Topic: News

The mail-in rebate program that has helped TiVo gain widespread adoption is finally heading to the Series 3 high definition TiVo.

While ATAPI has been popularly used in optical disc drives (ODDs), SATA (serial ATA) stands a good chance of replacing the former as the mainstream interface standard for DVD-ROM drives and DVD burners in the second half of 2007 due to increasing adoption of the latter by global OEM/ODM clients such as Dell and Hewlett-Packard, according to ODD makers in Taiwan.

Microsoft issued a firmware upgrade for its HD DVD player add-on for the Xbox 360.

Primera has integrated Panasonic SW-5582 Blu-ray Recordable Drives in its Bravo SE Blu and Bravo XR-Blu Disc Publishers.

Amazon.com has announced it will launch a digital music store later this year offering millions of songs in the DRM-free MP3 format from more than 12,000 record labels.

The BBC series Planet Earth on HD DVD was the best seller among all high definition titles in its second week at retail. The Blu-ray version came in second place.

Panasonic today announced the availability of the DMP-BD10A, Panasonic's next generation Blu-ray Disc player, at a suggested retail price (SRP) of $599.95 (£302, €443). The DMP-BD10A features an audio upgrade package that brings high end surround audio to the viewing experience via the inclusion of 7.1 channel surround, Dolby True HD and dts-HD High Resolution Audio decoding technology.

iTunes and other paid video download services will be going the way of the dodo sooner than later, according to a new report by Forrester Research.

MySpace has launched some new copyright protection software for video content called 'Take Down Stay Down' which is designed to prevent users from reposting videos that have been removed at the request of the copyright owner.

In the Taiwan retail market, small brands or brands without a reputation have recently provided a large volume of DVD+R/-R discs of which purchasers have found as many as 30-50% failed in performance. Such defect rates are historically very exceptional, according to Taiwan retail channels.

Microsoft and SanDisk today announced they have agreed to deliver a next-generation software and hardware solution to place application programs and personal customization on USB flash drives and flash memory cards.

Motorola is set to unveil a mobile phone with full-motion video display and the means to play feature films on small removable storage cards, Chief Executive Ed Zander has said.

New technology has been designed stateside that will thwart DVD thieves by making discs unplayable until they're activated at the shop till.

Microsoft has a final patch available for a Vista bug that can 'corrupt' your iPod if you use the Safely Eject Hardware option or the Eject command in Windows Explorer.

DVD genius Flash has posted in another fine article that should help anyone looking to play a HD DVD movie on their PC with the minimum hassle and expense. Read all about it in his HD DVD Movie Playback From Disc on a PC guide.

DVD lodestar Flash has added to his ongoing series of articles giving answers to common questions he receives. The latest is How do I know if my DVD burner burns at the correct speed?.

CMC Magnetics, the largest producer of optical discs in Taiwan, has announced it has obtained level A certification for its Blu-ray Disc (BD)-R (recordable, write once) SL (single-sided single-layer) disc from an international vendor. The company stated that it is the first among makers of optical discs in Taiwan to receive this certification.

After Fuh Yuan admitted recently that it has not received orders from Wal-Mart for two million HD DVD players at a target retail price of US$299, industry sources commented that it is unlikely that HD DVD players will fall to such a low price this year.

Unlikely bedfellows Microsoft and Apple have asked the US Government to put Canada on its priority blacklist of intellectual property crooks, saying the country isn't doing enough to prevent their products being ripped off.

The days of the humble cassette tape will soon be coming to a timely end with the announcement from British electrical retailer Currys that their existing stocks of blank cassettes will be sold but not replenished.