Nobody wants a PC in the living room. When movie buffs collapse on the sofa, they want to leave behind the frustrations of the workaday world and especially the device that, for many, is the primary source of their workaday frustrations--that fiendish thing that sits on their desktops bedeviling them like a demon-possessed machine from a Stephen King novel.

So when it comes to creating a market for the consumption of home-based digital video entertainment via the Internet, you can forget the PC. That, at least, is the opinion of more than a few analysts who follow the movie download market.

“Movie downloading definitely has a place in the future, but its future is largely dependent on people forgetting that it has anything to do with a PC or broadband,” says Michael Greeson, president and principal analyst at The Diffusion Group (TDG). People don’t care about the source of their movies or what route the movie takes on its way to their homes, he says; they just want the movie and they want it now. And they want the process to be easy; and so far, thanks largely to dependence on the PC, the process has been far from it.

“As long as the usage model was confined to the PC, the value of digital downloads has been very limited,” says Greeson. “And that’s why very few people have partaken. Our surveys show that less the 10 percent of adult broadband users have ever downloaded a movie. Now, that’s going to change, but gradually. I’m looking at a time horizon to critical mass (16-20 million users in the U.S.) of 3 to 5 years. You’re going to see broadband video incorporated into the television experience at a growing clip, but the problem is: getting it there as easily as possible. Once they get broadband video to the television set, then the movie download services will really start to take off.”

INTRODUCING THE NEW IMPROVED ALTERNATIVE SET-TOP BOX
So what’s the easiest way to get a movie to a television set? In the cable world it is usually done rather easily through the use of a set-top box. But until recently most independent movie-buff Internet surfers were pretty much forced to tackle the complexities of setting up a home network (whether they really wanted one or not), so they could transfer their downloaded movies from the PC in the home office or bedroom to the TV in the living room.

“Now you are seeing solutions coming out that are saying: forget the PC altogether; let’s just give you a set-top box that you can hook up to your television set and a broadband connection, and there you go, you’re in. Leave the PC out,” says Greeson.

These new standalone broadband set-top boxes represent a whole new world for movie downloading, according to Greeson. So far, it is a very small world dominated by two primary participants – Apple TV and VUDU. But the general approach has great potential, he says.

Strictly speaking, these new devices like Apple TV and VUDU could be called “IP set-top boxes,” but the term is more commonly applied to the large array of IPTV set-top boxes from companies like Motorola, Thomson, Sagem, ADB, and Scientific-Atlanta. Such set-top boxes are used by telcos to create proprietary closed-loop IP networks for the delivery of TV and live video, and thus, compete with cable. In contrast, this new breed of telco-independent consumer devices is, to quote Monty Python, something completely different.

“I don’t know if there’s a great succinct name yet for the category of products represented by Apple TV and VUDU,” says Kurt Scherf, who has been closely following this emerging market as VP and principal analyst for Parks Associates. “I’ve called them ‘alternative set-top boxes’ or ‘alternative video-on-demand boxes.’ You could call them ‘over-the-top video boxes’ or ‘broadband video boxes’ would work, too.”

Well, “alternative” is probably the best adjective to use in describing these devices, and you may as well jettison the term “set-top” altogether, since nothing literally sits on top of TV sets anymore, since the flatter, thinner digital TVs have arrived. How about “alternative broadband VOD boxes”?

Michelle Abraham, a principal analyst at In-Stat, calls these boxes “Internet set-top boxes” and agrees with Scherf that the terminology is confusing and still evolving. She also agrees that these devices are a breed apart from the “standard” IP set-top boxes.

Whatever you call these boxes, their advantage, according to Greeson, is their independence from proprietary IPTV and cable systems, home networks, and--above all--the PC.

“The first version of Apple TV required it to go to the PC and from the PC out across the network to set-top boxes and into the TV. Now, the new version of Apple TV (they call it Apple TV Take 2) doesn’t require a PC, which was a smart move on Apple’s part. But VUDU beat them to the punch, introducing a standalone set-top box that you just hook up to your TV and your broadband,” says Greeson.

“Any time you invite the PC into the equation, you are setting yourself up for complexity. The virtue of these new VUDU set-top boxes is they really are plug and play, much like your old solid state consumer electronics. You plug them in and the setup is real, real easy.”

Greeson personally owns a VUDU box and he says he was really impressed by how easy VUDU made the setup procedure. “In my living room I’m doing direct Ethernet connection into the VUDU box and HDMI from the VUDU box to the TV set. It’s just like cable; it’s a very elegant experience.”

In comparison, digital media extenders “are still significantly more complex to set up,” says Greeson, and setting up a home network, in general, is still miles away from being an elegant experience. This doesn’t bode well for the success potential of the PC/home network alternative, but it does bode well for the set-top box route, according to Greeson.

THE ALTERNATIVE SET-TOP BOX CONTENDERS
Right now you can count the number of “alternative broadband video box” providers on one hand. As already mentioned, you’d have to count Apple TV and VUDU on fingers one and two. TiVo may deserve to be counted on finger three, thanks to its movie-downloading partnership with Amazon.

Then there’s the Internet-connectable game boxes: Microsoft’s Xbox and Sony’s PlayStation3. Are they set-top boxes? Well, if you set them on top of your set, they are.

APPLE TV
Apple is king of the hill in this new market niche, due to a head start provided by being king of the hill in the music download world--iPod, iTunes, iPhone, etc. But like most things Apple-made, it is somewhat constrained to the Apple world. Because it doesn’t want its captive audience to stray, Apple designed the box to be an iTunes-centric device.

To make matters worse, in order to play content on an Apple TV, it has to be in certain formats. Fortunately, there’s an “Export to Apple TV” option in QuickTime and in some other third party content conversion tools. This allows users to re-encode unsupported formats into supported formats, but is that something the average non-geek movie buff wants to get involved in?

Being tied to a proprietary platform like this is a huge constraint to anyone who wishes to be able to EASILY take advantage of the ocean of content awash the Internet. (But to be fair, this is also true to some extent of every box in this category; almost all of them all try to tie the user to a single content source.)

As Greeson already mentioned, the first generation Apple TV box was not a standalone device. It was limited to being a network device. To take advantage of it, you had to hook it up to a PC via a network. Users would have to go to iTunes and download movies onto their PC; the Apple TV would then access the movies from the PC over a home network. When Apple released the Take 2 software for the Apple TV in early 2008, the box could then be connected directly to the Internet and used to access iTunes directly.

Apple TV purchasers have bemoaned the fact that the machine doesn’t offer DVR capabilities, but that can be added through third-party software running on a PC. This, however, requires that you have your Apple TV connected to your PC via a home network.

VUDU
The VUDU box burst upon the scene in the fall of 2007 after four years of secretive development by VUDU, Inc, a small start-up based in Santa Clara, CA. Its product team is made up of veterans from companies such as TiVo, WebTV, Openwave, 2Wire, Slim Devices, and OpenTV. The box embodies effortless video on demand sans PC. As the company proclaimed in their product announcement: “now consumers never have to leave the couch to watch their favorite movies.”

VUDU employs MPEG-4 video and Dolby audio. Thanks to the use of P2P technology, viewers can usually begin watching their movie choices almost immediately and not have to wait for buffering – provided they have at least a 2 Mbps broadband connection for standard def content (which VUDU says is DVD quality) or 4 Mbps for HD (1080p) content.

The major complaint about VUDU has been lack of compelling content (i.e., the latest and greatest movie releases from the major studios). On launch VUDU said it had a library of 5000 movies from “all the major Hollywood studios and 20 independent and international film distributors.” Later VUDU added about 100 High Definition movies and “hundreds” of TV shows to the library. Content can be rented or purchased. VUDU has also added to their library a bunch of B-movies from the 1940s and 1950s that can be rented for free.

Another complaint about the VUDU box has been its price. Upon release in 2007 it cost $399. In January 2008 the company cut the price to $295 to put it closer in line to its main competitor, the Apple TV.

COMPARING APPLES & ORANGES (or in this case, VUDUs)
Because they are so different, it is probably not fair to compare Apple TV and VUDU, but it is unavoidable. Whether you prefer VUDU or Apple TV may depend on whether you buy the argument that nobody wants a PC in his living room and, if so, how strictly you interpret the rule.

What for one person may be VUDU’s or Apple TV’s biggest minus could be another person’s biggest plus. Take Parks Associates’ Kurt Scherf, for example. Like The Diffusion Group’s Michael Greeson, Scherf owns a VUDU box. While Greeson says: “VUDU is just incredible. I use it all the time,” Scherf is not as enamored. He liked how easy it was to set up but wasn’t much impressed beyond that.

“Due to the unavailability of content, VUDU is a constant let down,” says Scherf. “Every now and then my wife and I will go to the VUDU box and think: boy, is there something interesting we can watch? And typically the answer is no.”

Scherf prefers the Apple TV as a living room-based entertainment box. “The Apple TV has more functionality than the VUDU box, for sure,” he says. “It can act as a media adapter and talk to your PC and display your photos on the TV and things like that, and those are useful applications for a number of consumers. The music application is significant too. We just put out a press release about our study that shows that more and more people are listening to music (their MP3 collections) on their TVs. Consumers are finding music to be a really nice-to-have feature, the ability to call up their iTunes music collection and play that on their TV. VUDU is really constrained because all it does is allow you to rent movies or download a few movies or TV shows, nothing other than that.”

You can tell that Scherf isn’t one of those who accepts the “nobody wants a PC in the living room” argument. He believes there are many advantages to having a PC (or a network router) in the living room. Therefore, it is natural that he would prefer the Apple TV, because, in this category, it is the nearest thing to being a PC.

“There are advantages to letting your PC do some of the heavy lifting and storage of other kinds of content,” says Scherf. “Photos and music are two types of content which we believe more and more consumers will want to have access to on various devices and will require that that device talk to your home computer.”

While some analysts have interpreted the home networking market as nearly dead, Scherf sees it as just taking a nap. He says that certain types of home networks had actually gotten off to a pretty good start. “If you’re talking about wireless access points or routers, that market has been quite successful; more than 30 million homes have these types of home networks already,” he says. But it’s the next generation of home networks that has been problematic. “We’ve all been waiting for years and years to see this next generation, which will be heavily entertainment-centric, and it hasn’t come to fruition yet.”

Scherf doesn’t believe these “alternative set-top boxes” will dominate the movie download market, merely fill a needed gap, which is good, because they will help grow the market. But he doesn’t see them being the be-all and end-all. He thinks the market for Internet video solutions will remain diverse for quite some time with no one platform soon dominating. And he believes the home network will remain an important solution and continue to grow.

TiVo/AMAZON UNBOX (or VoD)
It used to be fair to consider a TiVo as merely a cable-centric DVR, but the company has been expanding the capabilities of its boxes and reaching out for new markets. What puts TiVo into this new alternative box category is a package deal for movie downloading called “Amazon Unbox on TiVo,” which it has been offering its purchasers.

Subscribers to the Amazon Unbox on Tivo service can either download movies to their PCs and then transfer them to their TiVo via a home network, or they can access Unbox directly from their Internet-connected TiVo. When visiting the Amazon Website directly from their TiVo, shoppers must look for the TiVo logo to find “TiVo-enabled” videos. When shopping via their PC, they must choose their TiVo DVR as a “RemoteLoad download destination.”

In July Amazon announced that it will replace its Unbox service with a new service called Amazon Video on Demand. Evan Young, Director of Broadband Services at TiVo assures that the relationship with Amazon is an “ongoing” one and that “the service continues.” He regards Amazon’s new service as being more like an extension of Unbox than a replacement, and he says the change-over will merely require a name change. The new name for the Amazon/TiVo service will likely be: Amazon Video on Demand on TiVo. “When Amazon makes the name change, we’ll be in lock step and make the change as well to avoid confusion,” he says.

According to a July 17 article in the New York Times, Amazon Unbox was originally a download-only store, which was “largely seen as a disappointment because it required customers to download special software to watch the programs they bought. The service also worked only on Windows PCs and TiVo set-top boxes.” In contrast, the new Amazon video store will stream content “just like programs on a cable video on-demand service.” This will permit customers to begin viewing a movie or video almost immediately, rather than have to wait for the movie to download. Amazon will be offering over 40,000 movies and television programs from most of the major studios and TV networks.

Young says that for now TiVo/Amazon service will remain unchanged, which means that content will remain available for download only (for purchase or rent) and not be streamed, as the content will be through the new Amazon Video on Demand service. Young also points out that the current TiVo/Amazon service uses progressive downloading which allows for nearly immediate playback of content, nearly equivalent to streaming.

The pairing of TiVo and Amazon is an interesting one, and it raises the question – is the ideal broadband set-top box a DVR? And could it be the DVR that eventually dominates this market? Stay tuned.

Mark Fritz (markfritz at intergrafix.net) is a freelance writer based in Bloomsburg, Pa., and a contributing editor to EMedialive and Streaming Media.

Disc Makers, the leader in optical disc manufacturing for independent artists, filmmakers, and businesses, today announces new Recession Fighter Packages for select retail-ready CD replication packages. The company created these special, deeply discounted packages for working musicians struggling to make ends meet during the current economic slowdown. Available packages include CDs in jewel cases with 2, 4, and 6-panel folders, as well as CDs in board jackets.

For example, a 1000 piece Recession Fighter CD package with a two-panel insert, regularly priced at $1,190 is now available for just $890. Disc Makers’ Recession Fighter packages are completely retail ready, and include all glass mastering, replication, on-disc printing, insert printing, and packaging required. The company explains that the primary difference between Recession Fighter packages and its regular packages is the delivery time.

Disc Makers President Tony van Veen commented that “many of our customers are working musicians, and they’ve been hard hit during these unsettled economic times. We realized that if we could have some scheduling flexibility, allowing us to manufacture Recession Fighter packages during those times of the week when we have some excess capacity in the plant, we could run them more cheaply and pass the savings on to the artist.” For this reason Recession Fighter packages take longer than Disc Makers’ Standard Turn Time packages. “We need 15 to 20 business days to complete a Recession Fighter package, versus just 10 days for a Standard package. If the artist can plan ahead enough, they can save $300..or even more,” added van Veen.

For artists on a tight schedule Disc Makers continues to offer its Standard as well as its Priority turn time packages. Sample prices for 1,000 CDs (the most popular quantity) compare as follows:

Recession Fighter Package pricing is good through 12/31/08, and some additional limitations, terms, and conditions apply. For more details musicians can go to www.discmakers.com/fighter.

Building on a groundbreaking technology partnership announced earlier this year, LG Electronics and Netflix, Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) today announced plans for the first Blu-ray disc player that will have the added benefit of being able to instantly stream a growing library of movies and TV episodes from Netflix directly to the TV.

Available this fall, the LG BD300 Network Blu-ray Disc Player will play high definition Blu-ray discs, up-convert standard DVDs to 1080p and allow Netflix subscribers to instantly stream more than 12,000 choices of movies and TV episodes from Netflix to the TV for no additional charge.

LG Electronics and Netflix will demonstrate the BD300 Network Blu-ray Disc Player for the first time tonight at LG's 2008 Summer Line Show at Morgan Library and Museum in New York City. (The event is open to invited media only.)

Instantly streaming content from Netflix to the TV via the LG BD300 Network Blu-ray Disc Player will rely on a wired broadband connection and Queue-based user interface. Netflix members will use the Netflix Web site to add movies and TV episodes to their individual instant Queues. Those choices will automatically be displayed on members' TVs and available to watch instantly through the LG player. Once selected, movies will begin playing in as little as 30 seconds. With the BD300's accompanying remote control, Netflix members will be able to browse and make selections right on the TV screen and also have the ability to read synopses and rate movies. In addition, they will have the option of fast-forwarding and rewinding the video stream.

"As Blu-ray player sales are expected to triple in three years, consumers are craving content and seeking a premium home entertainment experience," said LG Electronics USA President Teddy Hwang. "The BD300 is another LG industry first and provides consumers with an advanced high-def disc player with unparalleled flexibility and networked access for services such as Netflix."

Consumers craving more content will appreciate the BD Live feature, which provides real-time interactivity for movie enthusiasts seeking extras, new previews or special content while BonusView provides picture-in-picture access to Blu-ray disc special features. To further personalize and simplify the home theater experience, the BD300 includes LG's SimpLink(TM) technology, which allows users to control similarly equipped LG TV and AV products via convenient on-screen menus or directly from the product itself.

In January, prior to the 2008 International CES(R), LG Electronics and Netflix announced their technology partnership to provide a set-top box for consumers to stream movies and TV episodes from the Internet to the TV beginning in the second half of the year.

"LG Electronics is establishing itself as the innovation leader in consumer electronics, combining the best of broadband and Blu-ray connectivity," said Netflix Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO Reed Hastings. "LGElectronics was the first of our technology partners to publicly embrace our strategy for getting the Internet to the TV, and is the first to introduce a Blu-ray player that will instantly stream movies and TV episodes from Netflix to the TV."

www.lgusa.com
www.netflix.com

Burning and printing large volumes of discs has never been easier, thanks to a new range of DVD and CD duplication towers from StorDigital. The new standalone LightScribe duplicators are available in configuration from 1 to 15 targets and allow users to burn and label their discs in a traditional-style standalone tower copier. This is the perfect solution for any company or individual who wants to make the best impression with their disc.

StorDigital LightScribe duplicators feature patented HP LightScribe disc labeling technology. By utilising a special disc, LightScribe duplicator operators are able to burn their discs, then flip them and then burn a label or image on to the top of the disc. By offering duplicators featuring this enhanced functionality StorDigital Systems are revolutionising the traditional in-house production process.

Nic Ranshaw (MD of CD-writer.com and CEO of StorDigital Systems) had this to say: "The introduction of our LightScribe duplicators really does represent a turning point in the way people approach disc publishing. Traditionally if a tower duplicator customer wished to produce a disc that is both copied and labeled they would have to purchase a separate printer. We have transformed the process, making production simpler and reducing expenditure.“

He added, "We don’t consider that the LightScribe system is perfect for everybody. It won’t replace our automated inkjet printers, but having a tower duplicator that can also label your discs is a strong selling point".

StorDigital LightScribe duplicators featuring HP LightScribe technology are available now from CD-writer.com Ltd and StorDigital Systems. To register for a CD-writer.com trade account log on to http://reseller.cd-writer.com.

Retail customers can get more information and buy online at www.cd-writer.com/lightscribe.html.

Safe Harbor Computers, a leading supplier to professional videographers, today announced the release of “HDV & Blu-ray for the RT.X2,” hosted by Jeff Pulera.

This DVD, aimed at all levels of RT.X2 users, provides over 90 minutes of unique instruction on the steps, tips, and tricks necessary to maximize an HDV-to-Blu-ray workflow in the RT.X2.

Highlights include:

• The technical details of HDV and Blu-ray
• Supported HD formats and ingest procedures
• The proper workflow for using HD with your RT.X2
• Monitoring options including downconversion
• Mixed-format editing and aspect ratio conversions
• Encoding options and settings for Blu-ray
• Blu-ray menu creation using Encore and Photoshop

Pricing and Availability
“HDV and Blu-ray for the RT.X2” is available exclusively from Safe Harbor Computers. Suggested retail is $49.99. For more information or to order, please visit www.sharbor.com.

TMPG, Inc. (www.tmpg-inc.com), the company that makes digital video easy, is introducing German language versions of TMPGEnc MPEG Editor 3 and the latest TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress update. The new German language software is now available at the www.tmpg-inc.com Deutsch language site.

"Our software is popular throughout Europe. We have had many requests for a German version of our new updated TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress encoder for its additional high definition video and Blu-ray functionality. TMPGEnc MPEG Editor 3 has also been in demand worldwide. We are pleased to offer both of these programs to our German speaking customers," stated Kimi Matsuki, TMPG CEO.

TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress Update Features

• AVCHD Format - Input Support: AVCHD input support is a requested feature by TMPGEnc users. AVCHD is a HD tapeless video format used in many of today's HD camcorders (such as Sony, Panasonic, and Canon). With AVCHD input support, TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress users can now cut-edit, apply filters and convert AVCHD footage into a video format of choice.
• HD MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 - Output Support: Users can now output video in the MPEG-4 AVC format at high definition. This will allow users to take advantage of the format's high compression rates at high definition resolutions.
• Blu-ray BDAV/BDMV MPEG-2 Output Template: Users can now output to the increasingly popular Blu-ray video format.

The popular AAC audio format can now be used as an audio source in MPEG-2 transport streams. MPEG-4 video input support is now embedded into TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress without the help of QuickTime. TMPGEnc MPEG Editor 3 Features

• Complete High Definition Video Editing and Output: Users can capture video directly from a HDV camcorder to TMPGEnc MPEG Editor 3 via an i.LINK/IEEE 1394 interface, edit their footage, then output and burn to Blu-ray Disc (BDAV format).
• Easy DVD Authoring:A new feature is the ability to output and burn to DVD-Video. The user can even create a simple DVD menu (fixed template). A Writing Tool is also included for users that have video content ready for burning to Blu-ray Disc or DVD.
• Video Transition Effects: The Transition Editor allows users to choose a transition effect, set the duration, and preview the video. The new Transition Selector helps make it easier to find the type of transition the user is looking for among the 171 available effects.

Disc Makers, the nation’s leading manufacturer of CD and DVD duplicators and printers, is proud to introduce the new Reflex Flash USB drive duplicators, a breakthrough in affordable home and office flash drive duplication.The Reflex Flash duplicators are aggressively priced at just $699 for the 3-drive, $899 for the 7-drive, and $1,099 for the 11-drive model. Similar duplicators in the marketplace can cost as much as $2,000 to $4,000.

“The Reflex Flash duplicators are quickly becoming a ‘must-have’ for any marketing department or small business,“ said Tony van Veen, President of Disc Makers. “This is an affordable solution for businesses whose employees waste countless hours loading data on to USB drives one by one in the days leading up to a trade show or promotional event.”

“The USB Flash drive format is the next generation of data transfer technology,” said van Veen. “Many of our existing customers have requested the ability to deliver content in the USB flash format, and the Reflex Flash is a great solution for home offices or small businesses needing to transfer large blocks of data.”

Flash drives are very inexpensive compared to the current high cost of Blu-Ray duplication equipment and blank media. And while there is a relatively small install base of Blu-Ray capable devices, USB Flash drives are accessed by virtually every computer in use today.

USB Flash drives are available in sizes up to 16GB for large content distribution. And with transfer rates of up to 10mbps, the ReflexFlash line of duplicators will duplicate at speeds comparable to today’s fastest 20X DVD duplicators, up to 330 units (256MB size files) per hour in its largest model.

As with all Disc Makers duplicators, the Reflex Flash duplicators come with a standard one year warranty and the company's exclusive perfect fit guarantee – if this product doesn't fit your needs, Disc Makers will give you full credit towards one that does.

Disc Makers also offers a line of flash media that can be customized with company logos and other graphics, custom packaging options, and storage capacities. USB Flash drive media is great for delivering custom marketing presentations, promotional give-aways, catalogs, software distribution, and more. Because of its reusable format, portability, and solid state design customized USB Flash drives are in circulation much longer than traditional content delivery methods giving you greater opportunity to leave positive impressions. USB flash drive storage formats can by used on all modern operating systems including Windows XP, Vista, MAC OS and Linux.

www.discmakers.com/duplicators

Newer Technology, Inc. (NewerTech®) http://www.newertech.com, the leading developer of PC, Macintosh®, iPod®, and iPhone® performance upgrades and accessories, today announced the new miniStack® v2.5 FireWire® 400/USB 2.0 powered hub storage solution, a new addition to the award-winning NewerTech miniStack line of small footprint, high performance Plug & Play external powered hub storage solutions.

NewerTech miniStack v2.5 is ideal for data intensive uses, such as Audio/Video editing, digital photography, MP3 music libraries, and high-speed back-up. Built for performance, it employs the latest generation Oxford 934 bridge chipset; a 7200RPM Serial ATA (SATA) drive; up to 1.0TB of storage capacity; and up to 32MB of disk cache to quickly store and retrieve up to 1 million JPEG photos, 350,000 MP3 songs, or 500 DVD quality movies.

Centralized Desktop Hub Works with Macs and PCs to Connect All Devices
miniStack v2.5 functions as a centralized desktop hub for connecting multiple digital devices, such as scanners, printers, memory card readers, digital cameras, and iPods, simultaneously and clutter-free.

It features a unique ergonomic rear and side port configuration of three FireWire 400 (one uplink and two additional) and four USB 2.0 (one uplink and three additional) ports. With its interface flexibility and compact design, miniStack v2.5 is the ideal portable external hard drive storage solution to move among multiple Macintosh® computers and laptops and virtually any Windows® or Linux®-based computer with a USB or FireWire port. The easy-to-use miniStack v2.5 is also perfect for booting your OS on any system with FireWire 400 or USB 2.0 boot-support.

In addition, Mac users can add miniStack v2.5 to an Airport Extreme® wireless network via USB to wirelessly share files, perform Time Machine backups, and share other devices, like printers. Plus, miniStack v2.5 is A/V rated for high-performance home entertainment systems and sharing content with Apple TV®.

miniStack v2.5 Features:

• Up to 1.0TB (1,000GB) of bootable Serial ATA (SATA) hard drive capacity
• Up to 32MB of data cache
• Oxford 934 bridge chipset
• Compact, 6.5”x 6.5” x 1.5” size
• Three FireWire 400 ports, two rear/one side (one uplink, two additional)
• Four USB 2.0/1.1 ports, three rear/one side (one uplink, three additional)
• External Auto Switching 100~240v 50/60Hz 3 amp UL listed power adapter
• Auto-Power on/off automatically with computer
• Intelligent thermal monitoring for minimal fan power consumption and whisper quiet operation
• Fully bootable via FireWire or USB with OS boot support
• Interface connecting cables included
• Kensington security slot
• Includes ProSoft Engineering® Data Backup 3, NovaStor NovaBACKUP®, and Intech® SpeedTools Utilities™ software (a $200 retail value)

Today, EZTakes, provider of the world's largest catalog of downloadable DVDs, is releasing Cinematic Titanic’s latest offering, The Wasp Woman. The highly-anticipated film, available exclusively to download from EZTakes, features the Cinematic Titanic cast, including Joel Hodgson and Mystery Science Theater 3000 veterans, riffing a not-to-be-missed horror of a winged menace!

Janice Starlin, purveyor of her own line of cosmetics, finds herself nearing middle-age (in a time when 38 was the new 94). A stranger with an accent and an unnatural love of wasps enters her life and promises her the elixir that will prolong her youth forever - until the wasp becomes the wasped.

Click here to download.

SEE! The beautiful and once-youthful Janice Starlin descend into the horrors of near middle age!

LISTEN! As the addled, vaguely German scientist canoodles with his millions of wasps!

EXPERIENCE! Janice Starlin's more curious than horrifying transformation to a sort-of wasp-like creature - right before your very eyes! Kind of!

ASTONISH! At the not-very-special special effects!

THRILL! As the Cinematic Titanic team takes down this Wasp's nest with every tool in their riffing kit!

This is the third offering from Cinematic Titanic, which reunited in January to bring B-movie junkies the hilarious scrutiny they crave. Fans will be able to download the film, commentary, liner notes and cover art to DVDs directly from the EZTakes Web site.

For more offerings from EZTakes, visit the Web site at www.EZTakes.com.

Disc Makers, the leader in CD and DVD manufacturing for independent artists and filmmakers, announced today the acquisition of CD Baby, the largest independent music seller in the world, following a 7-year close strategic partnership between the two companies.

CD Baby enables independent musicians to sell their music in both physical (CD) and digital (download) format through its online store cdbaby.com. The Portland, Oregon-based company is the largest seller of independent music in the country, working with over 240,000 artists worldwide, and its online music store receives over 100,000 visitors each day. With over 2 million digitized tracks under management, CD Baby is also the largest provider of independent music for Apple iTunes and other digital download sellers like Amazon MP3, Napster, and Rhapsody.

“I’m excited to bring together the two strongest brand names in the independent community,” said Tony van Veen, President of Disc Makers. “CD Baby has paid musicians more than $81 million over the past 10 years for CD and download sales. It is one of the greatest tools created to allow musicians to make money from their music. Now artists can get manufacturing, CD sales, download sales, and web hosting – through CD Baby’s HostBaby division – seamlessly and more easily than ever.”

CD Baby will continue to operate as a separate company, focused on online CD sales, distribution, and download sales. CD Baby founder Derek Sivers commented: "It's amazing that this little hobby I started 10 years ago has benefited so many musicians. Disc Makers was my first choice to take the company to new heights. Their operational expertise is just what little CD Baby needed to grow up."

Sivers will continue to be involved with CD Baby as a consultant.

www.discmakers.com
www.cdbaby.com