ASUS announced this week that its Xonar HDAV1.3 Series sound cards now support Dolby TrueHD audio bitstream. Thanks to the cards' AV200 audio processor and ArcSoft’s TotalMedia Theatre software, users can output Dolby TrueHD audio to their AV receiver at a lossless compression rate of 24bit/192KHz.

Following the success of becoming the world’s first sound cards to be equipped with the next generation DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby Digital Plus bitstream on the PC platform, the ASUS Xonar HDAV1.3 Series once again moves to the forefront as the world’s first and only solution to offer Dolby TrueHD audio bitstream on the PC platform. A powerful combination comprising of C-Media’s custom-made AV200 audio processor and ArcSoft’s TotalMedia Theatre software player lets users be the first to enjoy Dolby TrueHD’s lossless compression rate of 24bit/192KHz over to their AV receivers. This breakthrough in the emerging Blu-ray era was unprecedented before the release of the Xonar HDAV1.3.

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LG announced today that it has expanded the number of online services available to owners of its network-connected Blu-ray players. Along with the Netflix service that is currently available, consumers will soon be able to be able to stream movies, TV shows and video clips directly from CinemaNow and YouTube. LG has not stated whether or not the BD300 will get access to these services. However, they will be available on their 2009 line of Network Blu-ray Disc players.

LG Electronics today announced the expansion of network entertainment options for its Network Blu-ray Disc players through new alliances with CinemaNow and YouTube(TM).

Available on new LG Network Blu-ray Disc Players in the first half of 2009, these new services complement LG’s instant streaming from Netflix and advanced Blu-ray capabilities to deliver consumers an exceptional entertainment experience. (In 2008, LG was the world’s first manufacturer to stream movies instantly from Netflix on a Network Blu-ray Disc Player.)

CinemaNow – an innovator in digital entertainment technology, delivering high-quality movies, TV shows and videos to users through online connectivity – and YouTube – a leading online video community for people to discover, watch, and share originally created videos – will be available in LG’s 2009 line of Network Blu-ray Disc players to be unveiled next week at the 2009 International CES®.

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Verbatim sent out a press release today, announcing the launch of two new Quad Interface Desktop Hard Disk Drives. Available in 500GB and 1TB capacities, these new drives offer support for all four of the leading interfaces: USB 2.0, FireWire 400, FireWire 800 and eSATA II. The drives are also housed in a black aluminum case and feature a 7200rpm spindle speed and 32MB of cache.

Verbatim® Americas, LLC, a global leader in digital storage solutions, announced today two new Quad Interface Desktop Hard Disk Drives (HDDs) with capacities of 500GB and 1TB. The pro audio/video-grade storage and backup solutions offer Mac and PC users universal connectivity with plug and play support for all four of the leading interfaces: USB 2.0, FireWire 400, FireWire 800 and eSATA II (external Serial ATA II). With these connection options and the equivalent of 1000 Gigabytes of storage backed by Verbatim’s reputation for reliability, the new external drives are ideal for audio, video, digital photography and music professionals as well as graphics applications where capacity, performance and reliability are essential. Affordably priced, the drive also puts volumes of storage within the reach of consumers and small businesses with large amounts of video, photos, music, and data files that they want to store, edit and protect.

Verbatim’s new Quad-interface Desktop HDDs weigh 3.3 lbs. and measure 8.7 in. X 5.9 in. X 1.5 in., making them easy to transport from one desk to another and requiring minimal desk space when connected to a desktop system. Housed in sleek yet durable black aluminum cases, the 3.5” drives feature a 7200rpm spindle speed and 32MB of cache memory to optimize performance. A silent cooling fan is also included.

SlySoft announced today that it has defeated the latest version of BD+. According to their press release, AnyDVD HD 6.5.0.2 decrypts the copy protection on all current Blu-ray movies, including once problematic titles such as "Futurama: Bender's Game", "Meet Dave" and  "Babylon A.D."

Despite some sites reporting that "Slysoft has been beaten", the Antiguan company renowned for promoting Fair Use Rights has effectively defeated BD+ once again and much earlier than expected; the cat and mouse game of DRM has entered the next round.

Although newer BD+ decryption wasn't expected until February 2009, today's AnyDVD HD 6.5.0.2 release decrypts copy protection on all current Blu-ray movies and, in turn, ensures that consumers may continue to backup and enjoy their Blu-ray movie purchases even when using computer monitors that are not HDCP compliant. In fact, Anydvd HD remains the only program that can decrypt all commercial Blu-ray releases, and this incredible magic is, as per usual with Anydvd HD, performed on the fly without requiring users to rip first to their hard drives.