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Raising the bar in the Blu-ray Disc vs. HD DVD battle, Walt Disney Co. is creating a series of short films to be shot in high-definition to accompany select films the company will release in the Blu-ray format.Disney's Blu-ray titles are expected to begin shipping on September 19th and will come in two waves. Out of the initial nine titles, five of them will come with the exclusive shorts. More information can be found here. Add a comment
It's the first move by any studio to develop original content for the Sony-developed Blu-ray, a step observers feel is critical to giving the format the upper edge over Toshiba's rival HD DVD.
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Sonic Solutions (NASDAQ:SNIC - News), the leader in digital media software, and Movielink (www.movielink.com), the leading broadband video-on-demand (VOD) service, announced today a licensing agreement for technology that, when authorized for use by content providers, will enable consumers to burn downloaded movies onto recordable discs in a protected format for playback on standard DVD players. As part of the agreement, Movielink has licensed Sonic's DVD-on-Demand technology to permit home users to securely download, format and burn movies to recordable DVD media. Additionally, Sonic will include the Movielink Service within its Roxio CinePlayer(TM) and other Sonic software applications distributed through OEM and retail channels.If you'd like to read more, Sonic's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
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- Optical Storage
Lite-On IT, given the fact that several global leading brands will follow Japan-based Plextor and unveil 18x DVD burner models this quarter or early next quarter, is preparing to offer 20x DVD burners in the fourth quarter to enhance its competitiveness, according to industry sources.If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment
Toshiba-Samsung Storage Technology (TSST), NEC, Hitachi-LG Data Storage (HLDS), Pioneer and I-O Data Device are among the brands expected to release 18x DVD burners soon, the sources indicated.
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The quotes for 16x DVD burners have fallen 5-10% during the second quarter of 2006 amid competition from makers such as Foxconn Electronics (the registered trade name of Hon Hai Precision Industry) and NEC, according to Taiwan-based optical disc makers.The article also mentions that several manufacturers are shifting to "Super Multi" drives or 18x DVD burners to raise their average selling price. If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment
Sources said Foxconn was competing for orders by initiating a price war for the 16x DVD burner segment while other sources said NEC was strategically dumping products to clear out inventory, causing market quotes to sink to a new low.
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Imation Corp (NYSE: IMN - News) today announced the availability of its Blu-ray media to major IT and data storage channel partners at its "Blue Technology" conference. Imation designed the conference and tour of its new advanced optical manufacturing facility at Imation world headquarters in Oakdale, Minn. to educate Imation channel partners on blue-laser optical technologies, and their application for high definition media in the enterprise. These leading optical media distributors and their customers know the challenge of keeping up with today's exploding data storage requirements, which are expected to triple by the end of the decade. Now, with Imation Blu-ray media, professionals have a simple solution for managing their growing quantity of critical data storage. Available in recordable (BD-R) and rewritable (BD-RE) formats, Imation Blu-ray discs store up to 25 GB of digital files -- five times the capacity of standard DVDs -- and are ideal for reliable business backup, including medical and government imaging, photography, videography, as well as high definition video recording.Imation's Blu-ray recordable (BD-R) and re-writable (BD-RE) media will be available in August for a suggested retail price of $19.99 and $29.99, respectively. More information can be found here. Add a comment
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Warner Home Video (WHV), which distributes the largest film library of any studio, today announced that it will launch its first wave of titles on Blu-ray Disc. On August 1, WHV will release four titles -- "Training Day"; "Good Night, and Good Luck"; "Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang"; and "Rumor Has It" -- on the Blu-ray format to support the initial roll out of Blu-ray players in North America. "Training Day" and "Good Night, and Good Luck" will be available for $28.99 SRP and "Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang" and "Rumor Has It" will be available for $34.99 SRP. Future waves of Blu-ray launch titles will be announced in the coming weeks.If you'd like to read more, Warner's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
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Toshiba Corp. said Thursday it will postpone the sale of the first recorder for HD DVD high-definition video discs because of a production delay.Unfortunately, Toshiba still has no plans to offer the RD-A1 outside of Japan. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment
The new recorder, the RD-A1, had been slated to go on sale Friday, but the release will be pushed back to July 27, the Tokyo-based electronics maker said in a release.
The new machine combines an HD DVD burner with a one-terabyte hard disk and can record and store up to 130 hours of high-definition broadcasts.
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Paced by anticipated sales of blue laser players, game consoles, PC drives, and related media, the blue laser disc technology market is expected to exceed $28 billion in sales in 2010, according to Santa Clara Consulting Group (SCCG). Growth will be driven by six sub-segments, according to a report released today: Blu-ray and HD DVD Disc Technologies: Pursuit of a New Standard.If you'd like to read more, the entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
SCCG estimates that the game console segment, supported by sales of the PlayStation 3, will have the most important influence on the blue laser disc technology market, with more than half of the $2 billion in revenue for 2006. Content, including movies and games, will represent half of this market's revenues in 2010.
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The DVR-AN18GL and DVR-UN18GL should hit store shelves in early August for ￥9,300 ($80US) and ￥13,600 ($117US) respectively. More information can be found here and here. Add a comment
Writing Speeds:
DVD±R: 18x
DVD±R DL: 8x
DVD+RW: 8x
DVD+R DL: 8x
DVD-RW: 6x
DVD-RAM: 12x
CD-R: 48x
CD-RW: 32xRead Speeds:
DVD-ROM (Single): 16x Max
DVD-ROM (Dual): 12x Max
DVD±R: 16x Max
DVD±RW: 13x Max
DVD±R DL: 12x Max
DVD-RAM: 12X Max
CD-R/ROM: 48x Max
CD-RW: 40x Max
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TDK, a world leader in digital recording solutions, today announced the launch of its Snap N' Save product line, recordable DVD and CD media supplied in innovative Snap N' Save cases. Offering the ultimate combination of robust disc protection and compact media storage, Snap N' Save cases snap closed, securely protecting your discs by sealing out dirt, dust and other contaminants that can have a negative impact on media performance. A new alternative to disc spindles, Snap N' Save cuts down on case clutter, enables keeping multiple disc sets together for superior organization, and seamlessly integrates with your home media library. TDK is offering DVD and CD media in Snap N' Save cases in a variety of colors and pack sizes.Media using TDK's Snap N' Save cases are available now. More information, including prices, can be found here. Add a comment
"We're pleased to offer our customers ultimate performance DVD and CD media packaged in Snap N' Save cases," commented Bruce Youmans, TDK Vice President of Marketing. "Snap N' Save offers the same bulk storage capabilities of a spindle, but is designed to provide stronger disc protection. What's more, with a variety of colors and pack configurations, Snap N' Save offers seamless storage and organization options alongside CD jewel cases and DVD movie boxes in our customers' home media libraries."
