Last week, Panasonic filed a patent infringement lawsuit against CMC Magnetics. According to an article at PC World, Panasonic claims that CMC infringed upon not one, but three of their patents.
The three patents named in the complaint are: U.S. patent 4,847,132, which covers a protective layer for a reversible data storage disc; patent 5,790,487, which relates to optical data recording media; and patent RE 37,185, which covers an optical recording head for use in an optical disc data storage system.

Panasonic asserts that CMC and two U.S. affiliates, Hotan and KHypermedia, infringed on all three patents. The company is asking the court for damages relating to the infringement and an injunction against further infringement.
If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment
DigiTimes has reported that manufacturers of blue-laser DVD players and recorders could be facing a shortage of pick-up heads in the fourth quarter of this year.
The production of blue-laser pick-up heads (PUHs) by only a few makers, including Pioneer, Philips, Hitachi and Sony, is insufficient to meet increasing global demand for blue-laser DVD players, recorders, drives and burners, and the shortage is expected to be significant in the fourth quarter of this year, according to industry sources in Taiwan.

Although the global market for next-generation blue-laser drives, burners and players/recorders is still in its infancy, international vendors of desktop and notebook PCs as well as consumer electronics have placed OEM orders for such products to test the market during the traditional peak season next quarter, the sources indicated. The Sony PlayStation 3 (PS3, with a built-in Blu-ray Disc drive), which is scheduled to be launched in November, accounts for part of the demand, the sources noted.
If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment
BCCHardware has put together a review of Plextor's latest "Super-Multi" drive, the PX-750A. Here's a sample of what they had to say:
Overall, I'm extremely impressed with this drive from Plextor. While it may not be the fastest unit on the plant, in testing it has been rock solid. If this is the drive that begins to bring Plextor back to the forefront of the "King of Quality", this is a good start. We had absolutely no issues with this drive during testing and the benchmarks above reflect our experience. It's not 100% perfect in our tests as it does have some slowdowns when reading disks, but it bounces back up and finishes in top form.
If you'd like to read more, head on over to BCCHardware and check out their review. Want a second opinion? Our review of the PX-750A can be found here. Add a comment
Reuters has reported that the EU's antitrust officials are already looking into the licensing strategies used by Blu-ray and HD DVD. According to the article, the EU wants ot make sure that the licensing terms do not break their competition rules.
European Commission antitrust officials are probing the licensing strategies of two rival new generation DVD developers, HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc, the EU executive said on Thursday...

...The Commission wants to know whether the licensing terms of the DVD formats could break European Union competition rules, but it said this was not the start of a formal investigation.
Once the EU receives more information, it could decide to open a formal investigation or drop the case. More information can be found here. Add a comment
Thomson sent out a press release this morning, announcing that the next-generation DVD manufacturing and distribution capabilities of its Technicolor Home Entertainment Services business are in place and operational.
Technicolor Home Entertainment Services' next-generation DVD replication lines are installed at the company's worldwide headquarters in Camarillo, Calif. The company has three HD DVD replication lines, and three Blu-ray Disc replication lines, in place to meet early studio and consumer requirements. In addition, Technicolor Home Entertainment Services has installed dedicated, state-of-the-art mastering and testing equipment for both of these new formats in its Advanced Media Development Center in Camarillo. This facility also houses complete printing, custom packaging, and distribution facilities to support North American retail operations. The company plans to add future capacity for both formats in different geographies to meet projected demand, and to satisfy the ongoing needs of studio and independent right holder customers.
If you'd like to read more, Thomson's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
Here's an interesting bit of news. According to an article at DigiTimes, Matsushita has filed a lawsuit against CMC Magnetics, claiming that their DVD media infringes upon their patents.
Matsushita Electric Industrial (Panasonic) on July 26 announced that it has filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, charging that DVD discs made by CMC Magnetics Corporation (CMC), a Taiwanese disc manufacturer, infringe Matsushita Electric's patents. The lawsuit also names two US affiliates of CMC, Hotan Corporation and KHypermedia Corporation.
It will be interesting to see how this turns out. If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment
If you're concerned about the longevity of optical media, you'll probably want to read this. The Optical Storage Technology Association (OSTA) has announced that they've partnered with Ecma International to finalize an industry-wide archival-grade optical disc specification.
The Optical Storage Technology Association (OSTA) announced today that it has signed an agreement with Ecma International to work together to finalize an industry-wide archival-grade optical disc specification. The purpose of this initiative is to address end user needs calling for established practices in media archive life testing and classification. The final goal is the issuance of an ISO standard available to industry for broad implementation.
According to OSTA's press release, the two groups plan to develop an optical media archival test methodology and promote its implementation. More information can be found here. Add a comment
LightScribe is slowly gaining support from the computer industry. According to a press release sent out yesterday, LightScribe Direct Disc Labeling technology is being offered by over 70 electronics and software companies.
LightScribe today announced that an additional 25 hardware brands, personal computer and optical drive manufacturers, media brands and software developers have licensed its Direct Disc Labeling technology. These new licensees include leading hardware brands Ahtec Computer, Buffalo, Candy Technology, CompUSA, Gericom, LG Electronics, Mad Dog Multimedia, Paradigit and Samsung; personal computer manufacturers Founder and Targa; optical disc drive manufacturer TEAC; media brands Digitex, Esperanza, Infiniti, Omega, Platinet, PRIMEON, Ricoh and River Pro Audio; hardware component manufacturer MediaTek; software developers B.H.A., Honest Technology and NEATO; and disc publishing systems manufacturer Alea.

The expanded base of over 70 licensees highlights broad LightScribe technology adoption and reflects enthusiastic customer response. Over 12 million LightScribeenabled drives and 90 million CDs and DVDs have shipped to date. Additionally, LightScribe-enabled drive shipments account for 10% of all DVD burners manufactured on a monthly basis.
If you'd like to read more, LightScribe's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
InterVideo has announced the release of DVD Copy 5 Platinum. This new version of InterVideo's DVD-copying and file-conversion software supports a number of new features including CopyLater and TV Show to Go.
InterVideo, Inc. (NASDAQ:IVII - News), an industry leader in next-generation DVD and multimedia software, announced today the release of the much-anticipated InterVideo DVD Copy 5(TM) Platinum. This follow-up to the successful DVD Copy series includes a number of new features and innovations that makes it the best choice for disc copying and backup needs.

More than just a copy program, InterVideo DVD Copy 5 Platinum is the fastest disc backup software on the market that can be used to copy unencrypted movies, file and backup data, or merge multiple video files and burn to a single DVD in three easy steps.
DVD Copy 5 Platinum is available now and can be purchased through Intervideo's website for $79.95. More information on DVD Copy 5 Platinum can be found here. Add a comment
Panasonic has announced a new portable Super Multi drive, the LF-P967C. Along with 5x DVD-RAM writing speeds, the LF-P967C can write to DVD±R and DVD±R DL media at 8x. Here are some of the drive's specs:



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

Access Times:

DVD-ROM: 180ms
CD-ROM: 150ms

Read Speeds:
DVD-ROM (Single): 8x Max
DVD-ROM (Dual): 6x Max
DVD-Video: 4x Max
DVD±R: 8x Max
DVD±RW: 6x Max
DVD±R DL: 6x Max
DVD-RAM: 5x Max
CD-ROM: 24x Max

Buffer Size: 2MB


One neat thing about the LF-P967C is that it can be powered directly from the USB bus. Of course, it is consideraly slower when not using the AC adapter. If you'd like to read more, Panasonic's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment