In view of emerging OEM and ODM orders for 20x DVD burners, drive makers are preparing to start volume production in the second quarter of 2007 with the drive speed looking likely to be become mainstream.

Video-sharing website YouTube is to present awards for the best user-generated videos of 2006.

The HD-EP10, unveiled at CeBIT, has a similar look to its older brother but is made of standard DVD player plastic rather than the HD-XE1's bullet-proof, shiny metal, making it significantly cheaper. Crucially, it can output video at 1080p for the very best HD DVD picture quality.

Nero is set to unveil Nero Linux 3 at CeBIT in Germany. The new version of the burning application will add Blu-Ray and HD DVD data recording support as well as an improved graphical user interface (GUI) that is similar to the look and feel of the current Nero Burning ROM 7 edition.

Fengtao Software have released software that can bypass Advanced Access Content System (AACS) on HD DVD discs to copy the content.

Google and YouTube have been issued with a writ by Viacom alleging intentional copyright infringement of its works.

A senior Microsoft exec has admitted that some software piracy actually ends up benefiting the technology giant because it leads to purchases of other software packages.

Police in London have raided a house that was allegedly at the centre of an online pirate DVD operation.

Sony has confirmed the company's intentions to release a redesigned version of the popular PlayStation Portable game device.

All US households with televisions that use analog technology will be eligible for $40 discount coupons to buy digital converter boxes, according to the Commerce Department.

Due to the long Chinese New Year Holiday, Taiwan optical disc makers saw their revenues drop sequentially in February, with leading players CMC Magnetics and Ritek seeing revenue drops of 21.3% and 14.0%, respectively.

A post on the Doom9 forums has claimed to have found another set of device keys crucial to the unlocking of the AACS copy protection used by both Blu-ray and HD DVD discs.

Ricoh says that started shipping the new Double Layer DVD+R media with write speeds of up to 16x, significantly raising the standards for fast DL blank discs.

Sony has unveiled plans for its own virtual universe for the PlayStation 3 where users will be able to socialise, shop and even go to the movies -- all without setting foot outside in the real world.

Verbatim/Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation has issued a press release warning that a number of prominent to less known brands in Australia and New Zealand have been distributing certain recordable DVD models with false MCC MIDs (Media Identification Codes).

There's a tool in the war on piracy that's picking up steam, and its proponents are thrilled with what it can do. Dubbed "cGrid," the application is powerful and daunting to those caught in its snares, for it can boot users off the network in real-time if it suspects that they are engaging in P2P file sharing, or even if they are using so-called darknets. As you might expect, the entertainment industry loves it.

Software behemoth Microsoft is being accused of encouraging piracy to popularise its operating systems after threatening legal action against Indian resellers pirating its products.

THE BBC is to play nice with YouTube in an interesting handshake agreement that will see clips and trailers from entertainment, news and Worldwide channels appear on the mother and father of all video-sharing sites.

A European lawyer has threatened to initiate legal action against Microsoft in the light of complaints from 800 Xbox 360 customers that their discs have been scratched by the console's DVD drive.

Doubts have arisen about the effectiveness of a Windows key generator package that allegedly offered a means to circumvent Microsoft's anti-piracy protection.