Topic: News

Toast developer Roxio Inc. has announced its intent to acquire the assets of Napster, the now-defunct music sharing service. The deal is expected to close later this month.
It wasn't too long ago that information about Napster saturated newspapers, televisions and Web sites. The once high-flying service provided a way for computer users to share music -- often sharing commercial recordings of popular artists -- with impunity. The service's popularity raised the ire of some popular artists and their record labels, as well as the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), resulting in lawsuits and court action that eventually lead to Napster's downfall. Napster filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June of 2001.
Roxio is the developer of CD authoring software like Toast and Jam for the Macintosh and Easy CD Creator for the PC. The company was founded in September, 2000 as a wholly owned subsidiary of storage peripheral maker Adaptec Inc.
Under the terms of the agreement, Roxio acquires all of Napster's assets -- including its intellectual property, such as its technology patents -- but none of Napster's liabilities. Roxio has offered US$5 million in cash and 100,000 warrants to purchase Roxio common stock for the deal.
Roxio President and CEO Chris Gorog noted that
the acquisition will expand his company's "role in the digital media landscape," although he stopped short of outlining Roxio's specific plans for Napster's technology.
Roxio expects the deal to close following the approval of the Delaware bankruptcy court, which is expected to happen on November 27, 2002.

MEGAN Media Holdings Bhd is bracing itself for the deluge in orders for compact disc-recordables (CD-R) and digital versatile disc-recordables (DVD-R) worldwide by increasing its production capacity to 7.5 million pieces per month from 5.5 million pieces currently.

Heralding a major breakthrough in recordable DVD technology, TDK today announced the introduction of its Armor Plated DVD discs, premium quality recordable DVD media that incorporate next-generation hard-coating technologies to achieve unprecedented durability. Compared to standard blank media, the new TDK Armor Plated discs provide a remarkable 100 times greater resistance to damage from everyday use such as scratches, dirt, fingerprints and other contaminants.

Rich Martino, TDK Product Manager pointed out: “Once you’ve recorded a DVD, there’s nothing more frustrating than loading it, getting ready to enjoy a movie or do important work – and then it doesn’t play. Usually, it’s because the disc is damaged or dirty due to mishandling or excessive wear and tear. TDK Armor Plated discs are the solution for blank DVD users – they’re the most damage-resistant recordable DVD discs available, even more durable than pre-recorded DVD discs. In fact, in our lab testing we’ve even tried to scratch them with steel wool pads, and write on them with permanent ink markers – and the discs wouldn’t scratch, while the marker ink came right off.” Martino noted, “Although, this isn’t something a consumer would normally do, we conducted these tests to confirm the extreme durability of TDK Armor Plated discs, and verify that the media can withstand the conditions of everyday wear and tear.”

Martino concluded, “As DVD becomes a mainstream recording format for home and business applications, users want assurance that their irreplaceable family movies and critical data are safeguarded on media that provides the absolute highest degree of protection. TDK Armor Plated DVD discs give customers that assurance as never before.”

Armor Plated Technology for Unprecedented Durability
To achieve their unsurpassed durability, TDK Armor Plated discs incorporate next-generation hard-coating technologies for protection that is 100 times greater – literally orders of magnitude better – than any previously available recordable DVD media, as measured in rigorous laboratory testing. The Armor Plated coating guards against the scratches that can occur from day to day use, as discs are placed and removed from DVD players and drives and their storage cases.

In addition, the coating provides dirt resistance, making it easier to wipe off fingerprints, contaminants and even accidental food and beverage spills without damaging the disc. The Armor Plated coating is also anti-static, which repels dust accumulation. Because the TDK Armor Plated treatment protects the recording layer, it can prevent write/read errors, jitter or even dropouts in recording and playback. And thanks to TDK’s state-of-the-art, efficient manufacturing processes, TDK Armor Plated DVD discs carry only a small price premium compared to standard recordable DVD media.

The full line of TDK Armor Plated DVD discs will be available in the first quarter of 2003

ALi Corporation (formerly Acer Laboratories) has become the first company to ship a 20x DVD-ROM single chip, the M5721, taking the lead over competitors that are still shipping 16x products. ALi has also started shipping a small volume of CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive combo chipsets.

The company, however, was low key about its triumph, only saying the chips would help increase shipments next year. Industry sources said that ALi does not want to irritate rival Mediatek, which recently filed a lawsuit against VIA Technologies alleging US patent infringements.

The M5721 features 20x read speed and integrates a servo chip and RF amplifier, allowing DVD drive makers to add only external DRAM, flash ROM and a power controller, significantly reducing the circuit design complexity and cutting production costs.

