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Sony Electronics today announced an internal BD-ROM drive that can upgrade an existing desktop computer into a high-definition Blu-ray Disc™ player, as well as a DVD and a CD player. The new BDU-X10S BD-ROM drive comes with CyberLink’s PowerDVD BD Edition software for playback of commercial movie titles, recorded Blu-ray Disc home videos, DVD-ROMs and CD-ROMs.

“The BD-ROM drive’s sub-$200 price tag offers consumers a very viable option to discover and enjoy the nearly 500 high-definition Blu-ray Disc movies released to date,” said Bob DeMoulin, marketing manager for branded storage products in Sony Electronics’ IT Products Division.

“PC-based DVD-ROM drives helped accelerate mass DVD adoption, primarily because they were the least costly way to experience the technology,” said Wolfgang Schlichting, research director, removable storage at IDC. “Similarly, we expect sub-$200 PC-based BD-ROM drives to be a driver for cost-conscious consumers to experience Blu-ray Disc high-definition video technology.”

The BDU-X10S drive features a Serial ATA (SATA) interface and standard 5.25-inch form-factor for easy installation inside contemporary desktop PCs running the Microsoft® Windows Vista™ or Windows XP operating system.

The included CyberLink PowerDVD BD Edition software also supports playback of recorded Blu-ray Discs in MPEG-2 or H.264 format, standard DVD-Video discs or recorded DVDs encoded with MPEG-2 or AVCHD formats.

For high-definition viewing, an HD computer display connected to the PC with an HDMI™ cable is required. The new BD-ROM drive will start shipping this month. Pre-orders are now being accepted at sonystyle.com.

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MPEG LA Expands Call for HD DVD Patents

In its continued response to marketplace interest in the creation of a joint HD DVD patent license including as much essential intellectual property as possible, MPEG LA, LLC today expanded its call for patents essential to the implementation of the HD DVD Standard to include the following specifications:
1) DVD Specifications for High Density Read-Only Disc (HD DVD-ROM) Part 1 Optional Specifications: Triple Layer Twin Format Disc; and
2) DVD Specifications for High Density Read-Only Disc (HD DVD-ROM) Part 1 Physical Specifications (51 Gbytes).

MPEG LA’s plan for forming a joint patent portfolio license to provide users with fair, reasonable, nondiscriminatory access to the HD DVD technology as an alternative to negotiating separate licenses was first announced in a 9 May 2007 news release. The inclusion of the DVD Specifications for High Density Read-Only Disc (HD DVD-ROM) Part 1 Optional Specifications: Triple Layer Twin Format Disc and for DVD Specifications for High Density Read-Only Disc (HD DVD-ROM) Part 1 Physical Specifications (51 Gbytes) are in addition to the other parts of the Standard earlier announced.

MPEG LA welcomes any party that believes it has patents which are essential to the HD DVD Standard to submit them for evaluation of their essentiality by MPEG LA’s patent evaluators and participate in the joint license creation process if determined to be essential. Further information, along with terms and procedures governing patent submissions, can be found here. While only issued patents that are essential to the HD DVD Standard will be included in the license, in order to participate in the license development process, patent applications with claims that their owners believe are essential to the HD DVD Standard and likely to issue in a patent also may be submitted for an evaluation of essentiality.

http://www.mpegla.com

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Primera Announces PTRip Software for iTunes and Windows Media Player

Primera Technology, Inc., the world’s leading developer and manufacturer of CD, DVD, Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD duplication and printing equipment, today announced the availability of its new PTRip Software.

PTRip gives users of Primera’s Bravo-Series Disc Publishers the ability to automatically load CDs into their Publishers’ built-in CD/DVD drives for importing audio tracks into Apple® iTunes or Microsoft® Windows Media Player. The program is simple to use and requires just three steps:

Place CDs into a Bravo-Series Disc Publisher’s input bin,
Launch PTRip,
Click “Load to iTunes” or “Load to Windows Media Player.”

