During its annual press briefing at CEDIA Expo today, Sony Electronics unveiled a new reference standard 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player which will be shipping next spring. The new ES Series model (UBP-X1000ES) offers full Custom Installation (CI) compatibility and incorporates a number of features and technologies that will make it the centerpiece of the most advanced home audio-video systems.

According to Yukio Ishikawa, Director of Home Entertainment Systems for Sony Electronics, “The new UBP-X1000ES player has been long awaited by custom installers who desire a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player that provides a “one-stop” solution for their clients’ premium entertainment needs. Our new reference model has been specifically designed to deliver the highest quality video and audio possible and will excite the most demanding A/V enthusiasts”.

Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. (TAEC), a committed technology leader, today announces the launch of the OCZ VX500 SATA solid state drive (SSD) series. Aimed at mainstream desktop and notebook users looking to migrate away from primary hard disc drive (HDD) usage, VX500 SSDs feature superior endurance ratings and provide a faster, more responsive PC experience thanks to well-balanced read and write performance.

Backed by OEM-level testing that provides validated reliability and built with the latest Toshiba MLC NAND flash, the Toshiba OCZ VX500 SSD series delivers endurance ratings of 74 to 592 terabytes written (TBW), making it suitable for write-intensive applications such as content creation, revolving media/game storage, or as a scratch disk.

ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of high performance DRAM modules and NAND Flash products, today launched the i-Memory AI920 Flash drive. Extremely compact and light, the AI920 combines an Apple MFi-certified Lightning connector with a USB 3.1 plug for diverse connectivity. It makes transferring content to and from iOS devices eminently easy and fast, offering support for an extensive range of media and file extensions, subtitles, and Live Photos. The AI920 supports strong encryption and has been designed to resist water and dust for more care-free user mobility. The AI920 is available in 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB capacities, with Gold and Rose Gold schemes. A lanyard is included in the package with every AI920.

Dual connectivity, one compact design
While extra-compact and light, the AI920 integrates Lightning and USB 3.1 connectors to increase its versatility and compatibility. The Lightning connector has been stretched to enable easy plug-in even on iOS devices protected by thick covers that would otherwise prevent connectivity using a shorter plug. The AI920 shares a luxurious, sandblasted metal design that measures just 6.9mm in profile and weighs only 3.6g, making it very easy to store and carry.

CDRLabs kicks off the week with a review of Crucial's new MX300 solid state drive. Powered by Marvell's 88SS1074B1 controller and available with up to 1050GB of Micron's 3D TLC NAND, this new mainstream SSD delivers 530MB/s read and 510MB/s write speeds for faster boot times, quicker application launches and better overall system performance. The MX300 also offers a long list of features including AES 256-bit encryption, thermal and power loss protection, TRIM support and active garbage collection. It also comes equipped with Crucial's Dyamic Write Acceleration technology, which uses an adaptable pool of high speed, single-level cell flash memory to enable faster saves and file transfers.

Kingston Digital, Inc., the Flash memory affiliate of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the independent world leader in memory products, today announced Data Center 400 (DC400) SSD, the latest solid-state drive to its family of enterprise solutions. DC400 SSD is an entry-level enterprise drive designed for server use in data centers especially for customers who deploy a rip-and-replace strategy. It is ideal for read-intensive applications such as boot, web servers and lower data rate operational databases and analytics – especially in data center mixed workload environments where endurance and reliability are important.

DC400 SSD offers superior quality of service for data center customers whose workload environment calls for sustained IOPS and consistent low latency. An expanded on-board DRAM acceleration cache enables high, sustained IOPS to increase performance over a wide range of read/write workloads. Standard as well as user-adjustable over-provisioning improves random IOPS performance and endurance while enterprise firmware improves latency and delivers consistently low data access times under steady-state workloads. Additionally, DC400 SSD features enterprise-class reliability with end-to-end data path protection and firmware-implemented power-loss protection (“pFAIL”).

ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of high performance DRAM modules and NAND Flash products, today launched the Ultimate SU800 SATA 6Gb/s 3D NAND solid state drive, part of a complete range of SSD offerings that utilize advanced 3D NAND Flash. At the forefront of SSD innovation and development, ADATA has committed to transitioning to 3D NAND across its entire SSD portfolio, from mainstream consumer offerings to hardened industrial application models designed for the harshest environments. The Ultimate SU800 is a mid-range model that makes the most of 3D NAND, or stacked Flash, representing a considerable upgrade for existing 2D NAND SSD users and a massive step up for HDD users. With its incorporation of floating gate cell NAND and a high quality SMI controller, the Ultimate SU800 arrives in diverse capacities – 128GB to 1TB. It embodies the 3D NAND generation with higher density, improved performance, and increased reliability when compared to 2D or planar NAND Flash SSDs. ADATA plans to expand the Ultimate series of solid state drives with higher-end SU900 by September.

With multi-layered 3D NAND Flash, the Ultimate SU800 packs exponentially greater storage density into the same 2.5” form factor of current SSDs. It therefore ships in 128GB to 1TB capacities, offering customers more choice. Whether as an OS boot drive or a mass storage location, the Ultimate SU800 has diverse needs covered. The increased storage density also makes 3D NAND Flash SSDs more energy efficient than 2D NAND Flash drives, as while density grows power draw remains identical. This is even more notable when comparing the Ultimate SU800 to 2.5” internal hard drives: power savings reach 80%, especially with DEVSLP (device sleep) low power mode support. The Ultimate SU800 is an easy fit in ultrabooks, notebooks, and desktops, measuring 7mm thin and bundled with a 2.5mm spacer. Its power-saving operation helps extend mobile PC battery life even more so than current SSDs.

ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of highperformance DRAM modules and NAND Flash products, today launched the Premier SC660 external solid state drive and Premier HC660 external hard drive. The two share a luxurious, sandblasted metal design that measures just 9.6mm in thickness. The grooved enclosure featured in both models is highly durable, resistant to shocks, scratches, and chipping thanks to an electroplated coating.

ADATA continues to offer customers more options for external storage, enabling content mobility with easy sharing, multi-OS compatibility, and enhanced durability. Whether in SSD or hard drive form, the shared design of the SC660 and HC660 makes them highly attractive and practical storage products for users that want a combination of eye-catching style and portability.