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Optical Storage

16 October 2006

With Ritek adopting Philips' Veeza licensing scheme, many people, including myself, expected other Taiwanese media manufacturers to follow suit. According to DigiTimes, this isn't the case, as many are still concerned with unfair competition from manufacturers in China and Hong Kong that have not accepted Veeza.

Royal Philips Electronics has scored no additional points in promoting Veeza, a new licensing system for its CD-R disc patents, in Taiwan since Ritek was the first among Taiwan-based makers of CD-R discs to join the program late last month, according to industry sources.

The Taiwan Office of Philips Intellectual Property & Standards (PIPS) is negotiating with several companies, including CMC Magnetics, Prodisc Technology and Optodisc Technology, to accept Veeza, the sources indicated. These Taiwanese makers are willing to sign up for Veeza, but are asking for favorable conditions, the sources pointed out.

The article also mentions that Philips is barring imports of non-Veeza CD-R discs in some of the world's major markets. While they see this as a way to eliminate the competition from manufacturers in China and Hong Kong, it also forces the remaining Taiwanese manufacturers to get on board. If you want to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment

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Duplicators

13 October 2006

Rimage has announced the release of the Everest III. According to their press release, it is the "world's only permanent thermal retransfer direct-to-disc printing solution".

Everest III, which is an enhanced version of Rimage's pioneering thermal retransfer printing technology, enables users to create custom, colorful, high-resolution labels bonded directly to the surface of CDs and DVDs -- a permanent solution essential for many retail, medical and banking/finance applications.

The Everest III enhancements include increased color accuracy, added hardware and software functionality, and enhanced ribbon communication, resulting in a combination of unmatched reliability, long print run capabilities, print permanence and the industry's lowest cost per disc.

The Everest III is available now and can be purchased as stand alone unit or with Rimage's disc publishing systems. If you'd like to read more, Rimage's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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Optical Storage

13 October 2006

Everyone's favorite gadget website, Gizmodo, has posted some interesting info on the Xbox 360's HD DVD drive. Apparantly, it can be plugged into a PC and will be recognized as an optical drive.

Some things I found out, and can talk about is the 360 HD-DVD drive can be plugged into a PC and it will be recognized as an optical drive, but will not play HD-DVD movies. I asked what if you have the proper HD-DVD software on the PC, to that [redacted] said that he didn't know, it hadn't been tried yet- maybe there's something there...

I'm guessing the inability to play HD-DVD movies is due to the lack of software. If it is possible, I know I'll be first in line to pick up one of those drives. With a price tag of only $199, they're a cheap way to add HD-DVD playback to an HTPC. If you'd like to read more, the entire report can be found here. Add a comment

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Software

12 October 2006

Nero has announced that ESS Technology's Phoenix HD Enhanced DVD processor has achieved Nero Digital certification. Here's part of their press release:

Nero, leaders in digital media technology, announces that ESS Technology Inc.'s ES8380/ES8381 Phoenix(TM) HD Enhanced(TM) DVD processor is Nero Digital(TM) Certified. Nero Digital, co-developed by Nero and Ateme, is based on industry standards MPEG-4 Video (MPEG-4 SP/ASP and AVC/H.264) and MPEG-4 Audio (LC AAC und HE AAC) compression technologies. It enables the delivery of more high quality MPEG-4 compliant audio and video content at lower bit rates, while offering advanced interactive features.

The Phoenix ES8380/ES8381 single-chip HD Enhanced DVD processor, which features an integrated servo controller and RF amplifier, provides users with standard DVD decoding (with options to support MPEG-4 ASP decoding, HDMI transmitter and Class D power bridges). It incorporates advanced video enhancement features such as an HDTV encoder that can display JPEG pictures at full HD resolution, as well as video up-scaling and de-interlacing to display video at HD resolution.

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

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Duplicators

12 October 2006

Primera sent out a press release this morning, announcing their new Bravo SE Blu Disc Publisher. Built around the Pioneer BDR-101A, the Bravo SE Blu can copy and print up to 20 discs per job.

