Topic: News

BenQ have announced its first 'Trio' writer - the BW1000 - a triple writer that encompasses BD, DVD and CD format support.

InterVideo and their partner Ulead are demonstrating Blu-ray (BD) authoring, burning, content navigation and playback software at CeBIT in Hanover, Germany, this weekend.

A new online music service called La la Media, aims to offer full-length CDs for $1 (60p), by letting users trade discs, in a bid to avoid legal pitfalls that face online song trading.

A Channel Isles tax loophole that allows companies to sell VAT-free goods such as CDs and DVDs online to the UK is slowly tightening.

Toshiba on Wednesday unveiled the first high definition laptop computer with a HD DVD optical drive for the new generation of DVD disks and a high resolution display.

Ricoh has developed recordable disks for Blue-ray Disk and HD DVD, the next-generation DVD formats, and has started shipping samples to hardware manufacturers.

Torrent outfits isoHunt and TorrentBox are joining forces to fight a legal attack from the Motion Picture Ass. of America.

According to the Sunday Mirror, publicans could face prosecution if they allow dodgy dvds to change hands in their pubs.

TDK have announced that it is to begin shipping 25GB recordable and rewritable Blu-ray Disc (BD) media across Europe and will follow with 50GB media in April.

The majority of the Taiwnese-based CD-R makers are reportedly reluctant to join Philips' new licensing system for CD-R media, dubbed "Veeza".

ABC, the american broadcasting giant, is to make shows available to download free this year. The downloads will be interspersed with advertising, meaning that viewers of the downloads will get 15 minutes of content interspersed with 5 minute ad-breaks, as they currently get on the TV.

An internal memo allegedly from LG’s U.S. sales VP Bob Perry says the company is planning to ship a disk player compatible with both Blu-ray and HD DVD in the late summer or early autumn.

With a fire occurring at one of CMC Magnetics’ facilities recently, sources expect that an already tight CD-R supply will worsen and quotes may rise next quarter.

According to market research firms such as TSR, the proportion of DVD burners will exceed 40% of half-height (HH) information-use optical drive shipments this year, up from 35% in 2005, and they will replace Combo drives to become the mainstream type as their pricing falls.

Nvidia announced the immediate availability of new Nvidia PureVideo technology enabling support for high-definition video including hardware acceleration for content based on the H.264 specification.

DVD swami Flash has posted a review of the price-busting new drive from Philips - the SPD2400. He seems chuffed by when he says, "these drives represent extremely good value for money". You can read his review here.

Researchers have published a report etestimating that Microsoft will sell greater-than-anticipated amounts of its Xbox 360 console, eclipsing even the company's own sales estimates. The system looks likely sell 6 million units by the end of June 2006, and from 10 to 12 million by the end of the year.

Usenet has shifted from being a relatively obscure player to a significant content resource. The key reason for Usenet's advance into mainstream file-sharing is the growing ease in obtaining files from this medium.

The DVD Forum have created an RW PPI (Re-Writable Products Promotion Initiative) to boost volume production of 8x DVD-R DL discs and burners.

Press Release: Disc Makers, a leading manufacturer of DVD and CD duplicators, has bolstered its powerful Reflex tower duplicator lineup with the addition of two brand-new models: the versatile 2-drive Reflex2 and powerful 10-drive Reflex 10.