EMediaLive.com

Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) today announced that the next system software update for PLAYSTATION(R)3 (PS3(TM)) computer entertainment system, slated for release in late March, will add Blu-ray Disc(TM) (BD) Profile 2.0 or BD-LIVE, enabling PS3 owners to experience interactive features, such as downloadable video content, ringtones, games, and more. In addition to BD-LIVE, the system software update (v. 2.20) will enable photo and music playlists on PS3 to be copied to PSP(R)(PlayStation(R)Portable) handheld entertainment system, among other new features. These updates demonstrate how PS3 continues to evolve as a home entertainment hub with the flexibility to deliver the newest technology innovations that benefit PS3 owners.

"With Blu-ray established as the high-definition optical disc standard, more consumers are ready to jump in and take advantage of everything the format offers," said Scott A. Steinberg, vice president, product marketing, SCEA. "Whether you want to download movie extras, send ringtones to your phone, or play interactive games, BD-LIVE will offer exciting new ways to enjoy a Blu-ray movie. With these regular firmware updates and future-proofed technology, SCEA is making the 10-year lifecycle of PS3 possible."

BD Profile 2.0 requires an Internet connection and at least 1GB of local storage. The following features have all been demonstrated as possibilities with BD-Live and will vary by movie title.

A variety of downloadable content can be offered, including bonus
scenes, shorts, trailers, subtitles, ringtones that can be sent to mobile phones, images, and more
Interactive movie-based games can pit players who are sitting in the same room, or are across the world and online, against each other.

In conjunction with the PS3 firmware update, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (SPHE) is pleased to announce two BD-LIVE enabled titles to be released on April 8 - Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story and The 6th Day. Both titles will include exclusive downloadable content that goes beyond what is available on the actual Blu-ray discs. These initial releases preview some of the exciting new developments that will soon be available from BD-LIVE on Blu- ray disc.

Beyond BD-LIVE, the new system software update enhances PS3 system's interoperability with PSP system, enabling users to take their favorite music and photo playlists with them on-the-go with their PSP. To copy a playlist, PSP and PS3 must first be connected with a USB cable, and the PSP must be in USB mode. Then, on PS3, select "Copy" in the option menu of each music or photo playlist, and choose PSP as the destination. Now the playlist order, and the songs or photos themselves, will be accessible on the PSP's Memory Stick PRO Duo anytime, anywhere. This new functionality makes it easer than ever to share media content between the two systems.

The following new features will also be included in the system software update.

"Resume play" will enable PS3 system to start playing a Blu-ray disc and DVD at the point it was stopped, even if the disc had been removed.
"Audio Output Device" will be a new Remote Play setting, enabling PSP to serve as a remote control for music played through PS3.
PS3 system's Internet browser will be enhanced: Video files directly linked from a Web page will be able to be streamed, and the browser's view speed will be improved.
DivX and WMV format videos that are larger than 2GB will be playable.
"Mosquito Noise Reduction" will be added as an AV setting in the control panel of the DVD/BD player for improved movie playback.

http://www.us.playstation.com/

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Plextor Announces New Internal Blu-Ray Drives

Plextor® LLC, a leading developer and manufacturer of high-performance digital media equipment, today announced two new multifunction disc drives that combine next-generation Blu-Ray and HD DVD technologies. The internal PX-B920SA drive features 4X BD-R write speed and a Serial ATA (SATA) interface for fast data throughput, up to 150 Mbits/sec. This drive is ideal for PC OEMs, systems integrators, enterprises, professionals, and high-end consumer markets where people want HD DVD playback along with Blu-Ray recording and playback.

The new PX-B920SA is a Blu-Ray burner that also plays HD DVD discs and supports high-speed reading and recording of DVD and CD media formats, including DVD-RAM, Dual Layer DVD, Double Layer DVD, DVD±R/RW, and CD-R/RW.

The new PX-B300SA multifunction drive is capable of playing both Blu-Ray and HD DVD media. The internal drive also reads and records DVD and CD media formats with recording speeds of 16X DVD±R, 24X CD-RW, and 40X CD-R. The PX-B300SA, which includes a SATA interface for high performance, is designed for PC OEMs, systems integrators, enterprises, professionals, and mid-market consumers who want to playback both Blu-Ray and HD DVD discs and record on DVD and CD media.

