While PC-based Blu-ray Disc burners have been available for a number of months, HD-DVD burners are still no where to be found. To find out why, PC World has talked to Maciek Brzeski, vice president of marketing for the Toshiba Storage Device Division.
Blu-ray Disc burners have been shipping for months now--why is HD DVD taking so long to catch up? Chalk it up to a philosophical difference, not a technological one, says Brzeski. Toshiba, he says, views HD DVD more as a technology for delivering prepackaged (Hollywood) high-definition video, not for creating your own disc-based content. "I honestly don't believe in these early days that many people will be using HD DVDs and Blu-rays to back up content. If you look at the cost per GB to back up to disc, it's not cost-effective."

The HD DVD specs of the first drive will be limited to recordable, write-once HD DVD-R media at 1X, to both single-layer 15GB and dual layer 30GB discs; the drive won't support any of the HD DVD flavors of rewritable discs. However, the drive will support writing to standard DVD: 4X DVD±R (2X for double- and dual-layer), 4X DVD±RW, 3X DVD-RAM, and 16X CD-R.
These specs aren't exactly impressive. Hopefully, second generation HD DVD burners will be faster and include support for rewritable HD media. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment
TMPG, Inc. has announced their new video editing and conversion software, DVD Source Creator 4. Based on the TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress engine, DVD Source Creator 4 can take virtually any existing video-file format and make it DVD ready by encoding it to MPEG 1 or 2.
TMPG, Inc. (www.tmpg-inc.com), the company that makes digital video easy, is set to add its new DVD Source Creator 4 software to its growing TMPGEnc-brand lineup. The product provides effortless editing and enhancing of almost any video file, which it then encodes to standard DVD compliant MPEG files. Multiple clips can be encoded into one file, or separate files can be encoded for each clip. Release date is scheduled for Wednesday, October 18.

"This powerful new software is based on our award-winning TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress engine," commented Kimi Matsuki, TMPG CEO. "DVD Source Creator 4 utilizes the engine's most important features, such as an easy-cut editor, video filtering, and automatic scene-change detection. Furthering its functionality, the TMPGEnc DVD Source Creator 4 is optimized for the latest Intel Core 2 Duo technology."
DVD Source Creator 4 will be available for purchase through TMPG's website on October 18th for $39.95. More information can be found here. Add a comment
Ulead has announced a new version of VideoStudio 10 optimized for Intel's Core 2 Duo processors. Here's part of their press release:
InterVideo, Inc. (NASDAQ: IVII) and its subsidiary Ulead Systems, Inc. (TSE:2487), industry leaders in video, image and DVD software, today announced Ulead VideoStudio 10 and Ulead VideoStudio 10 Plus, the company's award-winning consumer video editing products, are optimized for Intel Core 2 Duo processors.

"We are very excited that Ulead has added support for Intel Core 2 Duo and Intel Core 2 Extreme processors to VideoStudio 10 and VideoStudio 10 Plus," said Jason Chen, Country Manager of Intel Taiwan. "VideoStudio's friendly step-by-step workflow makes it an excellent choice for home users and people new to digital video editing. And when it comes time to burn video to DVD, VideoStudio users will love how fast things go with systems featuring Intel Core 2 Duo processors."
Ulead has also added support for HDV camcorder write-back and the newest hard drive camcorders to VideoStudio 10 Plus. If you'd like to read more, then entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
Nero released another major update to Nero 7 this morning. While there is no change log yet, we've heard from sources within Nero that version 7.5.7.0 will offer support for Windows Vista. If you'd like to check it out, the update can be downloaded here or via BitTorrent. As usual, feel free to share your experiences in our forum. Add a comment
Plextor LLC sent out a press release this morning, announcing the PlexEraser PX-OE100E. Using a laser beam, the PlexEraser destroys the data-logging portion of a CD/DVD disc, making it unreadable and unrecoverable.

Plextor LLC, a leading developer and manufacturer of high-performance digital media equipment, today announced PlexEraser (PX-OE100E), the world's first CD/DVD drive to enable security-conscious organizations to destroy discs using a method that is both environmentally friendly and secure.

