Topic: News

Sonicblue is looking to solve all your PC and DVD needs. They have announced a new DVD player, the Go-Video D2730, which in addition to playing DVD movies will be able to access content on PCs, such as photos, music and videos, via a wireless network connection. The company will demonstrate the device at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and will begin selling it for $250 in the first quarter of 2003.

Domestic optical storage companies like LG Electronics and Samsung Electronics and AV makers, who have preferred DVD RAM mode, have launched the development of DVD+RW and DVD-RW modes, opening new phase in a fight over a standard for DVD recording. The industry sees that if domestic companies with the largest production capacity in the world start producing RW-mode DVD recording equipment, the balance of power, which has been maintained for two to three years, would be tipped.

Taiwan-based IC design house Mediatek recently released samples of DVD chipsets supporting both of the rival DVD+R/RW and DVD-R/RW formats. A handful of local optical storage drive makers have begun testing the chips for drives scheduled to launch next year.

A landmark trial of a teenager in Norway accused of video piracy has ended with prosecutors calling for his computers to be confiscated.
But they stopped short of seeking jail time, recommending that the teenager, Jon Johansen, get a 90-day suspended sentence instead.

Thanks to our regular contributor Flash for this review and accompanying FAQ.

321Studios just released the latest version of their DVD to DVD-R (as well as DVD+R, DVD-RW or DVD+RW) software, DVDXcopy.
The new version,( DVDXCopy v1.3) has couple of much-requested enhancements, most notably a fully-integrated burning engine of Ahead NERO. The changelog is here:
· Full integration of the Ahead NERO DVD burning engine
· New low calorie download: The full installation of DVDXCopy is now just over three megabytes.
· Advanced Options on the main screen lets you set Player compatibility mode to be either UDF/ISO or just UDF. Just UDF mode helps some players recognize DVD+RW discs as valid media (although UDF/ISO is the correct selection by DVD specs).
· New "no questions asked" mode for users who have separate DVD writer and DVD-ROM drives. You can now put the output disk in your writer and the source disk in your reader and check the "Output disk is ready" box and once the first disc is processed, it will start burning it immediately to the blank disc in writer drive. After that, program will continue by processing the disc 2. Now the checkbox is unselected again, but you can switch the burned disc 1 to a new blank disc and check the box again while the software processes disc 2 and it will do the 2nd burning automatically as well.
· DVDXCopy now remembers what drive was last used to burn, and will automatically attempt to use that drive again.

Teac Have released a DVD burner based on the -R/ -RW standard.

Ulead Systems, Inc., a leading developer of video editing, image editing and DVD authoring software, today announces Ulead(R) MediaStudio(R) Pro 7.0, the newest version of Ulead's professional video editing software. MediaStudio Pro 7.0 now boasts software-only, real-time editing, display and output features that outperform other non-linear editing software solutions in the professional video editing software market. MediaStudio Pro 7.0 will be available in March 2003.

Macrovision Corporation (Nasdaq: MVSN), the leading developer and supplier of digital rights management (“DRM”) products, today announced that it has integrated its latest DRM solution (MacroSafe™) with InterVideo’s WinDVD, the world's most popular DVD player. The two companies will also join in co-marketing efforts to promote this secure solution to the video on demand market.

It seems several sites are taking pre-orders for the new NEC ND 1100 DVD writer (with drives expected in January):

309 EUR @ alternate.de & 2726,25 kr @ specitek.se.

The trial of a Norwegian teen accused of developing a utility that enables people to illegally copy DVD movies opened in Oslo yesterday.

As the deadline approaches for public comment on the controversial Digital Millennium Copyright Act, experts are offering advice on how to persuade the feds to allow exemptions that change access controls on digital media.

Plasmon, the market leader for professional optical archival solutions, announced the successful demonstration of their new UDO drive and media technology at the COMDEX trade show in Las Vegas during the week of November 18th 2002.

Macrovision, best known as the creator of the copy protection technology that's contained on virtually every commercial videotape and many DVDs, said Tuesday that it is forming a new division focused on music piracy.

HANOI (Reuters) - Eight days after the latest James Bond thriller ``Die Another Day'' was released in the United States, pirated DVD versions of the movie shot with camcorders were being hawked for a little over $1 in Vietnam's capital.

This is the new Datawite +R disc which is based on the Ricoh stamper. The obvious visual difference between the two discs is the new Ricoh based disc is a yellow colour and and old Prodisc based disc is a silver colour. The Ricoh based Datawrite disc is also described as generation 2.

Related stories:
Parting of ways for Prodisc and Datawrite?

Maxell is introducing smaller and double-sided DVD-R discs. Come February 2003, Maxell will release 3-inch, 2X Mini DVD-R discs that will let users easily carry 1.4GB in a shirt pocket. Users will be able to write on these with any DVD-RW/-R drives, and read them with any DVD-ROM drive or living room DVD player that can read standard-size DVD-Rs. These discs are planned for the next generation of digital camcorders, digital cameras, and MP3 players.Maxell's new double-sided DVD-R discs which are available now, are the do-it-yourself equivalent of those commercial DVDs with the wide-screen version of a movie on one side and full-screen version on the other. The discs can hold an impressive 9.4GB.

This new firmware will allow your Dual RW drive to record at 4X on 4X compatible DVD+R media as well as improve the DVD-ROM reading performance with DVD recordable/rewritable media. To read the installation instructions click here.

Jon Lech Johansen, (18), AKA "DVD Jon” is on trial in Norway "because he wrote a program that helped further the unraveling of a code meant to protect DVD films from free viewing or illegal copying. Then he publicized it, allowing others to watch DVDs on a computer instead of having to buy an expensive DVD player". Johansen bought the DVDs legally and consumers view him as a hero, but his actions riled the powerful Motion Picture Association of America, which views Johansen as a threat.

Reading through various forums and discussion groups it seems that we are far from happy with Pioneer and the A05 4x speed DVD writer. The writer will not burn satisfactory to the budget brands and is limited to 1x speed writing to known 2x speed media. I was going to get myself an A05 for Xmas but I have serious doubts now.