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Imation Corp (NYSE: IMN) today announced that it has filed a Declaratory Judgment Action in the Federal District Court in St. Paul, Minn., requesting that the court resolve an ongoing dispute with Philips Electronics N.V., U.S. Philips Corporation, and North American Philips Corporation (collectively "Philips"). The action requests that the court reaffirm Imation's cross-licensing rights related to various optical products, including recordable and rewritable CD and DVD discs, based on a long-standing agreement between Imation and Philips.This is most likely due to Philips' Veeza licensing scheme. As we've reported in the past, Philips is trying to bar imports of non-Veeza discs in some of the world's major markets. More information can be found on Imation's website. Add a comment
Imation's cross-licensing agreement with Philips allows Imation to make, have made and sell various optical media products including CD and DVD discs. Based on Imation's cross-licensing rights under the existing agreement, Imation's action asks the court to stop Philips' recent attempts to interfere with Imation's ongoing business relationships with its customers and suppliers.
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With the view that the market for PC optical disc drives (ODDs) in Taiwan is approaching saturation, as seen by the NT$1,500 (US$45) price for 16x DVD burners, Sony Taiwan indicated it will shift its marketing toward optical disc devices not dependent on PCs, according to Sony Taiwan.I can't say I'm too surprised. It's hard to justify buying one of Sony's drives when you can essentially get the same thing, sold under another brand for half the cost. If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment
Although half-height DVD burner technology has advanced to 18x writing speeds and will be upgraded further to 20x next year, demand for DVD burners is not expected to increase, local industry sources pointed out.
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Everglide g-1000 Mouse Review @ NGOHQ.com
SteelPad 5H Headset @ HWzone.co.il
Antec Truepower Trio 650 Watt Power Supply Review @ Tweaknews.net
2.5" HDD/Media Enclosure Showdown @ BCCHardware
Cooler Master Mystique 631 @ Tweak PC
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- Home Entertainment
A member of the Xbox 360 HD-DVD team confirmed for me today that the Xbox 360 HD-DVD drive will in fact be recognized by Windows Vista, but it will NOT ship with decoder software. I'm assuming that Intervideo will have a version of WinDVD sometime in the future that supports HD-DVD. Personally, I think the drive should come with the required software to dual-use enable the device (adding value to a non-trivial purchase), but I'm not a PM at Microsoft.Hopefully, InterVideo or CyberLink will release software that is compatible with the drive. If you'd like to read more, the entire report can be found here. Add a comment
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Lite-On IT, the largest Taiwan-based maker of optical disc drives (ODDs), on October 25 reported its financial results for the third quarter of this year, posting a very small net earnings per share (EPS) of NT$0.033. The company also announced it has decided to stop production of consumer ODDs, mainly DVD recorders, to be sold under its Liteon brand in the global market, while keeping OEM/ODM production of such products.It really isn't clear whether this includes all of Lite-On's ODD products or just their DVD recorders. If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes.
Lite-On IT's average gross margin dropped from 16.7% in the first half of this year to 13.2% last quarter. Three main reasons for this were the following: the ongoing integration of Lite-On IT's own operating resources with those of BenQ's ODD business unit (acquired by Lite-On IT in April 2006); delays in R&D works on Blu-ray Disc drives, slim-type ODDs and Xbox ODDs; losses due to consumer returns of own-brand DVD recorders sold through the Wal-Mart chain, according to company CEO Danny Liao.
