EMediaLive.com

Why has the road to online movie downloading been so pothole-strewn? (Click here to read Part 1 of this series, A Young Market Sruggles to Take Off.) Recently The Diffusion Group (TDG) research firm tried to answer that question with a market report that looks at Attributes of a Successful Online Movie Download Service: What the Consumer Wants. In the report, TDG president and principal analyst Michael Greeson identifies the major problems that have been inhibiting the market. Near the top of his list is “lack of premium content.” Go online and you’ll see what he means; very few of the legitimate (non-pirate) sites offer newly released movies, relying instead on classic films, popular movies from a year or two ago, foreign films, documentaries, and artsy stuff from independent filmmakers.

“Over the last several years when these online aggregators have been requesting top-dollar content, the studios have been resistant,” says Greeson. “This has been for a number of reasons--preservation of their DVD sales base, and not a lot of faith in the technology to properly protect their copyrights. They were very concerned about piracy. And there wasn’t deemed a sufficiently sizable audience to justify taking risks in such an environment. So they were slow to put their high-value content online, and that has held the market up. So it was kind of a chicken-and-egg situation. The technology had to mature and the audience had to grow before the content came. There was no real pressure to advance the technology, and it was impossible to build the audience without having decent content. So these factors kind of fed on one another and created an environment of uncertainty.”

However, things are changing. The studios “have come to realize that online downloading may not be as much of a threat as they perceived it to be,” Greeson says. And they are seeing a real audience materialize. “Thanks to YouTube, millions of consumers are using the web for video. There’s a sizable enough audience now such that the upside overcomes the downside risk,” he says.

One thing that makes high-value content high-value is timing. A movie that was high-value in 1998 is not high-value today. People want to download the latest releases as soon as possible, while they are still fresh. The DVD industry got a shot in the arm when some studios started releasing the DVD on the same “day and date” as the theatrical release. That same timeliness needs to occur in the online download business too, says Curt Marvis, CEO of CinemaNow, which is one of the few sites that currently offers DVD download-to-burn. Every new movie offered on DVD should also be offered on the same day and date to online users to buy or rent and/or burn to DVD-R, says Marvis. “That hasn’t been the case, and for this business to really take off and be meaningful, this needs to be the case,” he says.

The PC Pothole
Although the personal computer is the primary device for downloading movies from the internet, very few people actually want to watch movies on small PC monitors on their desktops. Most people prefer to watch movies on a big-screen TV in the comfort of their living room. This technological disconnect between download environment and viewing environment is probably the single most serious problem holding back this industry, according to Greeson.

One way to get movies from the PC to the living room is the home network route, but that hasn’t quite panned out. Masses of consumers haven’t embraced Media Center PC like Microsoft hoped they would. “Since most people don’t have their PC next to their TV, they have to use a home network,” says Greeson, “and setting that up and having one that can transfer high-quality video from the web to the TV is a daunting proposition.”

To try to eliminate wiring hassles and make home networking less daunting, Microsoft has been promoting third-party devices called Windows Media Center Extenders that serve to connect the TV to a PC wirelessly. Examples are the D-Link DSM-750 and the Niveus Media Extender. The technology is also being built into consumer electronic devices such as the DMA2000 DVD player from Linksys and the new MediaSmart LCD TVs from Hewlett-Packard.

Eventually these devices may help the situation, but most industry insiders are pretty ho-hum about them. “That’s an incremental solution from my point of view,” says CinemaNow’s Curt Marvis.

“As long as the download model is tied to the PC, the value to the consumer is very limited,” says Greeson. Reliance on the PC has made the whole movie download process user-unfriendly, something only a geek could enjoy, says Greeson. He doesn’t think the market will go anywhere as long as PCs are involved.

“Connected” TVs like the HP MediaSmart and wireless DVRs will help, but they may be too little too late, says Greeson, who believes it will be the good old set-top box that eventually wins the hearts and minds of movie-hungry couch potatoes. In this scenario, a set top box with a built-in microprocessor will replace the PC as movie access and download platform. Greeson says there is a whole new breed of easy and powerful broadband boxes just coming onto the market. He points in particular to the new Vudu box, about which he raves. But we’ve heard these golden predictions about set top box market before and they haven’t materialized. This whole set top box market has had as many false starts and company collapses as the movie download market itself.

(We’ll be dealing with the set-top box route to movie downloading in more detail in Part 3 or this series of articles.)

The SanDisk Sneakernet Solution
A novel yet simple solution to the PC-to-TV problem is offered by SanDisk, the company famous for its flash memory storage products (including USB flash drives, digital photo cards, and MP3 players). Once known as USBTV, this unique device is now called the Sansa TakeTV. It is a sort of throwback to the days when transferring content from one PC to another was a simple as storing a file on a floppy disk, then walking the disk over to the other PC. This procedure was called sneaker networking. In today’s sneakernets flash drives have replaced floppies, and this new SanDisk video player uses the same sort of flash storage technology.

Looking like a cross between an iPod and a USB flash drive, a Sansa TakeTV comes with a cradle which plugs into the standard A/V composite socket (or the S-Video port) of just about any TV. You insert the TakeTV’s USB prong into one of your PC’s USB ports and drag a movie file onto the device. Then you carry it to your TV and put it in its cradle. A menu pops up on your TV screen that helps you select and play your chosen content. The cover of the Sansa TakeTV unit also serves as a remote control.

For about $100, you can get a 4GB Sansa TakeTV capable of holding about 5 hours of video. The device supports DivX, XVID, and MPEG-4 formats. It works with Windows Vista, Windows XP, and the latest Mac and Linux OSs.

About the same time it launched TakeTV, SanDisk also launched a companion download service called Fanfare, which it calls a “content delivery service platform.” Currently Fanfare video content is a combination of free (ad-supported) and paid. On launch in October 2007, the service offered about 85 titles. But the fare currently available from Fanfare is primarily TV shows, such as Survivor and CSI. Content partners include CBS, Showtime, and The Weather Channel. Interestingly, SanDisk has struck a deal whereby Fanfare subscribers can access movies from Jaman, a site known for its high quality examples of independent films and “world cinema.” (More about Jaman in Part 3.)

The Portability Pothole
While most consumers prefer to watch movies on their TV sets in their living rooms, some don’t mind watching on a mobile device in an airplane or commuter train, and some would like the flexibility to move their movie into the bedroom or the den. In short, they want the flexibility of portability. They paid good money to download that movie and they don’t like being told how or where they can and can’t view that movie. Does anyone try to tell them where they can and can’t use their DVD discs? And so, although portability may not be the most-requested feature of a download service, those who want it really want it, and as the old saying goes: The customer is always right.

One technologically easy and direct way to give consumers portability is to simply allow them to burn a movie to a DVD-R disc. One company that has struggled to give consumers this right is EZTakes (see Part 1 of this series). “People do want content portability,” says EZTakes CEO Jim Flynn. “It would be great if you could just download to your PC and it would just magically appear on every device you have. That would be good, but realistically, if you want portability today, the most universally accepted way to do it right now is to burn a DVD.”

Along with EZTakes, another company that is pursuing the DVD download-to-burn option is CinemaNow. CEO Curt Marvis sees a consumer demand for portability and regards DVD burning as the easiest way to fulfill that demand. To that end he has been actively trying to persuade the Hollywood studios give consumers more control over the content they purchase, including the right to burn movies on DVD-R.

“A big push for us with all of our content partners (the studios and everybody else) is to broaden the basic rights that we receive, particularly around someone who has purchased a title, not rented it, but purchased and owns that title,” says Marvis. “As the digital age unfolds, it has become clear that when someone purchases a title, you have to have more flexibility around that purchase for it to be really satisfying. So we’ve been working with and negotiating with our studio partners to extend the rights that are granted to the user, and I think that includes getting it across to portable devices, being able to burn it, being able to keep it on your hard drive, watch it in your living room, et cetera.”

Unfortunately, fearing the piracy potential of the DVD-download-to-burn route, the Hollywood studios have held back their premium first-run content from online distribution sites. Marvis believes they won’t play ball until they get the assurance that all download-to-burn discs will use Content Scrambling System (CSS) protection, which is the current standard used on all commercially released packaged DVD movies. Sonic Solutions has a download-to-burn CSS solution called Qflix, but the scheme requires propriety new technology (such as specially designed Qflix DVD recordable discs), but does incorporate the CSS copy protection that may help get the movie studios on board. We'll look at Qflix and other download-and-burn technologies in Part 4 of this series.

Click here to read Part 1 of this series, A Young Market Sruggles to Take Off.

Mark Fritz (markfritz at intergrafix.net) is a contributing editor to EMedialive and Streaming Media.

Back to Contents...

The Authoritative Blu-ray Disc (BD) FAQ: Updates

Back to Contents...

Despite the Ramp of Blu-ray Drives, DVD Burners Will Continue to Be the Leading Volume Product Until 2012, According to IDC

Overall PC market growth, driven by portable PCs, will give the worldwide CD/DVD market a moderately positive outlook in 2008 and lead to increased demand for slim drives. Despite the ramp of Blu-ray drives, DVD burners will continue to be the leading volume product until 2012. However, as the PC market's adoption of DVD burners becomes saturated and increasingly commoditized, Blu-ray adoption will accelerate in 2009 and Blu-ray drives will become the majority of the total market value in 2012.

"DVD burners will remain the bread-and-butter business for ODD vendors," said Wolfgang Schlichting, research director, Removable Storage at IDC. "Despite Blu-ray's win over HDD in the format war, Blu-ray drive adoption will be limited in 2008 because of their high price and only moderate consumer interest."

Other market highlights includes:

DVD burners continue their race to become a commodity market. Aggressive volume manufacturers will continue to drive down the price, pushing technology leaders out of the mainstream optical disc drive (ODD) market.
Blu-ray disc (BD) won the format war over HD DVD, but similar to DVD and DVD burners, Blu-ray will need a three- to five-year ramp to reach mass-market volumes. New affordable BD-ROM drives will lead the way for the BD format's adoption.
More than 100 million Blu-ray drives will ship worldwide in 2011, IDC forecasts.

IDC's study, Worldwide Blu-Ray, DVD, CD, and Other Optical/Removable Storage Drive 2008–2012 Forecast and Analysis (IDC #211992) analyzes the worldwide Blu-ray Disc, HD DVD, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, CD-R/RW, combo, and DVD-Rec drive markets. Market value, unit shipments, drive prices, regional analysis and market share are provided. Additionally, unit shipments are analyzed and forecast by slim versus half-height form factor.

www.idc.com

Back to Contents...

Blue Ray Technologies to Open Hollywood Plant and Others Across US to Serve New BD and HD Demand

Blue Ray Technologies is planning to open multiple Blu-Ray disc production facilities across the U.S, starting with a facility near Hollywood to be close to the indie and major studios that have now all adopted Blu-ray.

The new facilities are designed to be capable of handling the next generation of movie and game discs, Blue-ray 2.0, which gives an interactive web dimension to the consumer, and offer up to "five layers of entertainment," according to BRT founder Erick Hansen, whose Hollywood move puts him closer to the studios he has worked with for years.

Hansen has also been in negotiations with the major studios through an affiliated company for downloadable high definition content over the Internet. While being a pioneer in DVD and now championing Blu-ray discs, Hansen also believes in delivering the best in movie and game content in whatever form the consumer wants it.

With the end of the format war, and 70% of the US having bought or buying HD screens (according to Nielsen figures) There is an "overwhelming" demand now for instant product in Blu-ray is the present and future in the arena, according to DVD pioneer and Blue Ray Technologies founder Erick Hansen.

Which he said means multiple production and shipping locations are needed to serve the demand, something never done before in this end of the industry. Especially for TV shows, from major sports like "NFL" or "NBA" to "American Idol" or "CSI", fans want their shows quickly, and if they missed an episode, online access does not give them HD, Blu-ray quality for their big screens.

The company is upgrading its Spokane, WA, plant and next facilities will be closer to Hollywood studios and networks. "We are looking for additional facilities in Southern California for the overwhelming demand for Blu-ray," said Hansen.Next he said "We will be looking to add additional capacity in the Mid-West and East Coast."He is not stopping at US production and distribution points. "By the end of the year, we will be working strategic partnerships in Europe to build a world-class global digital distribution system."

Hansen said "We not only have an interest in cutting transportation costs for the industry and delivery time for customers, it is BRT's 'green' policy mandate of working with the earth instead of against it."

Back to Contents...

NetBlender and BluFocus Partner to Deliver BD Touch Technology to the Blu-ray Industry

NetBlender and BluFocus have formed a partnership for the development, implementation, and certification of BD Touch technology for the Blu-ray industry. BD Touch is a new Blu-ray technology, developed by NetBlender, which allows iPhones and iPod Touch devices to interact with content on a Blu-ray disc.

Given BluFocus' experience and reputation with the development of Blu-ray interactive features and their advanced testing and certification methods, we believe this partnership will enable the Blu-ray industry to implement BD Touch interactivity with efficiency and confidence Under the new relationship, BluFocus will serve as the exclusive provider of BD Touch Software Development Kits (SDKs) to movie studios, authoring facilities and tools providers who wish to produce BD Touch applications with NetBlender's Blend/In SDK. BluFocus will also provide testing and certification services for BD Touch-enabled discs prior to replication.

"We are excited to be working with NetBlender and BD Touch because we feel that the BD Touch technology offers the first Blu-ray interactive experience that is designed to benefit the consumer and truly differentiate what Blu-ray has to offer from that of standard DVD," said Paulette E. Pantoja, founder and CEO of BluFocus. "This two screen environment unlocks endless creative possibilities for a dynamic and engaging user experience with a Blu-ray disc."

"Given BluFocus' experience and reputation with the development of Blu-ray interactive features and their advanced testing and certification methods, we believe this partnership will enable the Blu-ray industry to implement BD Touch interactivity with efficiency and confidence," said John Harrington, NetBlender CEO. "Together our two companies offer the Blu-ray industry an unparalleled BD-Live solution."

www.netblender.com
www.blufocus.com

Back to Contents...

Disc Makers Offers Falconmedia Pro Recordable Media To Performance-Oriented Customers

Falcon Technologies International (FTI), the worldwide leading manufacturer of optical data storage discs for professional and archival applications, today announced that is has formed a partnership with Disc Makers to offer the full line of FalconMedia Pro optical recording media to Disc Makers’ customers. Disc Makers is offering FalconMedia Pro products directly to end-users through its catalogs and Website, and as an option for duplication services and on-disc printing. FTI recording media delivers unrivaled reliability and durability along with innovative features and advanced surface formulations for superior recording and printing performance.

"FTI and Disc Makers have built a strong business relationship on the foundation of our shared commitment to excellence," said Mr. Adel Michael, co-founder and CEO of Falcon Technologies International (FTI). "As a complete replication service bureau, and the nation’s largest independent supplier of automated disc printers and duplication systems, Disc Makers is ideally positioned to play an important role in facilitating FTI’s initiative to become the primary supplier of recording media for professional applications in the U.S. market."

"Falcon’s professional grade media solutions are known for unparalleled reliability and compatibility, "said Tony van Veen, President of Disc Makers. "We are excited to partner with Falcon and continue to offer our customers the best optical media available."

FalconMedia Pro discs give Disc Makers’ customers a quality advantage. In addition to a variety of printable surface formulations, available features include Ultra Hard Coat scratch resistance technology, and gold reflective layer formulations offering up to 300 years of archival lifespan.

Print, Protect, Archive
FTI’s printable discs are the perfect solutions for professional disc duplication and printing applications. Available for inkjet and thermal disc printers, FalconMedia Pro printable discs combine crisp, clear surface printing capabilities with exceptional recording and playback performance. The discs feature print-to-hub surfaces that enable printing all the way to each disc’s hub for maximum visual impact.

FTI’s Ultra Hard Coat (UHC) anti-scratch protection is the most reliable solution to protect mission-critical data against potential disc surface contaminants and mishandling. Applied to the media’s polycarbonate layer during the manufacturing process, UHC technology dramatically increases the disc’s scratch resistance and also helps fend off other contaminants such as smudges from fingerprints. Because most spills and other contaminants cannot readily bind to the UHC surface, the disc easily wipes clean. Performance is not impacted, and the data is protected.

With its innovative formulations, FTI has achieved an archival lifespan of more than 300 years for FalconMedia Pro Full Gold EP recordable CD media, and more than 100 years for FalconMedia Pro Gold EP recordable DVD media. A 24k gold reflective layer provides maximum resistance to degradation caused by environmental factors such as corrosion, a major cause of failure in standard media. Both solutions have been subjected to accelerated aging conditions, confirming the discs’ archival life-spans.

www.discmakers.com

Back to Contents...

Xbox 360 First Gaming System to Reach 10 Million in U.S. Console Sales This Generation

Microsoft Corp. today announced that the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system has sold over 10 million units in the U.S., making it the first current-generation gaming console to break the 10 million mark in the U.S. The U.S. install base contributes to global sales of over 19 million, more than any other current-generation console.

“This year will be the largest in the history of the video game industry, with Xbox 360 leading the charge in the U.S. and abroad,” said Don Mattrick, senior vice president of the Interactive Entertainment Business in the Entertainment and Devices Division at Microsoft. “History has shown us that the first company to reach 10 million in console sales wins the generation battle. We are uniquely positioned to set a new benchmark for the industry.”

This announcement comes on the heels of one of the biggest entertainment launches in history, Grand Theft Auto IV, on April 29, 2008. Gamers eager to experience Grand Theft Auto IV online helped boost Xbox LIVE global membership to over 12 million this month. Fueled by an unparalleled combination of access to friends and family, the best online gaming features, and the best entertainment content, the Xbox LIVE service has doubled in membership in only one year’s time.

“Reaching an installed base of 10 million consoles in the U.S. is a significant achievement and an essential milestone on the road to market leadership,” said Billy Pidgeon, research manager at IDC. “Perhaps more important is the Xbox 360 worldwide online base — 12 million Xbox LIVE gamers is the largest community in the connected console games sector, which represents the greatest growth opportunity in the console market and where Microsoft has been the leader for two generations.”

Xbox 360 leads with the industry’s highest software attach rate, more than any other console this generation, and is home to the best-selling games. With the launch of Grand Theft Auto IV in April, Xbox 360 is now the home to more than 16 platinum titles that have sold through 1 million units or more, including hits such as Halo 3, Madden NFL 07 and Madden NFL 08, Gears of War, Guitar Hero II, and Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, and Call of Duty® 2, Call of Duty 3, and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, giving Xbox 360 two times more platinum-selling titles than the Wii and a 16:2 lead over the PlayStation 3 in game titles topping one million in sales. Games not only sell better on the Xbox 360, they play better, too: Xbox 360 has 91 titles with a Metacritic review score of 80 or higher, compared with just 22 titles for Wii and 50 titles for PlayStation 3.

http://www.xbox.com/en-us/live

Back to Contents...

Ridata Adds Ultra-Large 32GB Model To Its Ultra-Fast, 233X LIGHTNING Series Of Compact Flash Cards

Advanced Media, Inc., manufacturer and marketer of the popular Ridata brand of recordable DVD, flash media, electronic storage products, and digital accessories, has introduced a 32GB model to its 233x Lightning Series of CompactFlash(r) cards. Proving size does matter in memory cards, it boasts one of the largest capacities, fastest transfer rates available in a CF card. It joins existing 233x Series models featuring 2GB - 16GB storage capacities.

"Mobile digital products continue to get more and more sophisticated," commented Harvey Liu, president of Advanced Media, Inc. "To that end, they require more data storage and faster read times. Our new 32GB 233x Lightning Series CompactFlash card delivers both. In today's digital flash media world, size matters. And Ridata has it."

The new Ridata 32GB/233X CF card is perfect for users of higher megapixel digital cameras. Its large 32GB capacity allows the user to store more photos, while virtually eliminating nagging wait time for data to record. Consumers are strongly urged to check the hardware device specifications to ensure the device used will work with higher capacity CF cards using the FAT32 file system.

As with all Ridata CF products, this latest introduction conforms to the CompactFlash Association Standard, is PC card Standard and PC card ATA compatible as it is with true IDE mode. It is designed to work with most devices and operating systems. It is also very durable and can withstand an extreme temperature range from below freezing to very high heat.

Its 233x high-speed reading (approximately 35MB/s) and 80x high-speed writing (about 12MB/s) are achieved by dual-channel data throughput. (Note: Speeds may vary depending on device used.) An automatic power management feature assures low power consumption.

The card includes many superior technical features Ridata products are known for. It is host ATA disk I/O BIOS, DOS and Windows file system, utilities, and application software compatible. Its controller supports Ultra DMA Mode up to Mode 4. CIS is implemented with 256 bytes of attribute memory. It supports 8 or 16-bit host transfers with any host speed using IORDY. An Error Correction Code (ECC) is embedded. The card also provides forward and backward functionality. It carries a two-year warranty.

Ridata markets two distinct series of CompactFlash cards: Lightning and Supreme. They make perfect choices in solid-state mass-storage cards for hand-held devices such as digital cameras, MP3 players, PDAs, or applications that require high-environmental tolerance. Both cards offer flash technology ruggedness, reliability, performance, and convenience.

Cost and Availability
The Ridata 32GB 233x Lightning Series CompactFlash(r) card has an SRP of $199.00. As with other Ridata products, it is available through selected retailers, Ridata distributors, and at various online outlets. A complete listing of locations may be found on the Advanced Media/Ridata website. It is available now for shipping.

For more information, visit http://www.ritekusa.com.

Back to Contents...

North Coast Interactive Announces Special offer for ProDisc Users

North Coast Interactive announces the “CD Rescue” program for users of ProDisc thermal printable CD-R Media. In light of the recent patent dispute involving ProDisc and Philips, NCI is offering special pricing on its UltraPrint line of Everest thermal printable CD-R media through June 30th, 2008.

“Our UltraPrint media offers superior performance to the comparable ProDisc media, however we understand many people have used the ProDisc media in the past due to their slight price advantage.” explains Thomas Blaha, President of North Coast Interactive Inc. “We want to be sure that those using ProDisc media have a viable supplier of affordable, high quality, properly licensed media to meet their production requirements in the future. To help in the transition we are offering special pricing for a limited time to anyone wishing to switch to our UltraPrint media.”

The discount pricing applies to all quantities and styles of UltraPrint CD-R media including UltraPrint, UltraPrint-M, and UltraPrint-D media. All UltraPrint media is satisfaction guaranteed.

For more information on this special offer and details about UltraPrint media please visit the NCI website.

Back to Contents...

ASUS Introduces DRW-20B1S/B1ST X-Multi Drive with Optimal Tuning Strategy

Catering to users that demand increased data storage, ASUS, a leading provider of high-performance optical storage devices, today announced the new DRW-20B1S/B1ST – an industry leading DVD rewriter that supports 12X DVD-RAM write, 20X DVD+/-R and 12X DVD+/-R double layer media sources. It also features Optimal Tuning Strategy – a technology that automatically adjusts burning for optimum disc backups; and E-Green Engine for great energy savings.

Automatic Adjustments for Optimum Disc Backup with Optimal Tuning Strategy (OTS)
The ASUS DRW-20B1S/B1ST is equipped with an innovative feature – Optimal Tuning Strategy (OTS) that provides users with improved disc burning for better total write quality. With OTS, the drive will perform a test burning before really burning the disc, and OTS is intelligent enough to encompass both media and drive variations, as well as operating temperatures into its calculations – allowing it to provide the optimal write speeds to produce the optimal burning strategy for the new disc. After the disc is burnt, OTS memorizes the particular type of disc, and will utilize the same burning strategy when the same type of disc is used. This not only reduces the possibility to burn unplayable discs, it also provides high quality backups and improves compatibility so that the disc can more easily be read by other drives; as well as extends the lifetime of drives.

Enjoy Energy Savings with E-Green Engine (Energy-Green Engine)
Another innovation of the DRW-20B1S/B1ST is the E-Green Engine technology. This handy feature provides an E-Green Mode which activates when the drives are idle for 2.5 minutes. Once activated, drive applications are closed when not in use to help conserve energy – helping the environment by saving energy, and in turn decreasing CO2 emissions and reducing the depletion of trees. According to in-depth calculations: on average, the PATA and SATA versions of the drive will provide 75% and 27% power savings respectively over competing solutions.

Versatility with Multiple Media Formats
Flexibility for a wide array of media formats is also very important. The ASUS DRW-20B1S/B1ST offers both 20X DVD-Write and 20X DVD+Write, making it capable of reading from and writing on DVD-Write/ Rewrite and DVD+Write/ Rewrite formats. With dual-format adopting features, the DRW-20B1S/B1ST is able to create DVDs that can be played and read by most DVD-ROM drives and DVD players. It also enables 12X DVD-RAM, 6X DVD-Rewrite, 8X DVD+Rewrite, 16X DVD-ROM single layer, 48X CD-R, 32X CD-RW and 48X CD-ROM capabilities – providing flexible and high-speed operations for a variety of formats.

New Generation Airflow Field Modification (AFFMII)
Noise and vibration are two major headaches users encounter when using a high-speed drive. AFFMII is designed to change the uneven airflow field inside the drive to balance pressure distribution – leading to quieter and more stable operations.

Auto Vibration Reducing System (AVRS)
The AVRS technology is designed to minimize the vibrations caused by the spindle motor and resonance between components, as well as the drive and PC chassis. AVRS is designed to reduce vibration and noise induced by unbalanced mass of rotating machinery. With AVRS, the DRW-20B1S/B1ST will provide high readability and playability.

For more information regarding ASUS optical storage devices or other quality products, visit the company webpage at www.asus.com.

Back to Contents...

Falcon Technologies International Achieves 300 Year Archival Lifespan For Its Superior Performance CD-R Optical Discs

Falcon Technologies International (FTI), the leading manufacturer of optical data storage discs for professional and archival applications, today introduced a complete line of FalconMedia Pro Century Gold CD-R and DVD-R media with specially-optimized 24k Gold reflective layer designs and formulations that offer ultra-long 300 and 100 year archival lifespans, respectively, based on accelerated aging tests.

Like all FTI media, the discs deliver best-in-class recording performance and reliability. The discs’ long archival capabilities make them the ideal solutions for a wide variety of applications, including the preservation of important documents such as company and government records, photographs and video files.

“Our archival grade discs are the solutions users can trust to stand the test of time,” commented Mr. Fred Perez, National Sales Director of FTI America. “With the introduction of a complete line of FalconMedia Pro Century media, we are building on our strong reputation of offering discs that combine superior recording and playback performance with remarkable archival lifespans.”

The remarkable archival lifespan of FalconMedia Pro Century media has been realized through strategic cooperation with leading Japanese technology partner, Mitsubishi (MKM), which yields the best-of-class technology in advanced material deposition techniques and optimizes precise manufacturing processes.

By applying the specially-designed Gold reflective layers, the FalconMedia Pro Century media offers the best resistance to atmospheric oxidation that is one the primary causes of corrosion and data loss over time in standard CD and DVD media. For optimum protection, the FTI patented hard coat technology, called “Ultra Hard Coat,” is applied to the critical data-side of the Century discs during the manufacturing process. “Ultra Hard Coat” is fifty (50) times more resistant against scratches than non-hard coated media. The Ultra Hard Coat (UHC) ® protection is the most reliable solution to protect mission-critical data against potential scratches by mishandling and other contaminants that could interfere with the laser, causing data errors or loss of data. Because most spills, smudges and finger prints cannot attach to the UHC-covered surface, the discs stay cleaner so performance is not impacted, and the data stays protected.

All FalconMedia Pro Century discs are available in 10 or 25 Cake box, with optional inkjet and thermal printable surfaces. FTI printable discs combine crisp, clear surface printing capabilities with exceptional recording and playback performance. The discs feature print-to-hub surfaces that enable full surface printing for maximum visual impact.

Back to Contents...

Spectra Logic Adds FalconStor Virtual Tape Library And Deduplication To nTier Disk Products

Spectra Logic, the data storage innovator, has signed a joint partnership agreement with FalconStor Software Inc., where Spectra will integrate FalconStor® Virtual Tape Library and deduplication software on its nTier Intelligent Secondary Storage (ISS) appliances. The bundled solution eliminates storage of redundant data on the nTier disk backup target while maintaining integration with the tape archive solution. Spectra Logic pre-configures and optimizes the nTier Deduplication feature to ensure it arrives ready to deploy, saving customers' hours of installation and configuration time.

"Spectra Logic is well established in disk and tape library-based data protection, backup and archive," said Bernie Wu, vice president of business development at FalconStor. "We are pleased to partner with Spectra and look forward to working with them to provide customers with easy to deploy, highly scalable, enterprise-proven virtual tape technology."

Spectra's nTier ISS disk backup products—the nTier300, 500 and 700—are scalable from 10TB to 600 TB logical capacity, and are ideal for SMB and enterprise customers. The new nTier300, at just 3U, is uniquely suited for remote offices with smaller data sets, and will begin shipping this week. Spectra's nTier ISS line, powered by FalconStor VTL software, offers replication, global deduplication and scalability for any sized customer. The nTier300 is designed for small and distributed offices, the nTier500 for small to medium enterprises, and the nTier700 for large enterprises.

"Spectra's dedupe capability integrates with its BlueScale management interface, making it easy for organizations to leverage dedupe for disk-based backup and archive," said Heidi Biggar, analyst for ESG. "Further, Spectra's dedupe capability makes it possible for organizations with multiple remote offices to de-duplicate data across sites before any data is moved over the WAN, making the dedupe impact that much greater."

"Adding deduplication is a natural addition to Spectra Logic's feature set, given its high customer demand," said Nathan Thompson, Spectra Logic's CEO. "The FalconStor partnership is a perfect match and helps further Spectra Logic's dedication to secondary storage. Spectra can now offer global replication and deduplication capabilities to tens of thousands of existing tape library users, and open the doors for new business opportunities."

Pricing and GA
The Spectra nTier300 offers a virtual tape library (VTL) interface, FC or Ethernet connections, remote replication and global deduplication with an average of 20:1 data compression. Spectra nTier Deduplication begins shipping this week. Entry-level list pricing for an nTier300 with deduplication functionality begins at $12,500. Spectra will also offer FalconStor's enterprise solutions, which have the capability to scale beyond 1PB of logical storage.

www.spectralogic.com

Back to Contents...

ENTER HERE!