As many of you know, Toshiba is currently offering instant rebates on their HD DVD players. According to Video Business, these rebates have boosted player sales as much as tenfold and has made the HD-A2 the top selling DVD player on Amazon.com.
Toshiba’s recent price drop on its HD DVD players and aggressive retailer pricing over the holiday weekend have driven up sales as much as tenfold at some retailers.

Since Toshiba began offering a $100 instant rebate on HD DVD players, sales have grown between fivefold and tenfold, depending on the retailer, said Jodi Sally, VP of marketing for Toshiba America Consumer Products.
If the rebates weren't enough, Toshiba is giving away five HD DVD movies with each player purchased. At these prices, this is a hard deal to pass up. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment
Pioneer Electronics has announced two new "Super-Multi" drives, the DVR-X122 and DVR-R200. The faster of the two, the DVR-X122 features 18x DVD±R, 10x DVD±R DL and 12x DVD-RAM writing speeds. The DVR-R200 lacks the DVR-X122's top end speed. However, it makes up for this with support for HP's LightScribe technology.

Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. today announces two new high performance, multi-format DVD/CD writers for rapid and reliable preservation of digital movies, music, photos and data files. The Pioneer DVR-X122 external DVD/CD writer uses a high speed USB 2.0 port for quick connectivity to a PC lacking a built-in high-capacity writer, and also offers the portability needed to back up user files on multiple computers. For those who prefer a permanently installed drive, Pioneer offers the DVR-R200 internal DVD/CD writer. Both models are bundled with sophisticated software to create personalized videos, and the DVR-R200 features the LightScribe direct-to-disc labeling technology.
The DVR-X122 and DVR-R200 are available now for a suggested price of $99.99 and $69.99, respectively. More information can be found on Pioneer's website. Add a comment
I-O DATA Japan has announced a new series of drives based on the Panasonic SW-9576. The internal DVR-AM16CV and external DVR-UM16CV feature 16x DVD±R, 4x DVD±R DL and 5x DVD-RAM writing speeds and are backwards compatible with older, cartridge based DVD-RAM discs. Here are some of the specs:



Writing Speeds:
DVD±R: 16x
DVD±R DL: 4x
DVD+RW: 8x
DVD-RW: 6x
DVD-RAM: 5x
CD-R: 40x
CD-RW: 24x

Read Speeds:
DVD-ROM (Single): 16x Max
DVD-ROM (Dual): 8x Max
DVD±R: 16x Max
DVD±RW: 8x Max
DVD±R DL: 8x Max
DVD-RAM: 5X Max
CD-R/ROM: 40x Max
CD-RW: 24x Max


The DVR-AM16CV and DVR-UM16CV will ship in late June and are priced at 12,500 Yen ($103US) and 15,700 Yen ($129US) respectively. More information can be found here and here Add a comment
If you read our spy report, you probably won't be surprised that Lite-On has received OEM orders for Xbox 360 DVD-ROM drives. According to a report by DigiTimes, the company will be producing 0.8-1 million units by the third quarter of 2007.
Lite-On IT has reportedly secured OEM orders for DVD-ROM drives to be built into Microsoft Xbox 360 consoles, with monthly shipments of 0.8-1 million units to begin in the third quarter of 2007, according to industry sources in Taiwan.

Lite-On IT was unwilling to confirm the report saying that the company will not comment on any reports concerning orders due to non-disclosure agreements signed with clients.

The built-in DVD-ROM drives for the Xbox 360 have been produced by two OEM makers, Toshiba-Samsung Storage Technology (TSST) and BenQ, the sources indicated. Lite-On IT took over BenQ's optical disc drive business unit in mid-2006 but did not take over the OEM manufacturing rights for Xbox 360 because it was required to obtain new certification from Microsoft, the sources pointed out.
If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment
Today CDRLabs takes a look at Plextor's ultra-portable DVD writer, the PX-608CU. Based loosely on the Pioneer DVR-K16, this stylish and compact drive is capable of 8x DVD±R, 8x DVD+RW, 6x DVD-RW, 4x DVD±R DL and 5x DVD-RAM writing speeds and a maximum DVD read speed of 8x. The PX-608CU can also be powered off a computer's USB bus, giving you the ability to burn CD's and DVD's wherever you go.

In this review we'll take a look at some of the features found on the PX-608CU and then see how it performs. Is Plextor's portable DVD writer the best choice for the person on the go? You'll have to read the review to find out.


