combines the 18X DVD+/-R and 12X DVD-RAM performance of Plextor's PX-810 Series drives with the convenience and portability of USB and FireWire interfaces.

The PX-810UF features a dual interface with Hi-Speed USB and IEEE 1394 (FireWire), enabling users in a small office or professional studio to share a single external high-performance DVD/CD burner among multiple Apple Macintosh and Microsoft Windows-based PCs. Burst data transfer rates of 480 Mbps (USB 2.0) or 400 Mbps (FireWire) allow a user to burn a 4.7 GB DVD+R disc in approximately six minutes.

The PX-810UF is scheduled to ship later this month for a suggested retail price of $139.00. More information can be found here. Add a comment

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Duplicators

09 July 2007

Primera has announced that they've started shipping their new Bravo XRn Network Disc Publisher. This enterprise-level disc publisher lets users burn and print CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray Discs quickly and easily from their networked computers.

Primera Technology, Inc., the world's leading developer and manufacturer of CD, DVD and BD duplication and printing equipment, today announced its Bravo XRn Network Disc Publisher is now shipping.

Powered by an internal Windows XP Embedded computer, the Bravo XRn Network Disc Publisher gives everyone in the office the ability to produce their own professional-quality CDs, DVDs and BDs. Jobs can be sent from an unlimited number of networked users. The included Windows XP/2000 and Vista(TM) client software is based upon Primera's PTPublisher(TM) disc publishing software. PTPublisher utilizes a robust disc burning engine from industry-leader Sonic Solutions, Inc.

The CD/DVD and CD/DVD/BD versions of the Bravo XRn Network Disc Publisher are priced at $6995 and $8995 respectively. Full details can be found here. Add a comment