Update - Thanks to the Dutch website, Tweakers.net, we've learned that this only applies to Lite-On's standalone DVD recorders. Here's a translation (thanks RJW):
A moment ago Dutch Lite-On IT have communicated us that the source article of DigiTimes contained an incorrect reproduction of the facts. The brand Lite-On is still alive. Lite-On will definatly not stop with selling dvd - and cd-burners under its own brand, thus spokesman Maarten Souren. Only the standalone dvd-recorders that are sold under the lite on brand, will be removed from the Lite-On-catalog according to him.So there you have it. Lite-On will continue to produce PC-based CD and DVD writers. Add a comment
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Sonic Solutions (NASDAQ:SNIC), the leader in digital media software, announced today that AuthorScript, the company's proven formatting and burning engine, has been selected to enable a range of DVD and CD recording features in Windows Vista. The built-in AuthorScript engine provides features within Windows Vista that help users archive digital memories to CDs and DVDs, create custom music discs, and perform important data backup functions. Sonic is also working with Microsoft to develop digital media applications that will optimize and enhance consumers' experience with Windows Vista. Certified for Windows Vista applications will include a range of applications within Sonic's Roxio product lines such as Roxio Easy Media Creator 9, the company's flagship digital media software suite of CD and DVD authoring, burning, photo, video, and music tools. As part of the Windows Vista launch program agreement between Microsoft and Sonic, Microsoft will showcase Roxio Easy Media Creator 9 in a range of venues and programs as it prepares for the launch of Windows Vista.Easy Media Creator 9 is expected to be certified for Windows Vista by the time the OS is launched. If you'd like to read more, the entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
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Two versions of "Imation: Into the Blue" are available: a 5 minute streaming video clip and a 14 minute video podcast. If you have the bandwidth and the time, I highly recommend the podcast as it includes some great footage of the manufacturing process. Add a comment
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The ADL-MAX Disc Autoloader is available now for a suggested retail price of $1995. More information can be found on Primera's website. Add a comment
Primera Technology, Inc., the world's leading developer and manufacturer of CD/DVD duplication and printing equipment, today announced its new ADL-MAX Disc Autoloader.
The ADL-MAX Disc Autoloader easily attaches to any of Primera's best-selling Bravo II or BravoPro Disc Publishers. It uses advanced robotics to transport discs from the four integrated input bins into and out of the burning and printing mechanisms of the Bravo II or BravoPro. With ADL-MAX, Bravo II's capacity increases from 50 discs to 325 discs. BravoPro's capacity increases from 100 discs to 350 discs.
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The PX-751A is expected to hit the Japanese market in the middle of November for 8,000 Yen. More information can be found on Plextor Japan's website. Add a comment
Writing Speeds: DVD+R: 16x CAV
Access Times:
DVD+RW: 8x Z-CLV
DVD+R DL: 8x Z-CLV
DVD-R: 16x CAV
DVD-RW: 6x CLV
DVD-R DL: 6x Z-CLV
DVD-RAM: 5x CLV
CD-R: 48x CAV
CD-RW: 32x CAVCD-ROM: 130ms
DVD-ROM: 140msRead Speeds: DVD-ROM (Single Layer): 16x Max
Buffer Size: 2MB
DVD-ROM (Dual Layer): 12x Max
DVD±R: 16x Max
DVD±RW: 12x Max
DVD±R DL: 12x Max
DVD-RAM: 5x Max
CD-R/ROM: 48x Max
CD-RW: 40x Max
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Sonic Solutions (NASDAQ: SNIC), the leader in digital media software, announced today that its US Patent 6,944,621 for dynamic content revision has been evaluated as essential to the Blu-ray Disc (BD) specification for BD players and optical media for the purpose of participating in a joint Blu-ray Disc Patent Portfolio License being facilitated by MPEG LA. The Sonic technology covered in the ‘621 patent - one of several the company has related to new high-definition formats - allows for updating or augmenting multimedia content on portable storage media including CD, DVD, UMD, flash memory, and HD DVD. In addition to Sonic's intention to participate in the Blu-ray Disc Patent Portfolio License, the company will continue to license the ‘621 patent directly to content owners, online service providers, software developers, game console manufacturers, consumer electronics companies, in-game advertisers, and other industry partners developing online services and non-BD applications.As much as I'd like to see new content, I can see this technology being used more for advertising. If you'd like to read more, Sonic's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