Discs are robotically loaded and tracks imported into iTunes or Windows Media Player. The process continues automatically until the input bin is empty. Once imported, files are ready for playback on portable players including Apple iPod®, iPhone™ and iTouch™ devices, Microsoft Zune® and many other brands and models of MP3 players and cell phones.

PTRip supports Primera’s Bravo SE, Bravo II, BravoPro and Bravo XR/XRP Disc Publishers. The software is priced at $99.00 (MSRP), but is available for a limited time at no charge. Visit www.primera.com/PTRip to register and download the program.

“We’re pleased to offer PTRip to our valued customers. It lets them utilize their Bravo Disc Publishers in a new and completely different way,” said Mark D. Strobel, Primera’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “There’s no easier and more efficient way to digitize a personal CD collection than with PTRip and a Bravo-Series Disc Publisher.”

www.primera.com

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Toshiba Enters 1.8-Inch External HDD Market And Introduces The Industry's Highest-Capacity 2.5-Inch External HDD At 320GB

Toshiba Storage Device Division (SDD), the industry pioneer in small form factor hard disk drives (HDDs), today announced it will introduce a mobile personal storage line based on its market-leading 1.8-inch HDD, along with the industry’s highest-capacity portable external hard drive based on the 2.5-inch HDD platform at 320GB.

As the only HDD supplier with a proven track record in marketing 1.8-inch HDDs, Toshiba is the first HDD manufacturer to introduce a 1.8-inch external product. In addition, Toshiba has completely redesigned its personal storage line with a sleek, contemporary look to complement other technology appliances.

Toshiba’s new USB 2.0 Mobile External Hard Drive based on the 1.8-inch HDD platform will be available in 60GB, 80GB and 120GB models for unparalleled capacity in a pocket-sized mobile storage device. This new line of personal storage devices combines the portability of a USB flash drive with the high capacity of a hard drive for the ultimate mobile digital warehouse for entertainment and data files. The new 1.8-inch external HDD can be easily slipped into a briefcase, purse or backpack for easy transport of digital photos, music, videos or other data files.

Because the 1.8-inch HDD is designed for mobility, Toshiba plans to include encryption and backup software with its 1.8-inch line to protect data should the HDD ever be lost or stolen. The product also will include a USB cable and will be bus-powered for easy plug-and-play operation.

2.5-inch External HDD Now Offers Up to 320GB
Toshiba’s new 1.8-inch mobile external HDD line complements its existing line of 2.5-inch external HDDs, which now feature up to 320GB of storage capacity. Toshiba's 2.5-inch 320GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive can store up to either 91,000 digital photos, 84,000 MP3 music files, 142 hours of DVD videos or 37 hours of high-definition videos.

The 2.5-inch external HDD line continues to feature click-free, switch-free and button-free backup for easy operation by any consumer. It comes bundled with the award-winning NTI Shadow™ software, enabling even digital novices to easily conduct computer backup and enjoy peace-of-mind in knowing critical data and cherished digital files are protected.

Available in 320GB, 250GB and 160GB capacities, Toshiba’s line continues to be positioned for effortless operation with automatic power on via the USB connector to the computer and through the straightforward setup afforded by the NTI Shadow™ software. Users simply connect the drive to their PCs via the USB port and set the backup parameters. It then runs in the background to automatically backup data.

Revamped Design to Complement Personal Style, Protect Digital Memories
Now featuring a sleek, glossy finish and contemporary graphics, Toshiba’s line of personal storage devices fits nicely with other consumer electronics gear. Toshiba redesigned the personal storage line to match current consumer tastes and emerging consumer electronics trends. The new models feature stylistic design in a sleek finish, along with a splash of color available in Carbon Grey, Hot Rod Red and Gecko Green. In addition, the redesigned 2.5-inch external models offer a nearly 20 percent smaller footprint than the previous line for space savings on the desktop.

“Data backup is integral in a digital world  it isn’t just for technology geeks; it’s for anyone who wants added insurance that first birthday photos, summer vacation videos, their latest tax returns and other important digital data are protected against computer failure or other emergencies,” said Maciek Brzeski, vice president of marketing, Toshiba SDD. “To create mass appeal, we’ve introduced a versatile line with a great new look to complement other consumer electronics gear. Whether you need portability or capacity, we have attractive, consumer-friendly solutions that take the mystery out of data backup.”

