Topic: News

Sonic today announced it will acquire the consumer software division of Roxio for a total purchase price of $80 million. Sonic says it believes the acquisition will provide Sonic with "a well-recognized set of consumer software brands; access to long-standing distribution channels; strong product marketing expertise; and key relationships with top-tier retail outlets." Roxio says it plans to focus its business on the digital music market and will change its corporate name to Napster and trade under the ticker "NAPS" on NASDAQ.

The roll-out of DualDisc hybrid DVD/CD media (not to be confused with Dual Layer discs) later this year could yet be hampered by a German company that claims ownership of the technology if talks between the intellectual property firm and major music industry players break down.

BenQ has upgraded its 16x DVD Dual DL burner (DW1620) to include support for DVD disc writing speeds of 16x DVD-R. BenQ launched the DW1620 at the end of June with writing speeds of 16x DVD+R and 8x DVD-R.

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved the use of Video Content Protection System (VCPS), the DVD+RW Alliance's preferred copy-protection system.

The UK's Daily Star newspaper has claimed that Tesco is to introduce trolleys to its supermarkets that come specially equipped with DVD and CD players for children.

Over 1,000 counterfeit DVDs have been seized during an undercover sting by Stockport Trading Standards officials - amid claims the crime could be funding terrorism.

As a result of a price war triggered by Japanese manufacturers such as Pioneer and NEC, OEM quotations for 16x DVD burners have dropped to US$95-100 (£52-£55), and will continue dropping according to Taiwanese OEM manufacturers.

321 Studios whose most noted product was software to copyDVDs has ended operations, the result of three federal court injunctions. "Despite 321 Studios' best efforts to remain in business, injunctions entered against 321 Studios by three U.S. federal courts earlier this year have resulted in 321 Studios no longer being able to continue operating the business," the company said in a statement.

Sony has revealed that its next-generation games console will use the Blu-Ray disc format, which is an evolution of the current DVD system and is designed to hold five times as much data on a similarly sized disc.

Hewlett Packard (HP) announced an alliance with Moser Baer India Ltd (Moser Baer), a leading manufacturer of removable data storage products, to bring HP’s branded Optical storage storage media into India and middle east market.

Exports of Chinese manufactured DVD players have been stalled because of huge patent fees. According to the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products, exports of Chinese manufactured DVD player have suffered a severe decline this year.

MediaTek, the world's largest maker of chips for DVD players, said its quarterly profit fell for the first time, after it lost market share and prices fell in the three months ending June 30.

Press Release: NEC announced the launch of the ND3500A, the first advanced double layer 16x DVD re-writer to include high speed CD recording. The new model incorporates NEC’s leading optical storage technology to offer a high capacity, reliable device, ideal for digital video recording, storage and PC data back-up applications. The ND3500A delivers even higher speed write and re-write functions than its predecessor, the ND2510. This allows users the flexibility to choose a wider range of DVD R media without compromising performance or storage capacity.

TDK, a world leader in digital recording and playback solutions, is expanding its line of Armor Plated DVD media with the introduction of 8cm Armor Plated(TM) DVD, innovative recording media that is optimized for consumer and professional 8cm DVD camcorders.

Press Release: The supply of DVD+R DL media is on the increase, as brands and manufacturers are launching their DL product lines. The latest to jump on the DVD+R DL bandwagon is Imation. For years Imation has been one of the largest and most visible recordable media brands, relying on CMC Magnetics products.

Press Release: Bulkpaq has begun shipment of the Bulkpaq Brand Double Layer DVD+R media. This exciting new advancement in DVD technology is one of the first to the market offering a single-sided disc with an amazing 8.5GB of storage capacity. This incredible capacity is enough for up to 4 hours of DVD quality video, 16 hours of VHS quality video or over 120 hours of MP3 audio. Compatible with all current DVD video players and DVD-ROM drives as well as new DVD+R DL drives, the disc is ideal for virtually any business or household application.

Addonics Technologies has announced a portable digital media appliance that can perform 25 different functions for a range of applications.
The new Addonics MFR (Multi Function Recorder) with a DVD±R/RW is a standalone Flash media backup system; DVD, digital photo, and MP3 player; as well as an external USB 2.0 DVD burner and flash memory reader/writer--all combined into one portable peripheral that can be used in business or the home, or inside a vehicle.

The High Definition/High Density DVD (HD-DVD) next-generation optical disc format got a boost when Toshiba and NEC announced this week they will launch compatible products next year, with a major Japanese content producer also backing the format.

A U.S. federal judge has handed a preliminary victory to the recording industry by granting its request to unmask anonymous file swappers accused of copyright infringement. The ISP, Cablevision, which provides broadband Internet access in Connecticut, New Jersey and New York, can be required to divulge the identities of its subscribers sued over copyright violations.

The Japanese unit of Microsoft have said the company's next-generation operating system, Longhorn, would be compatible with HD-DVD (High Definition DVD). The show of support from Microsoft is considered a boost for the next-generation, blue-laser DVD technology, which is promoted by Japanese conglomerates NEC and Toshiba.