“With the recent end of the DVD format wars, these new combos drives from Plextor still offer customers the freedom to view high-definition video media they prefer to use, whether Blu-Ray or HD DVD,” said Amber Wang, director of new business development and marketing at Plextor. “According to Home Media, more than 1.5 million HD DVD movies have been sold in the United States to date. Our new drives give customers the ability to play HD DVD movies as well as Blu-ray discs.”

PX-B920SA Multifunction Disc Drive
The PX-B920SA drive supports fast Blu-Ray recording speeds of 4X BD-R (18 MB/sec transfer rate) and 2X BD-RE (9 MB/sec transfer rate) on single layer and double-layer media. Playback is 4.8X for Blu-Ray BDMV (movie) discs and 3X for HD DVD Video discs.

For DVD, the PX-B920SA delivers 16X DVD±R on single-layer media, 4X DVD±R on Double-Layer and Dual-Layer (DL) media, and 5X DVD-RAM. The drive also supports 8X DVD+RW, 6X DVD-RW, 6X max DVD-ROM, 40X CD-R, 24X CD-RW, and 40X CD-ROM. The PX-B920SA drive features a 4MB data buffer. The drive is LgihtScribe enabled for direct disc laser printing.

The PX-B920SA drive comes bundled with a single rewritable 25GB BD-RE media disc and a complete package of application software, including InterVideo WinDVD 8, Ulead MovieFactory 5.5 SE, and Burn.Now 4.5 SE.

PX-B300SA Multifunction Disc Drive
The PX-B300SA drive offers 4.8X BDMV and 3X HD DVD reading. For DVD, the drive delivers 16X DVD±R on single-layer media, 4X DVD±R on Double-Layer and Dual-Layer (DL) media, and 5X DVD-RAM. The drive also supports 8X DVD+RW, 6X DVD-RW, 6X max DVD-ROM, 40X CD-R, 24X CD-RW, and 40X CD-ROM. The PX-B300SA drive features a 4MB data buffer. The drive is LgihtScribe enabled for direct disc laser printing.

The PX-B300SA drive comes bundled with a complete package of application software, including InterVideo WinDVD 8, Ulead MovieFactory 5.5 SE, and Burn.Now 4.5 SE.

Pricing and Availability
Plextor will ship the PX-B920SA drive to distributors in North and South America in late March 2008, with a Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of $449.99 USD. Plextor will ship the PX-B300SA drive to distributors in North and South America in late March 2008, with a Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of $599.99 USD.

All retail packages include one-year full warranty and unlimited toll-free technical support.

www.plextor.com

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Disc Makers launches Green CD/DVD packaging initiative -- Introduces 1,000 CDs in recycled eco-wallets for just $990

Disc Makers, the nation’s leading independent media manufacturer, today kicks off its 2008 “Green” initiative with a special eco-friendly packaging offer to musicians of 1,000 CDs in eco-wallets for just $990. At the same time the company announced that as of January 1st 2008 it has switched to chain-of-custody certified recycled paper and board stock for virtually all its CD and DVD packaging materials, including jewel case and DVD inserts, Digipaks, jackets, wallets, and other board products.

Eco-wallets are printed on recycled board, and use no plastic in the packaging. The card stock is a hefty 15 pt. for extra quality and durability, and the wallets also include the choice of high-gloss or matte UV coating at no extra charge. The Eco-Wallet offer is just one component of Disc Makers’ 2008 Green campaign, a company-wide initiative aimed at reducing the company’s carbon footprint and encouraging their customers to choose eco-friendly packaging options.

The company’s other Green initiatives include the following:

Designing and promoting green products
Disc Makers has always been in the forefront of designing and promoting low or no-plastic CD and DVD packaging and making them affordable, mainstream options for their customers. These include eco-wallets, Digipaks and wallets; all manufactured using recycled content with little or no plastic.

Recycled paper and board
Disc Makers has switched to recycled stock for virtually all the paper and board it prints on. The company uses materials that contain at least 10% post-consumer recycled content. Disc Makers sources all its paper products from mills that procure raw materials from lands that are forested in a sustainable manner, without clear-cutting.

Vegetable based inks
All printing is done with non-toxic vegetable-based inks.

Internal recycling
Disc Makers has an aggressive internal recycling program for all waste that can be recycled, including paper trimmings, plastic waste from production overruns or rejects, nickel from CD and DVD stampers, and more.

Smaller minimum orders to reduce unused items

Disc Makers is also reducing waste by allowing customers to buy products in smaller quantities. Disc Makers’ manufacturing facility can produce smaller quantities of replicated products – as low as 300 units. Plus, Disc Makers offers a Short Run Self Service option that allows customers to order smaller duplication orders, even if it’s only 50, 10, or even one disc.

“At Disc Makers, we are working hard to reduce our carbon footprint and be an industry role model when it comes to making environment-friendly products affordable to our customers,” explains Tony van Veen, President of Disc Makers. “Five years ago we made the CD jacket, which contains no plastic and very little board, one of the dominant packaging formats for independent artists. Today we hope our new eco-wallets will be the next format to get market-wide acceptance. It’s got the same height and width as a standard jewel case, comes with an optional spine, and contains no plastic, so we’re optimistic that it will be well received by independent artists.”

To learn more about all of Disc Makers' Green initiatives, visit www.discmakers.com/community/sustainability.

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Charismac Engineering Inc. Announces Full Support for the Microboards GX & MX line of CD & DVD Autoloaders in Discribe Robotic v6

Charismac Engineering Inc., the world’s leading developer of Macintosh automated CD, DVD and Blu-ray Disc duplication and printing software, announced the immediate availability of Discribe Robotic v6 for Microboards GX & MX line of CD & DVD autoloaders. The Discribe Robotic v6 software has been optimized to deliver outstanding performance on the latest Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL) Macintosh Intel-based Hardware and operating systems, including Leopard.

Discribe Robotic v6 software is a major upgrade which has been completely rewritten, offering new innovations in mastering CDs and DVDs including Blu-ray discs for the utmost in productivity. Discribe Robotic v6 expands the boundaries of CD and DVD mastering and simplifies the workflows for creative professionals in Pro Video, Music, photography, engineering and science.

Loaded with new and innovative features, Discribe Robotic v6 offers users faster, more productive workflow for burning Discs for virtually any optical disc file system format. Now for the first time users can tap into 100% of the Power of the new Intel-based Macintosh in conjunction with Apple’s Leopard for CD/DVD burning.

Pricing and Availability
Charismac’s Discribe Robotic v6 is now shipping with Microboards duplicators and is also immediately available for users to upgrade via the Charismac online Store at www.Charismac.com. Estimated street price for the Charismac Robotic v6 software is $299.00 for the single drive version. Multi-drive versions are also available. For more detailed information about features, upgrade policies, pricing, and international versions visit www.Charismac.com.

www.microboards.com

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Xlnt Idea, Inc Announces Complete Support for Blu-ray Disc Format in its Publishers

XLNT Idea Inc., a leading US Based Manufacturer of DVD and CD Printing, and Publishing Systems, announced today support for Blu Ray Disc technology in its Nexis line of Disc Publishing Solutions. Starting at an MSRP of $ 2995.00, the Nexis Publisher is now available with BD write capability combined with DVD and CD formats in the same configuration. XLNT Idea will also offer an upgrade path to Users of current Nexis systems to BD technology. Users requiring BD technology for HD Video or high capacity content storage can now take advantage of XLNT Idea’s features and benefits, including highly reliable robotics, easy to use software, and most importantly lowest cost to print using non proprietary ink jet consumables.

"Since XLNT systems are based on 100% XLNT Idea IP, the implementation of BD technology was seamless for us," commented Dale K, XLNT’s VP of Engineering. "We look forward to supporting the next generation of 120 mm optical disc technology in all of our solutions moving forward."

Chuck Alcon Jr, XLNT’s Director of Sales and Marketing added, "Our customer base includes a wide variety of users that have been waiting for the end of the format wars, including event videographers, independent film makers, and more. Now we can offer them the best Blu Ray Disc Publishing Solution available today. Further, we see new opportunities for 120 mm optical disc that include storage applications for verticals including Health Care, Government, Legal / Financial and more. Most importantly, our value proposition remains the best in the industry for BD technology when you observe Cost of Ownership and XLNT Idea’s economical price points."

www.xlntidea.com

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Corel Launches WinDVD 9 Plus Blu-ray, Delivering a Superior DVD and Blu-ray Disc Viewing Experience

Corel Corporation (NASDAQ:CREL; TSX:CRE), a leading developer of graphics, productivity and digital media software, today announced the latest release of Corel® WinDVD®, the world’s number one DVD and video playback software on PCs. Corel® WinDVD® 9 Plus Blu-ray features a new, more intuitive user interface, new video technologies including advanced upscaling that enables users to create near-high-definition viewing with standard-definition DVDs, enhanced Blu-ray Disc playback, as well as the latest in high-definition surround sound for the ultimate viewing experience. With more than 200 million units shipped worldwide, WinDVD remains the industry standard for DVD, video and Blu-ray Disc playback.

“WinDVD 9 Plus Blu-ray is designed for the movie buff, frequent flyer and those who want a superior video and audio playback experience in one easy-to-use solution,” said Jeff Hastings, President and General Manager, Digital Media at Corel. “More and more people are adopting the latest high-definition technologies such as Blu-ray Disc and AVCHD. With WinDVD 9 Plus Blu-ray, users will have access to the latest Blu-ray Disc playback capabilities including BonusView as well as revolutionary upscaling technology that enables users to create near-high-definition viewing with standard-definition DVDs.”

New User Interface
The new user interface in WinDVD 9 Plus Blu-ray makes viewing and navigation easier providing a more pleasant viewing experience.

Graphite Interface – The sophisticated graphite design blends seamlessly with a Microsoft® Windows® XP or Windows Vista® desktop.
Navigation Controls – The de-cluttered user interface displays a clean, sleek look where navigation controls can be hidden instantly.

Users will find advanced audio and video controls to easily personalize the playback experience.

New State-of-the-Art Video Technologies
WinDVD 9 Plus Blu-ray maximizes the viewing experience with state-of-the-art video upscaling technologies including:

Unique Trimension™ All2HD Upscaling – Converts standard-definition DVDs and videos to crisp near-high-definition video without the added expense of high-definition drives and media.
Digital Natural Motion – Removes the judder effect from fast-motion scenes for the smoothest possible playback creating a better-than-original look.
De-snow Filter – Removes digital noise from MPEG, H.264 and VC-1 low-resolution video to provide a clearer viewing experience.
De-block Filter – Removes blocky digital artifacts from MPEG, H.264 and VC-1 compressed video.

Enhanced Blu-ray Disc Playback
With WinDVD 9 Plus Blu-ray, users can enjoy 1080p high-definition Hollywood blockbusters or Blu-ray Disc home movies.

Advanced Interactive Content Support – Next-generation interactivity provides access to pop-up menus or picture-in-picture features with full BD-J support, all without interrupting the movie.
Latest Surround Sound Technologies – Dolby® Digital Plus, Dolby® TrueHD and DTS-HD surround sound support are included in WinDVD 9 Plus Blu-ray for the ultimate audio experience.
Next-Generation Hardware Acceleration – Experience superb playback of the most demanding titles with support for NVIDIA® PureVideo® HD and ATI Avivo™ HD hardware acceleration providing increased user support of high-definition playback.
Fully Compliant with Content Protection Systems – Supports HDCP, AACS and BD+ to ensure worry-free playback now and into the future.
AVCHD – Supports playback of video from AVCHD camcorders copied from the camcorder hard drive, on AVCHD disc or memory card.

Laptop Features
WinDVD 9 Plus Blu-ray optimizes the on-the-go movie viewing experience with the latest laptop features including:

Battery Optimization – Extends the life of the laptop’s battery providing extended playback time.
TimeStretch – Increases video and audio playback speed so users never miss the ending of their favorite movie while traveling.
Smart Stretch – Provides standard or widescreen viewing allowing flexibility for varying movie and laptop types.
Virtual Surround Sound – Supports virtual surround sound technologies even when listening on headphones and stereo speakers.

Pricing and Availability
WinDVD 9 Plus Blu-ray is priced at $99.99 SRP (US and Canada), and is available starting today through www.corel.com and over the coming weeks from Corel’s global channel partners. WinDVD 9 Plus Blu-ray also includes HD DVD playback with Advanced Navigation, and all of the features and technologies in WinDVD 9 Plus and WinDVD 9.

