Topic: News

Universal, at least, is ready for anyone who's just bought a Toshiba HD-A1 HD DVD player in the US and wants some hi-def films to play on it. The studio's Home Entertainment division today began shipping its first and only HD DVD title, Serenity, but you'll have to wait a week for further discs.

Slysoft's very popular DVD ripping software AnyDVD now comes with the ability to circumvent Macrovision's CDS-300 copy protection and the ability to remove CD DRM infections and corporate malware disguised as copy protection.

The US network Fox has signed a six-year agreement with its 187 affiliated stations that will let it show reruns of its television programs on the Internet.

Sony will offer Japanese consumers a Walkman-branded portable DVD player on 1 June, the consumer electronics giant said today. The tablet-style device sports a 7in LCD and a bundled recharging station with integrated stereo speakers.

Over 100,000 battery packs sold with Disney-branded DVD players could blow up in kiddies’ faces the US Consumer Product Safety Commission warned.

Prices of DVD+R/-R and CD-R discs will increase slightly in the third quarter, as utilization rates are currently running at 100%, according to Robert Wong, chairman of CMC Magnetics.

The first HD-DVD titles that were scheduled to go on sale Tuesday and Toshiba players have arrived at Best Buy and should be on sale in some of the chain's locations.

The DVD+RW Alliance have officially announced the release of version 1.0 specifications for 2.4X rewriting on Double Layer DVD+RW media.

TDK demonstrated a 100GB BD prototype in May 2005. The 100GB disc contains four data-storage layers, and the new 200GB version is expected to consist of four double-sided layers, which will yield four times the capacity of today's BDs.

Sales of second-hand Microsoft software licences have doubled month-on-month since the market was opened in November 2005, according to the Staffordshire start-up that spotted the opportunity in Microsoft's small print and Britain's insolvency laws.

Sonic Solutions division Roxio today released Popcorn 2, a duplication software for Mac users. Popcorn 2 adds the ability to convert DVD-Video and other video formats to video files that can be played on a Mac, or copy to portable video players like Apple's fifth-generation iPod, Sony's PlayStation Portable (PSP), 3GPP-equipped cell phones and other devices.

Video compression outfit Euclid Discoveries says it has invented a video-compression technology that can compress digital images into smaller files than today's most common compression technologies, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4.

Pubs in East London are expected to see a major drop in the number of pirate DVD sellers following a raid on the UK’s biggest DVD piracy factory.

Lite-On IT and BenQ, the top two makers of optical disc drives (ODDs) in Taiwan, have jointly announced the formation of a strategic alliance in which Lite-On IT will take over BenQ’s ODD business unit, including assets, related technology and licensed use of patents, ODM client portfolio, and order commitment on BenQ’s own-brand ODD products.

Paramount Pictures and Xbox launched today the Xbox Movie Showcase that will feature free, high-definition, downloadable content from Paramount's movies on the console's Xbox live service.

Microsoft have warned of three "critical" security flaws in its Windows operating system that could allow attackers to take control of a computer.

Fujitsu will this month ship a monster high-definition PC-TV hybrid that incorporates not only four TV tuners - two for digital and two for analogue broadcasts - but also twin 300GB hard drives and a dual-layer enabled Blu-ray Disc recorder.

IBM has developed a new method designed to increase the security of consumer products like digital media devices by injecting encryption capabilities into the heart of machines.

TDK has begun shipping 25GB recordable and rewritable Blu-ray Disc media to retailers across the US. Retail pricing is set at $19.99 (£11.50) for a 25GB BD-R (recordable), $24.99 (£14.50) for a 25GB BD-RE (rewritable). In addition, TDK will ship 50GB Blu-ray Disc media later this year with retail pricing set at $47.99 (£27.50) for a 50GB BD-R (recordable) and $59.99 ($34.50) for a 50GB BD-RE (rewritable).

Online DVD rental firms Lovefilm and Video Island agreed to merge today to bulk up against US competitors and defend their 17% share of the UK market.