EMediaLive.com

Available by itself or as part of a retail kit, LG Electronics’ Super Multi Blue Rewriter GGW-H20L offers the greatest bang for the buck of any currently available Blu-ray Disc (BD) recorder. With a street price currently running around $275, not only is the GGW-H20L a comparatively economical choice, it’s a peppy feature-leader supporting a kitchen sink's worth of optical formats as well as LightScribe Direct Disc Labeling.

Those who opt for the retail package (reviewed here) receive all the bits and pieces necessary to get up and running quickly. In addition to the recorder, it includes Serial ATA (SATA) data and power connector cables, mounting screws, CyberLink’s Hi-Def Suite (consisting of PowerDVD 7.3, PowerProducer 4, Power2GO 5, InstantBurn 5, PowerBackup 2, LabelPrint and BD Advisor) and a blank LG BD-RE rewritable disc.

On paper, the GGW-H20L’s specifications are impressive. A near universal solution, the unit deals with all manner of BDs, DVDs, CDs, and even throws in HD DVDs for good measure. Specifically, it records BD-R/RE (SL/DL), DVD±R (SL/DL), DVD±RW, DVD-RAM, CD-R, and CD-RW, as well as plays BD-ROM/R/RE (SL/DL), HD DVD-ROM (SL/DL), DVD±R (SL/DL), DVD±RW/RAM, and CD-ROM/R/RW.

Beyond dealing with now-defunct HD DVD, the unit’s most distinguishing feature is its ability to read and write single-layer BD-R discs at 6X speed. Disappointingly, however, while 6X recording may sound tantalizing, benchmark testing with Nero’s DiscSpeed 4 proves it to be more of a marketing gimmick than a meaningful leap forward in performance (see chart). In particular, burning begins at a modest 2.5X near the disc’s inner diameter and reaches 6X only by the time the laser hits its outer edge. This averages to roughly 4.4X over the entire length of the disc with full recording taking 21:39 (compared to 22:30 for 4x CLV operation using Verbatim, MBI and Falcon/TDK discs). Be aware that 8X units due out later this year are expected to drop single and dual-layer BD-R writing to below 15 and 30 minutes, respectively. For day-to-day activities, where completely full discs are seldom written, faster times and lower blank media prices can often be achieved by recording at 4X. On the whole, however, the GGW-H20L gets the job done in jig time, with solid BD, CD, and DVD operation, although DVD±R dual-layer is somewhat of a laggard.

Satisfyingly, the unit records at high speed blanks from a broad array of manufacturers. For example, full 6X speed was supported for two out of the three producers of 4X-rated BD-Rs I tested (Verbatim, TDK) and one of the four 2X brands (Verbatim). As well, 16X speed wasn’t a problem for fourteen out of the fourteen 16X-rated DVD-Rs and eight out of the nine DVD+Rs.

Capping off the GGW-H20L’s long list of features is its LightScribe capability. An alternative to hand writing labels with a marker, LightScribe uses the recorder’s writing laser to impart low-contrast monochrome text and graphics directly to the face of specially coated red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and gold-colored CD-R and single-layer DVD±R media (BD-R discs are not available). Using Verbatim and MBI discs in highest quality mode, it took the GGW-H20L roughly 21 minutes to produce full surface images (e.g., Film Reel) and 6.5 minutes for smaller circular title-sizes (e.g., Race Day).

Like it or not, getting the most out of any Blu-ray recorder means investing in a respectably powered PC. Realistic system requirements for playing commercial BD and HD DVD movie discs, as well as crafting high-definition video projects, means using at least a Pentium Core 2 Duo (1GB RAM) running Microsoft Vista or Windows XP SP2 with 60GB free hard drive space, a Serial ATA (SATA) connection, an ATI Radeon HD series or NVIDIA PureVideo HD-conforming graphics card, and an HDCP-compliant digital display (an analog VGA D-Sub will also work). Additionally, Internet access is a must to retrieve periodic compatibility, content protection and software updates. For this evaluation I used Vista Ultimate SP1 32-bit edition, 2GB RAM and an ATI Radeon HD 2400 Pro (Catalyst version 8.8).

As with most recorder bundles, the included software is really just a tease. Thus, be prepared to do some homework and consider purchasing a universal recording application, BD video authoring tools and BD movie playback software (for a list of what’s available see The Authoritative BD FAQ). For example, to view a few commercial movies, I gave Corel’s WinDVD 9 Plus Blu-ray version a spin. Currently, it supports HD DVD and BD BONUSVIEW content (a BD-Live update is scheduled for early 2009) and had no trouble playing titles in my collection including King Kong, Serenity, Royal Space Force, Freedom, Heroes, Ratatouille, Pirates of the Caribbean, and others.

On the whole, LG’s Super Multi Blue Rewriter GGW-H20L has a little something for everyone. It offers sound writing performance, broad media compatibility, LightScribe facility and provides BD, HD DVD and DVD video playback for those with mixed movie collections. Realistically, however, it’s expensive fare for all but die-hard enthusiasts and professionals but should prove to be a fine choice for those needing Blu-ray capabilities today.

Hugh Bennett (hugh_bennett at compuserve.com), an EMedialive contributing editor, is president of Forget Me Not Information Systems, a reseller, systems integrator, and industry consultant based in London, Ontario, Canada. Hugh is the author of The Authoritative Blu-ray Disc (BD) FAQ and The Authoritative HD DVD FAQ, available on EMedialive.com as well as Understanding Recordable & Rewritable DVD and Understanding CD-R & CD-RW, published by the Optical Storage Technology Association (OSTA).

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

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Inlet Technologies and NetBlender Knock Down Barriers to Blu-ray Production

Inlet Technologies , the leader in advanced encoding solutions for new media, announced today that it is partnering with NetBlender, makers of DoStudio software for professional Blu-ray authoring, to bring high-quality Blu-ray Disc production within the reach of every studio. Inlet’s latest release of Fathom®, an advanced encoding platform, produces files in any of the codecs that Blu-ray supports.

“In the past, smaller, independent production houses faced barriers to the creation of high-quality professional Blu-ray content because of the high equipment cost,” said John Harrington, NetBlender CEO. “Working with Inlet, we are helping to eliminate that digital divide by providing a more economical solution for this growing market that wants to take full advantage of Blu-ray technology and all it has to offer.”

The joint Inlet/NetBlender solution should help propel the growth of Blu-ray by enabling a much greater variety of content for the new HD format. According to market research firm Futuresource , U.S. consumers are expected to buy 45 million Blu-ray Discs by the end of 2008, up about 400 percent compared to last year.

Typecast Films and VoloHD are leveraging Inlet’s Fathom and NetBlender’s DoStudio to satisfy customer demand for BD. Typecast Films, an independent film production and distribution company, recently released its Academy Award and Emmy-nominated documentary Iraq in Fragments on Blu-ray Disc. The company partnered with VoloHD for HD production work and encoding.

“This is our first foray into the Blu-ray Disc market and we would not have been able to do it without the technology and support from Inlet and NetBlender,” said Joshua Warren of Typecast Films.

“It was very important to the integrity of Iraq in Fragments that the Blu-ray encode be faithful to the color and depth of the original film master. The film has a unique blend of color, modern cinematography and editing - the dynamic nature of the film makes for a very complicated job for an encoder,” said Marshall Riser with Volo HD. “We've been very impressed with the quality and detail achieved with the use of Fathom.”

Fathom and DoStudio together provide Blu-ray Disc authors with an easy-to-use, collaborative solution for creating high-speed, high-quality professional Blu-ray Discs without the costs associated with other solutions.

www.netblender.com
www.volohd.com
www.inlethd.com

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Defend Your Digital Content with Primera's New PTProtect Software

Primera Technology, Inc., the world's leading developer and manufacturer of CD, DVD, and Blu-ray Disc duplication and printing equipment, today announced its new PTProtect(TM) Software. PTProtect is seamlessly integrated into Primera's PTPublisher(TM) v1.3.0 (or greater) duplication software. It provides a reliable yet effective anti-rip solution for protecting DVD video without adding extra steps to existing workflow processes.