WinDVD 9 Plus is priced at $79.99 SRP (US and Canada), and is available starting today through www.corel.com and over the coming weeks from Corel’s global channel partners. WinDVD 9 Plus includes play back of standard-definition DVD and video with advanced Trimension™All2HD upscaling for a near-HD viewing experience, as well as AVCHD video playback. Audio playback technologies include Dolby® Digital EX, Dolby Pro Logic® IIx and DTS Digital Surround. WinDVD 9 Plus includes all of the features and technologies in WinDVD 9.

WinDVD 9 is priced at $49.99 SRP (US and Canada), and is available starting today through www.corel.com and over the coming weeks from Corel’s global channel partners. WinDVD 9 is for users who want straight-forward playback of standard-definition videos and DVDs as well as DivX and QuickTime movies. WinDVD 9 includes Dolby® Digital, DTS 2.0 Channel, SRS TruSurround XT audio technologies.

Upgrades from WinDVD 6, 7 and 8 to WinDVD 9 Plus Blu-ray are priced at $59.99 SRP (US and Canada), and are available starting today through www.corel.com.

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Aleratec Launches the Affordable Stand Alone 1:11 USB Flash Drive Duplicator

Aleratec Inc., leading developer and manufacturer of "Prosumers' Choice" solutions for the USB, Flash, HDD, Blu-ray, DVD/CD, duplicating, and DVD/CD publishing markets, introduces its innovative new 1:11 USB Copy Tower SA, the fast, economical way to duplicate the same information to multiple flash drives and it's stand alone, no computer or any other equipment is required. It will copy, compare, or erase up to 11 flash drives simultaneously and all functions are selectable via a very simple duplicator controller with a back lighted LCD display. The Aleratec 1:11 USB Copy Tower SA takes the hassle out of trying to copy USB flash drives.

"USB flash drives have become one of the most widely used tools for individuals to share data and multimedia files due to size, convenience, and universal compatibility. Today, more and more flash drives are being used to distribute product information to customers, sales presentations, photos, files of all types to groups of users.," stated Perry Solomon, Aleratec President and CEO. "Until the Aleratec 1:11 USB Copy Tower SA, the stand alone equipment needed to copy quantities of USB flash drives was expensive, cumbersome, and not readily available. It make exact copies of eleven 256 MB flash drives in less than 2 ½ minutes. The 1:11 USB Copy Tower SA is fast, simple to operate and very affordable."

The heart of the 1:11 USB Copy Tower SA is an intelligent USB duplicator controller that controls all of the functions needed to make USB flash drive copies, without a computer. There are four control buttons (up and down arrow, OK, and ESC) and a bright alpha-numeric display. The arrow keys index up and down through the controller functions; when you see the function you need, just press OK . The controller display indicates the function selected and also monitors progress and status of each operation and displays the results.

Advanced asynchronous USB duplication is supported which means after you load a source flash drive, each target channel can be independently loaded with target flash drives to be copied, compared, and unloaded so copying more than eleven USB flash drives can done on an uninterrupted basis. Synchronous duplication is also supported where up to eleven copies can be made at the same time. The new 1:11 USB Copy Tower SA USB Duplicator features high speed duplication and a bit-by-bit Compare function to confirm successful copies. It is the reliable, affordable, and convenient tool for anyone that has the need to duplicate USB flash drives.

With a low Estimated Retail Price of $1575 for the 1:11 USB Copy Tower SA (Aleratec Part # 330105, Ingram Micro SKU Q67538), Aleratec has successfully overcome a key shortcoming of alternative solutions, making it the practical and affordable solution for anyone that needs to duplicate large numbers of USB flash drives whether for business, education, government, house of worship or individuals.

The full line of Aleratec solutions, and accessories is featured at 4SURE.com, AAFES, Adorama, Amazon.com, B&H Photo Video, Best Buy, Buy.com, CDW, Circuit City, Dell, Gateway, Hewlett Packard, Insight, J & R, Mac Connection, MacMall, Meijer, Micro Center, NewEgg, Office Depot, PC Connection, PC Mall, PC Nation, ProVantage, Quill, Ritz Camera, Staples, Target, Tech Depot and Wal-Mart in addition to other leading retailers. Government and Education customers may purchase from Government and Education Specialists including AAFES, B&H Photo Video Gov, Best Buy Gov/Ed, CDW-G, CompuCom, EnPointe, GovConnection, GTSI, Insight Gov, PC Mall Gov, Pomeroy, Sayers, Shi.com, Softchoice, telcobuy, TIG, and Unisys. All products are available to resellers in the U.S. through D&H Distributing, DBL Distributing, Ingram Micro, and Tech Data; in Canada through D&H Canada and Ingram Micro Canada; in Latin America and the Caribbean through Tech Data Miami.

Complete information available at http://www.aleratec.com.

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Best Buy Stands Behind Customers By Awarding More Than $10 Million in Gift Cards to HD DVD Purchasers

With Blu-ray declaring victory over HD-DVD in the high definition movie format war, Best Buy, the nation’s largest consumer electronics retailer, is giving $50 gift cards to customers who purchased an HD-DVD player or HD-DVD attachment from its U.S. stores before February 23, 2008. Customers will get a gift card for each player or HD-DVD attachment that they purchased. Through this program, Best Buy will distribute more than $10 million in gift cards to customers across the country.

“The DVD format war has divided our customers in a way we haven’t seen since Betamax took on VHS more than 20 years ago,” said Brian J. Dunn, president and chief operating officer for Best Buy. “At Best Buy, we understood and shared our customers’ frustrations as they were being asked to choose one format or the other. Now that the format war is over, we hope these gift cards will reassure our customers that we will help them make a smooth transition into the right technology for their needs.”

Most Best Buy customers won’t have to do anything to receive their gift card. As a demonstration of its commitment to its customers, Best Buy will proactively mail cards to all customers that the company can identify as having purchased an HD-DVD player. Members of the Best Buy Reward Zone program, customers who purchased Performance Service Plans (PSPs) or who made their purchase on BestBuy.com should look for their gift cards in the mail by May 1. Other customers who may not be easily identified can call (888) BEST BUY to receive their gift cards with proof of purchase through a credit card or their Best Buy receipt.

“The beauty of this offer is that it doesn’t require our customers to give up their HD-DVD player,” said Barry Judge, chief marketing officer for Best Buy. “We know that many people who purchased these players have HD-DVD movies that they would like to continue to watch. We’re telling our customers they can keep their players to play these movies as well as their older DVDs and use the $50 to treat themselves to anything else in our stores.”

HD-DVD players can actually deliver greatly enhanced video performance with standard DVDs by upconverting the video resolution. Beginning on March 21, customers who do want to get rid of their HD-DVD players can visit Best Buy’s Online Trade-In Center. Visitors to the site will receive instant estimates of the value of their HD-DVD players and movies. Those who agree with the estimates can then ship their goods to the Trade-In Center free of charge by downloading a prepaid shipping label and will receive an additional gift card as payment for their trade-in. This service is open to HD-DVD owners regardless of where they bought their player.

For more information visit www.bestbuy.com/hddvd.

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Slysoft Announces BD+ Support in AnyDVD HD

Film studios that have switched to Blu-ray may have crowed a little too early because the much-praised BD+ copy protection is an ad absurdum affair now, too. With today's release of version 6.4.0.0 of AnyDVD HD it is now also possible to make backup security copies of Blu-ray discs protected with BD+.

Richard Doherty of the Envisioneering Group will have to revise his statement from July, 2007 regarding BD+: "BD+, unlike AACS which suffered a partial hack last year, won't likely be breached for 10 years". It is worth mentioning that since he made that statement only eight months have gone by.

Peer van Heuen, head of High-Definition technologies at SlySoft adds, "Admittedly, we are not really so fast with this because actually we had intended to publish this release already in December as promised. However, it was decided for strategic reasons to wait a bit for the outcome of the "format war" between HD DVD and Blu-ray. On top of that, we first wanted to see our assumptions confirmed about the in the meantime released BD+ titles regarding the BD+ Virtual Machine. We are rather proud to have brought back to earth the highly-praised and previously "unbreakable" BD+. However, we must also admit that the Blu-ray titles released up to now have not fully exploited the possibilities of BD+. Future releases will undoubtedly have a modified and more polished BD+ protection, but we are well prepared for this and await the coming developments rather relaxed". Van Heuen adds jokingly: "The worst-case scenario then is our boss locks us up with only bread and water in the company dungeon for three months until we are successful again".

