Topic: News

In the UK an estimated 1.67 million people download illegal film or TV files, compared to 570,000 last year, the British Video Association (BVA) found.

Almost 25 per cent of Belgian PC retail shops encourage users to buy illicit software, according to research by Bare Associates. As part of its ongoing effort to stamp out the use of pirated software, Microsoft paid Bare to send secret investigators or "mystery shoppers" to 400 computer retailers in Belgium.

Court rulings have pulled the most popular software for copying DVD movies off the market, but a new program is trying to get around these rulings and still let users duplicate copy-protected discs. The new software, called 123 Copy DVD, sells for as little as $19.99 (£11).

The demand for slim DVD burners for use in notebook computers is expected to overtake slim combo drives by the fourth quarter of this year, as prices drop due to increased output, according to Taiwanese makers of optical disc drives.

Press Release: Primera have announced their Bravo II "all-in-one" disc publishing system. It combines automated robotic CD/DVD duplication along with full-color, 4800 dpi direct-to-disc printing – all in one desktop unit. Bravo II is designed to cope with jobs ranging from a single disc to up to 50 identical discs.

Top Taiwanese manufacturers of blank optical discs, including Ritek and CMC Magnetics, plan to start production of single-sided double-layer (DL) DVD+R/-R discs at the end of this quarter or early next quarter, according to the makers.

Later this month, the BBC will launch a pilot project that could lead to all television programmes being made available on the internet. Viewers will be able to scan an online guide and download any show. Programmes would be viewed on a computer screen or could be burned to a DVD and watched on a television set.

You can rip, copy, or play an MP3 file, but one thing you can't do is get more than two channels of sound out of it. Soon, you will be able to, although you may have more trouble copying the file. The Fraunhofer Institute, originator of the file format that brought the music industry to its knees, is adding surround sound and copyright protection.

Apple has released a fix for a critical flaw in QuickTime software.

The ever-diligent Flash has been in contact with us to let us know that the patched firmware version 1.13 for the Pioneer DVR-A07 has undergone a few minor changes since its initial release and he recommends that you update to the final release #4. His article on the subject plus update information is here.

Lite-On IT, Taiwan's largest manufacturer of optical disc drives, expects to ship 8 million DVD burners this year, which would make it the world's second leading producer for 2004, according to company president Danny Liao at an institutional investor conference.

A technology which combines GPRS data with standard FM radio has just been launched by Nokia. A prototype of the first handset to boast this new 'visual radio' capability, the 7700 has also been developed.

A new service for iPod owners offering to digitise existing CD collections called En-Code will launch here in the UK next month. The service is ideal for iPod owners with huge CD collections who find themselves cash rich yet time-poor.

A Russian online service may well have figured out how to do digital music downloads right: make tracks cheap and available in any format customers care to select.

Plextor has announced the imminent availability in Europe of the Serial ATA version of its internal 12x DVD writer. The PX-712SA DVD+/-R/RW will be available in June for around £129 plus VAT. An E-IDE version of the drive is scheduled for release in May.

A Spanish judge has ruled that modifications to games consoles to allow them to play DVDs and games from other countries "are not illegal".

Dell and Hewlett Packard (HP) will launch DVD+RW double-layer (DL) burners bundled with their PCs early next month, so their Taiwanese OEM makers will soon begin production of such DL burner models in small volumes, according to Taiwanese makers of optical disc drives.

TurboLinux has created a media player which incorporates Microsoft code, according to a report in today's Nihon Keizai Shimbun. The newspaper reports that the media player will be released with a consumer version of Linux in Japan, the USA and China for just under ¥16,000 (£80).

The Chinese web forum GZeasy has information in a thread from a user who has revealed what is believed to be architectural plans of Microsoft's Xbox2. Although Microsoft hasn't formally announced the Xbox2 yet, it is expected to make an official announcement in June 2004, which is bizarre considering E3 – the games show where all the competitors try to out-do each other – is less than a month away.

IBM has thrown its hat into the ring as a late entrant into efforts to build sane and effective digital rights management. This week the company announced xCP - its eXtensible Content Protection system - at the US National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) event in Las Vegas.