ALi said shipments of its combo chipsets, supporting 48x and 24x CD-RW write and 16x DVD-ROM read speeds, are small, between 3,000 and 5,000 units a month. The company expects monthly shipments to grow to 30,000 and 50,000 units a month beginning at the end of the year. According to industry sources, Samsung Electronics is using ALi’s chipsets in its latest combo optical storage drives.

ALi said it has priced its chips and chipsets according to the market standard. It reiterated that it will not slash prices to be more competitive. Currently, 16x DVD-ROM chips cost US$7-8 and combo drive chipsets US$12-15.

Sony have made this statement as regards new firmware for the DRU500
This new firmware will allow your Dual RW drive to record at 4X on 4X compatible DVD+R media as well as improve the DVD-ROM reading performance with DVD recordable/rewritable media. We expect this firmware to be released on or before December 9th, 2002. Please check back on this site then to download and install the firmware. We anticipate that 4X compatible DVD+R media will be commercially available later in December.

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 14, 2002--Addonics today announced the DVD DigiCopier -- a multi-interface DVD/CD duplicator that makes copying DVD-R, DVD-RW, CD-R and CDRW media as simple as counting to three.

Technology that renders optical media useless after a short lifespan will soon find its way into stores in the form of perishable DVDs. Retailers in the Southern United States will soon start giving a sample DVD to buyers of a CD (by Nappy Roots, a hip-hop group).

This promotional DVD from Atlantic Records will work for only 8 hours. This promotion is aimed at finding if music fans would be interested in buying a package with both audio and video instead of just plain audio. A special dye sandwiched between the layers of the DVD will interact with air making it opaque and unreadable later. If this media catches on you may not have to return your DVD rentals in the future."

The DRU-500A and DRX-500UL DVD/CD rewritable drives are designed for best performance with discs produced by major disc manufacturers. In most cases, there is no problem as long as you use discs conform to various CD and DVD industry standard. However, some of discs on the market do not meet the recognized quality and performance standards. With the DRU-500A and DRX-500UL, we recommend the disc manufacturers and discs below. Further information about write errors, when writing data to the DVD-R of some of disc manufacturers, has been presented.

Thanks to our regular contributor Flash we have a new Panasonic DMR-HS2 review.

GARDEN CITY, NY, November 6, 2002 – In a move that expands the company’s leadership position in digital recording and playback solutions, TDK today introduced its first-ever Indi DVD writers – a versatile multi-DVD format burner, and a single format 4x +R unit. The industry’s first DVD burner capable of 4x writing for the +R format and 2x for -R, the new MultiFormat Indi DVD (Model AID+040212N) internal DVD writer is designed to give PC users the broadest range of flexibility in creative video/audio applications, including the ability to create, edit and share customized DVDs and CDs using video, still digital images, music and data, regardless of format. Additionally, the single format Indi DVD (Model AID+420N) offers home moviemakers the fastest burner on the market today, capable of 4x DVD+R burning – the most compatible format for today’s stand-alone DVD players.

Datawrite is the first budget brand to launch a 4x disc (the 4x disc is based on a Ritek dye) will be available for commercial sale on the 20th November - this incidentally is also the release date for the new Pioneer 105.

For a picture of the new disc please click here. Datawrite also mentioned to us that they are looking for European resellers for this new disc.

If you are a reseller and would like to stock this disc please send them an E-mail at: eurotrade@datawrite.co.uk

It seems Sony have released a new firmware update for troubled dual format DVD writer (Sony DRU-500A). Firmware 1.0d will improve read and write speed on DRU-500A. It will also provides enhanced writing compatibility with DVD recordable / rewritable media. Click [read more] for more details and instructions.

To go to our firmware download page click here.