Primera Technology, Inc., the world's leading developer and manufacturer of CD, DVD and BD duplication and printing equipment, today announced its Bravo SE Blu Disc Publisher.

Instead of producing Blu-ray Discs one at a time, the Bravo SE Blu automates the entire burning and printing process. An advanced, sixth-generation robotic mechanism is used to transport discs into the built-in Pioneer BDR-101A Blu-ray Disc/DVD Recorder. After recording, each Blu-ray Disc is individually inkjet printed direct-to-disc in full-color at up to 4800 dpi resolution. Up to 20 discs per job can be produced automatically and hands-free.

The Bravo SE Blu is available now for a suggested retail price of $2995. More information can be found on Primera's website. Add a comment

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Optical Storage

12 October 2006

With NEC announcing a new chipset compatible with both Blu-ray and HD DVD, there has been a lot of hope that drives capable of reading and writing both formats would soon be on the way. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like we'll be seeing one any time soon, at least from Taiwan's drive manufacturers.

Following an announcement by NEC of chips supporting both the HD DVD and Blu-ray formats, Taiwan-based optical disc drive (ODD) makers said they are not considering launching dual-standard drive models for the two disc standards..

..Although NEC claims the new dual-standard chips can help reduce costs by 20-30%, Taiwan-based ODD firms said the overall production cost of ODDs using the chip may not be less than that of disc drives using chips that support a single DVD standard since overall costs are determined by other factors, such as the cost of the optical pick-up head (PUH) and yields.

If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment

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Home Entertainment

12 October 2006

With Blu-ray and HD DVD hogging most of the spotlight, most people don't realize that there are other, more affordable high-def formats on the way. According to an article at PC Magzine, New Medium Enterprises (NME) has started taking orders for its HD VMD (Versatile Multilayer Disc) player and plans to ship it next month.

New Medium Enterprises said this week that it has begun taking orders for its HD VMD (Versatile Multilayer Disc) player, a format that the company says will support high-definition video. The $175 player will begin shipping in November, according to a company spokesman.

In addition, the player will be shown off at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January, where an improved model will be released, the NME representative said.

The article also mentions that NME plans to begin marketing file formats, encryption technology, authoring tools and compression technologies. While all this is great, it won't really matter if movie studios don't get on board. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment

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Optical Storage

11 October 2006

According to an article at DigiTimes, there are a growing number of Taiwanese manufacturers passing off their 8x and 4x DVD+R/-R discs as being rated at 16x or 8x.

Among makers of optical discs in Taiwan, only CMC Magnetics, Ritek, Prodisc Technology, Daxon Technology and Lead Data are currently capable of producing 16x DVD+R/-R discs, while second-tier and smaller makers produce 4x and/or 8x discs, the sources indicated.

As demand for 16x DVD+R/-R discs grows with the increasing use of 16x and 18x DVD burners, some makers have mislabeled their discs with higher speeds in order to grab profits, the sources pointed out, noting that there have been reported cases of counterfeited TDK 8x and 16x DVD+R/-R discs made by small makers in Taiwan.

If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment

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Home Entertainment

10 October 2006

Kagan Research has released the 11th edition of their market analysis report, "The State of Home Video". According to their study, high-definition DVD's will not dominate the market until 2012.

In 2006, the bulk of the $16.9 bil. revenue will come from standard-definition DVD ($16.8 bil.)," said Wade Holden, Kagan analyst. "By 2009, VHS will be virtually extinct and high-definition DVD revenue should grow to more than $2.6 bil. as the format war works itself out, either via one winning format or a combination HD DVD/Blu-ray player being introduced to the market. By 2015, VHS will be history and high-definition DVD will be the major-market shareholder with $18.3 bil. in revenue.

I have to agree with this study. Contrary to what Blu-ray and HD DVD promoters want you to think, the DVD is not going away any time soon. More information on Kagan's report can be found here. Add a comment