New Personal Storage Product Availability
Toshiba’s new 1.8-inch external HDDs will be available at retail this spring, while the 2.5-inch 320GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive is available this month at www.toshibadirect.com and through major retailers and online outlets. For a complete list, please visit www.wheretobuy.toshibastorage.com. Manufacturer suggested retail price (MSRP) for the 320GB 2.5-inch external HDD is $199.99.

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Pyro AV Announces Pyro Kompressor HD for Super-Charged, High-Quality HD Video Compression

Pyro AV® by ADS Tech®, a leading-edge video conversion and capture solution provider for digital video professionals and enthusiasts, today announced Pyro Kompressor HD®, a PCI Express®-based accelerator solution that accelerates HD MPEG-2 and HD H.264/AVC encoding up to eight times faster than software-only video compression. For time- and cost-conscious video production houses, this translates into a much speedier authoring workflow. Integrated with Adobe® video software with support for Windows® XP and Apple® Mac OS® X Leopard platforms, the solution is a price-performance breakthrough benefiting both video professionals and prosumers.

The single-slot PYRO Kompressor HD board is powered by the Ambric Am2045, a massively-parallel processor with 336 RISC processors, delivering 1.2 teraOPS-class of video horsepower for consistently high throughput encoding, even for difficult, high-motion video content. A dynamic and affordable solution, Pyro Kompressor HD’s high-quality MPEG-2 and H.264/AVC codecs enable compression for DVD, HD DVD, Blu-ray Disk, web streaming media, archival storage, IPTV, and VOD. It is based on programmable chip technology, so that PYRO Kompressor HD hardware is "future-proofed" and can be updated as video compression standards evolve and other types of video processing become available.

"We are excited to announce PYRO Kompressor HD, an affordable, high-quality H.264 and MPEG compression solution for video editors who need super-charged encoding speed and processing power," said Mike McCoy, president and CEO, Pyro AV. "This powerful productivity tool will save days of time in post-production, thereby providing a rapid return on investment."

"ADS Tech’s Pyro AV division has a tradition of delivering the most up-to-date, highest-quality technologies at prices that make them easy to justify," said Jay Eisenlohr, co-founder and executive vice president of marketing and business development, Ambric, Inc. "We are gratified that ADS Tech chose our Am2045 massively-parallel processor for their exciting new product. Pyro Kompressor HD for video processing reminds me of the breakthrough that occurred in the early days of the 3D-graphics industry; it is an exciting time for the rapidly growing video market."

The included Pyro Kompressor HD transcoding software application simplifies production and provides control over input, conversion, encoding, and output. Transcoding can be done from a wide variety of input formats using software decoders. The software features watch folders for job automation, up and down scaling, frame rate conversion, custom settings and a range of pre-defined settings, chapter support, batch encoding that allows for multiple tasks, file drag and drop ease, control over target output file size, and mux’ing streams from different input files. It can read either uncompressed video input or import compressed files, using a wide range of included decoders to enable transcoding for DV, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, H.264, AVCHD, AVC-Intra, VC-1, DVCPRO 25/50/100, DVCPRO-HD, JPEG2000, and YUV files, plus DirectShow and QuickTime import.

Designed as a flexible compression tool, the Pyro Kompressor HD hardware accelerator is also tightly integrated with Adobe’s video software family. Acceleration functionality is plug-and-play in Adobe Premiere® Pro CS3 and Adobe After Effects® CS3 Professional. The solution can be used for encoding whole video projects or fast iterative test-compressions while editing, compositing, or creating special-effects. Adobe integration offers a familiar workflow and quick turnaround.

Pyro Kompressor HD for the PC will be available in February through a variety of Pyro AV dealers with an MSRP of $3,495.00. Pyro Kompressor HD for the Mac platform will be available Spring 2008 with an MSRP of $3,495.00.

www.pyroav.com

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