More than 200,000 pirated DVDs with a street value of more than $2 million (£840k) will be destroyed under supervision in Melbourne today.

Second-tier manufacturers of optical discs in Taiwan, faced with price cuts by competitors in China, have been forced to reduce their OEM quotations for 4x DVD+R/-R discs to US$0.15, a price that is lower than the industry's current average production costs of US$0.16-0.17, according to Taiwan makers of optical discs.

Rounding out its line of removable media, Sony Electronics is introducing the Sony Microdrive, a one-inch removable hard disk drive that will meet the increasing storage needs of many portable digital devices such as digital cameras and PDAs.

Global demand for recordable DVDs trails only CD-Rs and has become a driving force in the recording media business, an industry group concluded in its forecasts for global demand and production in 2005.

The US Congress is considering making fast forwarding through video advertisements a crime. Lawmakers in the land of the free have decided that it is costing their chums in the movie industry far too much money and want video fast-forwarders placed in the same league as pirates.

The death of the video cassette recorder appears to be in sight after the UK's largest electrical chain said it is to stop selling them.

Lite-On IT, currently the largest producer of optical-disc drives in Taiwan, has unveiled a new DVD recorder equipped with a built-in 160GB hard disc drive with the code name LWV-5045. The LWV-5045 will be formally launched in the Taiwan market at an initial retail price of NT$26,800 (£445) sometime next month.

The Guardian is reporting that according to Interpol the high profits and low risks associated with DVD piracy mean that 1kg of pirated discs is now worth more than 1kg of cannabis resin to criminal and terrorist groups.

Hard-disk drive maker Seagate has started shipping a drive targeted at PC video applications that offers 400GB of storage space, the biggest in its class the company claims.

China-based optical disc makers increased their CD-R disc OEM prices US$0.01, from US$0.08 to US$0.09, late last week, according to Taiwan makers of optical discs.

Even with retail prices for entry-level DVD recorders dropping from US$299 (£160) to US$149 (£80), global demand is falling short of original expectations during the traditional lead-up to the Christmas season, according to leading Taiwan OEM makers Lite-On IT and Eastern Asia Technology (EastTech).

Researchers at electronics giant TDK have developed a tough new coating that promises to make scratched DVDs a thing of the past and that will help usher in an emerging data storage format with 10 times the capacity of the current DVD standard.

A web site claims that the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) has started sending out letters demanding sums of money for people who have been pirating software.

Anticipating that 16x DVD+R/-R discs will soon become the mainstream optical-disc product, leading optical-disc makers have begun lowering OEM quotations for 8x DVD+R/-R discs to US$0.30 and for 4x DVD+R/-R discs to US$0.22-0.24, which is lower than production cost for other makers as the price of the key component polycarbonate (PC) has been driven up to US$3.1 per kilogram, according to Taiwan optical-disc makers.

Leading manufacturers of optical disc drives (ODDs) in Taiwan will raise the writing speed of DVD+R DL (single-sided double-layer) burners from 2.4x to 4x, perhaps as soon as the first quarter of 2005, according to Taiwan optical disc drive makers.
as well.

Press Release: After the dog adopts the remote control as a chewy toy, or your remote disappears after a ride in a moving van, what do you do? In an age when remote controls are no longer optional for most home or car entertainment system components, a remote is key to fully enjoying music, a DVD, or a commercial-filled TV program. A new website has the solution.

PC buyers can look forward to DVDs with up to 10 times the storage they now have when Hewlett-Packard rolls out machines that will support the Blu-ray Disc format in late 2005. HP is one of the first companies to announce the inclusion of Blu-ray Disc, a blue-laser technology that enables storage of up to 50GB on a dual-layer disc.

Press Release: Merging their respective engineering strengths in laser diode technologies, Nichia and Sony have successfully co-developed a wholly integrated, dual wavelength laser coupler compatible with red and blue-violet lasers. Mass production of these coupling devices is scheduled to commence by the end of 2005.

Primera has announced its new BravoPro, a CD/DVD publishing system designed for hands-free, automated production of up to 100 CDs or DVDs per job.

Press release: Plextor have started shipping a new Dual-Layer DVD/CD Burner. The new PX-716SA series DVD±R/RW drive features a native Serial ATA (SATA) interface and high-speed 16X DVD+R and 16X DVD-R recording, the internal drive combines fast performance, 150 MB/sec bandwidth, and recording features that ensure reliable, high-quality results across a broad spectrum of media.