PlexEraser is a standalone unit that does not require a personal computer to operate. This high-tech alternative to the disc shredder was designed for organizations in such industries as finance, government/military, and research - as well as any company with commercially sensitive data. PlexEraser enables discs to be destroyed without the organic dye leaking from the disc - something not possible with a disc shredder/manual shattering - and leaves them ready to be recycled without any data being recoverable.
The PlexEraser PX-OE100E is expected to ship in November for a suggested retail price of $249.99. More information can be found here. Add a comment
With Ritek adopting Philips' Veeza licensing scheme, many people, including myself, expected other Taiwanese media manufacturers to follow suit. According to DigiTimes, this isn't the case, as many are still concerned with unfair competition from manufacturers in China and Hong Kong that have not accepted Veeza.
Royal Philips Electronics has scored no additional points in promoting Veeza, a new licensing system for its CD-R disc patents, in Taiwan since Ritek was the first among Taiwan-based makers of CD-R discs to join the program late last month, according to industry sources.

The Taiwan Office of Philips Intellectual Property & Standards (PIPS) is negotiating with several companies, including CMC Magnetics, Prodisc Technology and Optodisc Technology, to accept Veeza, the sources indicated. These Taiwanese makers are willing to sign up for Veeza, but are asking for favorable conditions, the sources pointed out.
The article also mentions that Philips is barring imports of non-Veeza CD-R discs in some of the world's major markets. While they see this as a way to eliminate the competition from manufacturers in China and Hong Kong, it also forces the remaining Taiwanese manufacturers to get on board. If you want to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment
Rimage has announced the release of the Everest III. According to their press release, it is the "world's only permanent thermal retransfer direct-to-disc printing solution".
Everest III, which is an enhanced version of Rimage's pioneering thermal retransfer printing technology, enables users to create custom, colorful, high-resolution labels bonded directly to the surface of CDs and DVDs -- a permanent solution essential for many retail, medical and banking/finance applications.

The Everest III enhancements include increased color accuracy, added hardware and software functionality, and enhanced ribbon communication, resulting in a combination of unmatched reliability, long print run capabilities, print permanence and the industry's lowest cost per disc.
The Everest III is available now and can be purchased as stand alone unit or with Rimage's disc publishing systems. If you'd like to read more, Rimage's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
Everyone's favorite gadget website, Gizmodo, has posted some interesting info on the Xbox 360's HD DVD drive. Apparantly, it can be plugged into a PC and will be recognized as an optical drive.
Some things I found out, and can talk about is the 360 HD-DVD drive can be plugged into a PC and it will be recognized as an optical drive, but will not play HD-DVD movies. I asked what if you have the proper HD-DVD software on the PC, to that [redacted] said that he didn't know, it hadn't been tried yet- maybe there's something there...
I'm guessing the inability to play HD-DVD movies is due to the lack of software. If it is possible, I know I'll be first in line to pick up one of those drives. With a price tag of only $199, they're a cheap way to add HD-DVD playback to an HTPC. If you'd like to read more, the entire report can be found here. Add a comment
Nero has announced that ESS Technology's Phoenix HD Enhanced DVD processor has achieved Nero Digital certification. Here's part of their press release:
Nero, leaders in digital media technology, announces that ESS Technology Inc.'s ES8380/ES8381 Phoenix(TM) HD Enhanced(TM) DVD processor is Nero Digital(TM) Certified. Nero Digital, co-developed by Nero and Ateme, is based on industry standards MPEG-4 Video (MPEG-4 SP/ASP and AVC/H.264) and MPEG-4 Audio (LC AAC und HE AAC) compression technologies. It enables the delivery of more high quality MPEG-4 compliant audio and video content at lower bit rates, while offering advanced interactive features.

The Phoenix ES8380/ES8381 single-chip HD Enhanced DVD processor, which features an integrated servo controller and RF amplifier, provides users with standard DVD decoding (with options to support MPEG-4 ASP decoding, HDMI transmitter and Class D power bridges). It incorporates advanced video enhancement features such as an HDTV encoder that can display JPEG pictures at full HD resolution, as well as video up-scaling and de-interlacing to display video at HD resolution.
If you'd like to read more, Nero's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
Primera sent out a press release this morning, announcing their new Bravo SE Blu Disc Publisher. Built around the Pioneer BDR-101A, the Bravo SE Blu can copy and print up to 20 discs per job.

Primera Technology, Inc., the world's leading developer and manufacturer of CD, DVD and BD duplication and printing equipment, today announced its Bravo SE Blu Disc Publisher.

Instead of producing Blu-ray Discs one at a time, the Bravo SE Blu automates the entire burning and printing process. An advanced, sixth-generation robotic mechanism is used to transport discs into the built-in Pioneer BDR-101A Blu-ray Disc/DVD Recorder. After recording, each Blu-ray Disc is individually inkjet printed direct-to-disc in full-color at up to 4800 dpi resolution. Up to 20 discs per job can be produced automatically and hands-free.
The Bravo SE Blu is available now for a suggested retail price of $2995. More information can be found on Primera's website. Add a comment