Plextor PX-608CU 8x USB 2.0 DVD±RW/RAM
If you have any comments or questions about this review or the Plextor PX-608CU, please post them in the forum. Add a comment
Optware and Toyohashi University of Technology have developed a new hologram element for use with players supporting Optware's collinear technology. As Tech-On! reports, this new element is expected to reduce both the size and price of holographic players.
The latest element may reduce the price of players. Thus far, the company has used an expensive DMD priced at over $10,000 (USD) even for a playback-only machine in order to generate the reference light at the time of playback. The hologram element can generate the reference light with an incident light because the pattern of the reference light is transferred to the element. Thus, the recording light can be played back without depending on DMD. Although the specific price of the element is yet to be announced since it is at the prototyping stage, the company expects the production cost to be less than several tens of thousand yen.

The new element also leads to a size reduction of players. The prototype element is 20-mm square, which is smaller than DMD. In the case of DMD, the size of the portion required to generate the reference light measures 100 x 160 mm, including peripheral circuits necessary to drive DMD.
With holographic players costing more than some cars, any price reduction is welcome. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment
Sharp has announced that it will begin volume production of its new 3.3mm blue-violet semiconductor laser in July. With its small size and heat-dissipating CAN package, the GH04020A4G is ideal for notebook Blu-ray and HD DVD drives. Here's part of their press release, translated from Japanese:

Sharp, the royal purple which adopts the package of industry smallest diameter φ3.3mm mass-produces the low power output semiconductor laser , from July. The blue ray disk of the next generation DVD of the notebook PC (BD) and it is the device which is optimum to the playback of HD DVD...

...This product, when miniaturization is assured, in order to overcome the trade-off that temperature inside the package rises, mounted on the package of the high thermal insulation construction which developed the laser tip/chip which to electric power consumption is converted low anew. Because of this, the long-lived design of small-sized size and the highest level was actualized simultaneously.
Sharp will ship out samples on June 13th and plans to eventually produce 500,000 units per month. If you'd like to read more, Sharp's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
On Friday, the Helsinki District Court threw out a case against two men charged with violating Finland's copyright laws. According to PC World, the court ruled that CSS is "ineffective" as a form of DRM.
He, as well as another man, were charged in February. But on Friday, the court dismissed the cases, determining that CSS is "ineffective" and does not "achieves the protection objective" as stated by law.

The court heard from two technical experts, one for the prosecutor and one for the defense, who testified the CSS copy protection technology does little to stop consumers from copying DVDs due to an abundance of programs and decryption tools. CSS was cracked just a few years after its release by three hackers, including a 16-year-old Norwegian.
While this decision could make DVD copying legal, at least in Finland, it will probably have a larger effect on AACS. The way things are going, this new DRM could be declared "ineffective" as well. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment
As we reported last week, support for LightScribe is on the decline. According to DigiTimes, a number of drive manufacturers are looking to LabelFlash as a more affordable alternative.
Although Plextor, NEC and I-O Data have offered LabelFlash-enabled DVD burners for a while, the technology has lagged far behind LightScribe in adoption by brands/makers of DVD burners, the sources pointed out. However, probably because LabelFlash has the advantages of much lower royalty charges and burns labels onto discs faster, there may be more brands/makers adopting the technology, including the largest Taiwan-based OEM maker Lite-On IT, the sources noted. In contrast, many newly launched DVD burners are not equipped with LightScribe, the sources said.

The competition between LabelFlash and LightScribe hinges on royalty charge rates and prices of the corresponding CD-R, DVD+R/-R discs. For example, LightScribe discs are up to 100% more expensive than standard discs of the same format, the sources noted.
Unfortunately, LabelFlash drives and media have yet to make their way to the US nor do I think they will in the near future. If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment
Pioneer Japan sent out a press release this morning, announcing their latest 18x DVD writer, the DVR-S12J. Along with support for Serial ATA, the DVR-S12J features 18x DVD±R, 12x DVD-RAM and 10x DVD±R DL writing speeds. Here's part of their press release, translated from Japanese:

The knitting machine 18 time speed of DVD±R, DVD-RAM the record precision which is stabilized even at the high-speed record time of 12 time speed of 2 actualized the quiet sound conversion which it is thorough simultaneously with “the air induction slit” on the disk tray which is succeeded and this corporation individual “disk resonance stabilizer” from “the DVR-A12J” series.

In addition, besides the fact that high-speed record of record playback and single sided 2 layer media Dual of various record types DVD and record type CD Layer DVD-R and DVD+R Double Layer (the maximum of 10 time speed) it is corresponding, drawing is possible to the label surface of the private disk which corresponds “Labelflash (the label flash) technology” and, you adopt also the stylish front panel design which is glossy to continue.
While Pioneer has not announced a price, AV Watch expects the DVR-S12J to cost about 11,000 Yen($90US). If you live in Japan, expect to see the drive on store shelves some time in June. More information, including a full list of specs, can be found here. Add a comment