With today's announcement of 4x-speed DataLifePlus(R) 4.7GB DVD+R media, Verbatim(R) Corporation becomes the first media manufacturer to offer DVD+R that supports 1x, 2.4x and 4x write speeds. At 4x speed (44 megabits per second or about 36x CD-R performance), a 4.7GB DVD+R disc can be filled to capacity in about 15 minutes. Verbatim has already provided its new media to major drive manufacturers and will coordinate media shipping with the arrival of the first drives that support the new 4x DVD+R speeds. The drives are expected to be available in December.Recognized worldwide for its research and development strength, Verbatim has an unmatched history of being first with the industry's fastest optical media while maintaining its reputation for providing the highest levels of reliability and durability. The key component in achieving 4x speed DVD+R media is DYN-AZO technology, a proprietary recording layer technology developed by Verbatim's parent company, Mitsubishi(R) Chemical Corporation (MCC). By using the proven dye technology incorporated in its 2.4x DVD+R media as the platform for the new, more sensitive DYN AZO technology, Verbatim engineers not only achieved 4x +R write speed, they ensured that the new media will sustain 1x and 2.4x recording compatibility.Verbatim works directly with leading drive manufacturers to co-develop next-generation DVD+R/+RW solutions," said Tim Clatterbuck, Verbatim's director of optical storage marketing. "These co-development efforts and MCC's extensive R&D capabilities have helped Verbatim strengthen its reputation for being first with new disc technologies. Our customers benefit because we've already provided 4x +R drive manufacturers with Verbatim 4x +R media for testing and certification.For consumers, the 4x write speed means they can save a tremendous amount of time because they'll be cutting their recording time substantially. Consumers will also benefit from the broad compatibility of the DVD+R format. Data and video recorded to Verbatim DVD+R discs can be read by the vast majority of DVD set top players and computer DVD-ROM drives in use today.Broad compatibility, a low storage cost and high-speed recording make the discs ideal for sharing computer data, home videos, photos, and music. With write-once security, Gigabytes of capacity, and a 100-year data life, Verbatim DVD+R media is also an excellent storage solution for data backups and archiving of personal memories.The demand for DVD media is being driven by increased sales of recordable drives. Research firm IDC projects that worldwide DVD media sales will climb from 50 million discs in 2002 to nearly 150 million in 2004. Since making its debut last February, DVD+R continues to claim a growing share of the DVD media market. With the availability of 4x DVD+R media, that share is expected to increase even faster.
Verbatim and its parent company, Mitsubishi(R) Chemical Company, are original members of the DVD+RW Alliance that developed the DVD+RW format. Verbatim was the first to offer ReWriteable and Write-Once media for the DVD+RW and DVD+R formats."

New portable computers add more power, lower prices and the first PowerBook with DVD burning capabilities. Apple Computer on Wednesday updated its entire portable line, most notably adding its first PowerBook capable of burning DVDs.

"The company has decided to release a drive with the currently two fighting formats, DVD+RW and DVD-RW, and is competing with the latest drives from Sony and NEC, who also offer both formats, but still at a much higher price. Also the current experiences with Lite-On CD-RW drives make this upcoming DVD recorder probably one of the most anticipated drives of 2003.

"To confirm, the DVDRW product we will have, will support both +/- formats and we hope to introduce a 4x speed DVDRW below $200 USD" according to the Marketing Manager of Lite-On USA."

! Posted Wednesday, 6 November, 2002 by kila_m

If you'r having problems with your new Sony DRU 500A DVD writer you might want to download the new updated 5.5.9.17 version of Nero.

DJsmiley has done a review of the Sony DRU500 Dual format Dvd writer, To read the review click Here

Several retailers who have been taking pre orders for the Sony DRU500 have delayed shipping. One major UK retailer who contacted us is considering not selling the drive. This unprecedented move is a direct consequence of incompatibility issues with the new writer. Oh well looks like I will be getting a Pioneer 105 for Christmas J

Related stories
Dual Format Writer Incompatibily Causes DVD Media Price Reductions


Verbatim Media Not Compatible with DRU-500

Retailers worried about the compatibility of their current stocks of DVD media (-R and +R) with the new range of writers (which are being released in the run up to christmas) have slashed prices in an attempt to reduce stock holdings of blank DVD media. We reported earlier in the week that Verbatim had done a recall on DVD media as it was incompatible with the new Sony DRU-500 DVD writer. An industry insider tells us that the Nec MultiSpin ND-1100A dual format drive ( which is based on the same technology as the Sony drive ) has similar issues and many well known brands of media are incompatible with the drive.

Pioneer have also added to the uncertainty by not confirming which discs will write at 2 speed on the commercial model of their new 105 writer, due for release at the end of November.

The good news for the consumer is that the current generation of writers are not affected by this compatibility problem and with many retailers having slashed prices to reduce stockholdings to a minimum level this is a great time to pickup a media bargain. The insider said that those discs found to be compatible with the new 105 would possibly increase back to previous price levels and consumers should take advantage of this limited bargain period. A quick trawl round the web shows discounts of up to 50% on many brands of DVD-R which were last week selling for £1.00 plus. The most notable deals being Datasafe yellow top DVD-R for 63p, this is the first disc to be released by Datasafe (that has an AZO dye), and Eproformance DVD-R for 68p (this was over £1.00 last week)
Click here for the full story on the New Datasafe Azo Dye disc

TOKYO (Reuters) - Matsushita Electric Industrial Co, maker of Panasonic brand electronics, on Wednesday posted better-than-expected quarterly profits, helped by cost cuts and strong sales of DVDs and camcorders.