Topic: News

Prices of DVD+R/-R and CD-R discs will increase slightly in the third quarter, as utilization rates are currently running at 100%, according to Robert Wong, chairman of CMC Magnetics.

The first HD-DVD titles that were scheduled to go on sale Tuesday and Toshiba players have arrived at Best Buy and should be on sale in some of the chain's locations.

The DVD+RW Alliance have officially announced the release of version 1.0 specifications for 2.4X rewriting on Double Layer DVD+RW media.

TDK demonstrated a 100GB BD prototype in May 2005. The 100GB disc contains four data-storage layers, and the new 200GB version is expected to consist of four double-sided layers, which will yield four times the capacity of today's BDs.

Sales of second-hand Microsoft software licences have doubled month-on-month since the market was opened in November 2005, according to the Staffordshire start-up that spotted the opportunity in Microsoft's small print and Britain's insolvency laws.

Sonic Solutions division Roxio today released Popcorn 2, a duplication software for Mac users. Popcorn 2 adds the ability to convert DVD-Video and other video formats to video files that can be played on a Mac, or copy to portable video players like Apple's fifth-generation iPod, Sony's PlayStation Portable (PSP), 3GPP-equipped cell phones and other devices.

Video compression outfit Euclid Discoveries says it has invented a video-compression technology that can compress digital images into smaller files than today's most common compression technologies, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4.

Pubs in East London are expected to see a major drop in the number of pirate DVD sellers following a raid on the UK’s biggest DVD piracy factory.

Lite-On IT and BenQ, the top two makers of optical disc drives (ODDs) in Taiwan, have jointly announced the formation of a strategic alliance in which Lite-On IT will take over BenQ’s ODD business unit, including assets, related technology and licensed use of patents, ODM client portfolio, and order commitment on BenQ’s own-brand ODD products.

Paramount Pictures and Xbox launched today the Xbox Movie Showcase that will feature free, high-definition, downloadable content from Paramount's movies on the console's Xbox live service.

Microsoft have warned of three "critical" security flaws in its Windows operating system that could allow attackers to take control of a computer.

Fujitsu will this month ship a monster high-definition PC-TV hybrid that incorporates not only four TV tuners - two for digital and two for analogue broadcasts - but also twin 300GB hard drives and a dual-layer enabled Blu-ray Disc recorder.

IBM has developed a new method designed to increase the security of consumer products like digital media devices by injecting encryption capabilities into the heart of machines.

TDK has begun shipping 25GB recordable and rewritable Blu-ray Disc media to retailers across the US. Retail pricing is set at $19.99 (£11.50) for a 25GB BD-R (recordable), $24.99 (£14.50) for a 25GB BD-RE (rewritable). In addition, TDK will ship 50GB Blu-ray Disc media later this year with retail pricing set at $47.99 (£27.50) for a 50GB BD-R (recordable) and $59.99 ($34.50) for a 50GB BD-RE (rewritable).

Online DVD rental firms Lovefilm and Video Island agreed to merge today to bulk up against US competitors and defend their 17% share of the UK market.

The VC-1 video codec proposed and developed by Microsoft was officially released by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers on Monday, paving the way for the technology to be used by next-generation DVDs. Microsoft submitted the Windows Media Video 9-based codec for standardisation in September 2003.

A patent infringement dispute has erupted between rival DVD rental services Netflix and Blockbuster over an alleged breach of Netflix business method patents by the older firm's internet arm, Blockbuster.com, according to reports.

nvidia have introduced the nvidia DualTV tuner for PCs. The device offers two TV tuners on a single card and features a new disk space saving technology.

San Francisco officials have signed an agreement with internet firms Google and Earthlink to enable computer users to get online wirelessly for free in every part of the city.

DVD players and recorders will have a combined number of 176.6 million units sold worldwide in 2010, up from 140.8 million units in 2005, reports research firm In-Stat.