Giancarlo Bettini, SlySoft CEO, adds, "We are convinced that today's release will give the high-density market new impulse. It remains unclear just what direction this will take. On the one hand, it can give Blu-ray a boost because the end-user has the certainty in knowing now that a backup security copy can also be made from Blu-ray disks protected by BD+. On the other hand, one or more film studios may want to reconsider their withdrawal from HD DVD and Toshiba could also grant the high-density DVD a reprieve. HD DVD certainly deserves a second chance, particularly since HD DVD hardware has obtained a higher market share within the last months than its BD counterpart from SONY. In any event, I wish all those involved a happy Easter from the bottom of my heart."

www.slysoft.com

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Image Entertainment Engages Sony DADC for Production of Blu-ray Releases

Image Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:DISK), a leading independent licensee, producer and distributor of home entertainment programming in North America, announced today that it has selected Sony DADC for the authoring and compression of the company’s continuing output of high-definition Blu-ray releases.

Image’s first Blu-ray titles, released earlier this year, were the romantic comedy, Suburban Girl, featuring Sarah Michelle Gellar and Alec Baldwin, and the Australian war classic Breaker Morant, starring Edward Woodard. The Blu-ray special edition of Sidney Lumet’s critically acclaimed Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, with Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Marisa Tomei and Albert Finney, will be released on April 15. The Air I Breathe, starring Forest Whitaker, Brendan Fraser, Andy Garcia, Kevin Bacon and Emile Hirsch, will debut on Blu-ray May 6.

May 20 is set as the release date for Stephen Sondheim’s Tony Award winning musical masterpiece, Company, starring Raul Esparza and featuring interviews with Sondheim, Esparza and director John Doyle. A bonus-laden special edition of John Badham’s perennial favorite, Short Circuit, will also be released on Blu-ray May 20. An aggressive slate of Image’s bestselling music titles will come to Blu-ray with titles such as Chicago / Earth, Wind & Fire: Live at the Greek, Heart: Alive in Seattle, Moody Blues: Lovely to See You Live, Roy Orbison: Black and White Night and Barry Manilow: Live all scheduled for release this spring and summer.

www.image-entertainment.com

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NXP Software Enables Corel WinDVD 9 Plus to Play Back SD Video Content at Near-HD Quality

Software has joined forces with Corel Corporation to create the first ever PC video player that can deliver a near-HD viewing experience from standard DVD-type video content. There is no need for new content: consumers can enjoy near-HD quality playback from their existing DVD collection on their laptop or home cinema PC today. By integrating LifeVibes ALL2HD software, Corel(R) WinDVD(R) 9 Plus offers unique picture enhancement. It outperforms other video playback software by enhancing motion smoothness, resolution and sharpness for sparkling performance. Corel WinDVD 9 Plus is a significant upgrade from WinDVD 8 Platinum, the world's number one DVD and video playback software.

LifeVibes ALL2HD is a software-only solution, based on NXP Software's proven Trimension(TM) technology, which draws on years of experience in the TV domain. Designed to run on today's dual core processor PCs, ALL2HD uses patented TrimensionTM natural motion technology to determine the format of the source video and improve the quality through unique techniques for deinterlacing, SD to near-HD quality upscaling and sharpening and motion correction. The result is a high-definition resolution, sharper picture, with no motion judder. Viewing is more pleasurable and relaxing on the eye. Moreover, LifeVibes ALL2HD creates this experience in real time.

"HD is a fantastic advance in viewing," said Michiel van Genuchten, Sr. Director Emerging Business, NXP Software. "And with LifeVibes ALL2HD integrated in Corel WinDVD 9 Plus, consumers can enjoy their existing DVD content on their laptop or PC in razor-sharp near-HD quality today."

"We are pleased to integrate All2HD technology in WinDVD 9 Plus as it provides near-HD quality playback at a price almost anyone can afford," said Jeff Hastings, President and General Manager, Digital Media at Corel. "Now users can easily improve the playback quality of their existing standard-definition DVDs and videos to near-HD quality." Corel WinDVD 9 Plus and WinDVD 9 Plus Blu-ray both employ Trimension All2HD upscaling technology to provide a near-HD playback experience when viewing standard-definition video and DVDs.

www.software.nxp.com

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