Amazon launched a beta version of its new video on demand service this week. Aptly named Amazon Video on Demand, the service lets customers watch any of the 40,000 movies and television programs immediately after ordering them. There is no need to wait for the entire video to download, as with Amazon's existing Unbox service or Apple's iTunes.

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Sony made a number of announcements at E3 this week. Along with a new 80GB PlayStation 3 priced at $399, the company unveiled its new video delivery service. The service will offer standard and high definition videos from studios like Disney, Fox, Paramount and Warner Bros. Once downloaded, the videos can also be transferred from the PS3 to the PSP.
Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) today launches the company’s new video delivery service on PLAYSTATION®Store for PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) and PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) systems in the United States. Consumers will have the ability to download full-length movies, television shows, and original programming accessible through the PLAYSTATION Store on PLAYSTATION®Network. With nearly 300 full length movies and more than 1,200 TV episodes, many available in both standard-definition (SD) and high-definition (HD), PLAYSTATION Network’s video delivery service makes PS3 the ultimate entertainment platform and enhances PSP’s status as a portable entertainment marvel. PLAYSTATION Network’s video delivery service will become available later this evening.

Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) will initially make available to consumers content for video rental and electronic sell-through from top movie studios including: 20th Century Fox, Lionsgate Entertainment, MGM Studios, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Warner Bros. Entertainment as well as titles for rent from The Walt Disney Studios and a wide-ranging menu of popular titles from a variety of television partners.
Consumers who rent a movie from the PLAYSTATION Network’s video delivery service have 14 days to watch the content. Once playback has begun, they have a full 24 hours to watch their rental. Pricing for rental movies ranges from $2.99 to $5.99, and pricing for purchased movies ranges from $9.99 to $14.99. If you'd like to read more, Sony's entire announcement can be found here. Add a comment

SanDisk recently announced its new SanDisk SD WORM (Write Once Read Many) memory card. Developed for professional uses such as police investigations, court testimony and electronic voting, the SanDisk SD WORM card prevents data from being altered or deleted once it has been record. The card can also be read in any standard SD slot and has an archival life of 100 years. Add a comment

Pioneer Japan has announced two new 20x DVD writers, the DVR-A16J (PATA) and DVR-S16J (SATA). Along with support for Labelflash, the two drives feature 22x DVD±R, 12x DVD-RAM and 12x DVD±R DL writing speeds and Pioneer's new Optimal Write Speed function. Here are some of the specs:


Writing Speeds:
DVD+R: 20x, 18x, 16x, 12x, 8x, 6x, 4x, 2.4x
DVD-R: 20x, 18x, 16x, 12x, 8x, 6x, 4x, 2x, 1x
DVD+R DL: 12x, 10x, 8x, 6x, 4x, 2.4x
DVD-R DL: 12x, 10x, 8x, 6x, 4x, 2x
DVD+RW: 8x, 6x, 4x, 3.3x, 2.4x
DVD-RW: 6x, 4x, 2x, 1x
DVD-RAM: 12x, 8x, 6x, 6x, 3x, 2x
CD-R: 40x, 32x, 24x, 16x, 10x, 4x
CD-RW: 32x, 24x, 20x, 16x, 10x, 4x

Read 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: 40x Max
CD-RW: 32x Max

Buffer: 2MB

The DVR-A16J and DVR-S16J will ship in mid-July and are expected to cost about 10,000 Yen ($95US). More information on both drives is available on Pioneer Japan's website. Add a comment

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