PTProtect software is applied to the DVD image just before burning. When content is burned to a disc it is encapsulated to prevent common ripping programs from having access to it. The content on the DVD is not modified in any way. Copy control encapsulation resides in areas of the discs not read by DVD players, so the play-back quality remains unaffected.

PTProtect copy controlled discs have full playability designed to match the same playability levels in DVD players as unprotected DVDs. In essence, PTProtected discs are designed to provide effective "speed-bump” protection to combat unauthorized casual copying.

"Primera is proud to offer PTProtect as an efficient and cost-effective solution for virtually anyone who produces original content DVDs,” said Mark D. Strobel, Primera's Vice President of Sales and Marketing. "Video production studios, wedding and event videographers and training video authors will all benefit from having reliable protection for their copyrighted materials – at a price they can afford.”

PTProtect is an effortless way to produce protected DVDs since it does not need to load any new software onto the PC for the protection to work. Protection is applied on a "click-charge” basis for each disc burned. Blocks of protection keys can be conveniently purchased through Primera on pre-loaded USB dongles.

PTProtect software, built into PTPublisher v1.3.0, is available immediately at www.primera.com. It is provided at no extra charge to registered users and includes three free protected DVD video burns. Subsequent burns are priced in blocks as follows:

100 burns: $225.00
1000 burns: $1000.00
5000 burns: $3750.00

www.primera.com

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Blu-ray Wins the Race - But it Won't be Smooth Sailing, In-Stat Reports

The HD-DVD vs. Blu ray format war ended in early 2008, with Blu-ray the winner, reports In-Stat (www.in-stat.com). But, do not expect a quick ramp up of Blu-ray player sales to standard DVD player levels any time soon, as prices for Blu-ray players are still high, the high-tech market research firm says. Meanwhile, the DVD hardware market will decline in 2008, as DVD players have reached saturation in some markets and DVD recorders never caught consumers' attention the way DVD players did.

"DVD recorders have been most popular in Europe and Japan, but Blu-ray recorders are taking over in Japan while interest wanes in Europe, possibly due to increasing shipments of hard drive-based DVRs," says Michelle Abraham, In-Stat analyst.

Recent research by In-Stat found the following:

The market for Blu-ray players and recorders will reach 5 million in 2008 with solid growth continuing if prices decline.

Worldwide DVD player and recorder sales reached 142 million units in 2007.

North America, Europe, Japan, and China have seen declines in their DVD player markets.

Developing countries in other parts of the world are the only bright spots in the DVD player market.

The research, "Worldwide DVD and Blu-ray Market" (#IN0804069ME), covers the worldwide issues facing these markets and what consumers in France, Germany, Korea, Japan, the UK, and the US, have said when questioned about their purchase plans. Five-year forecasts for unit shipments, ASPs, and revenues are provided for DVD players, DVD recorders, Blu-ray players, and Blu-ray recorders. We also look at the bill of materials for DVD recorders and Blu-ray players and forecast the component pricing out five years.

For more information on this research or to purchase it online, click here.

The price is $3,495 (US).

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Advanced Media Inc. Now Offers Qflix Brand Media to the Retail Channel

Advanced Media, Inc., a manufacturer and marketer of the popular Ridata brand of recordable DVD and Blu-ray Disc media, electronic storage products, and digital media accessories, is pleased to announce the addition of Qflix™ DVD media to its product line. Used in conjunction with Qflix services and hardware including recordable drives, the new media allows digitally distributed entertainment to be recorded to disc in a secure format. The media is manufactured by RITEK®, a Sonic Solutions® (NASDAQ: SNIC) certified Qflix licensee.

"Advanced Media Inc. is pleased to announce it is an official distributor of RITEK manufactured Qflix DVDs. Home entertainment is a heavily targeted market for DVD and Blu-ray media. Now Sonic has taken DVD technology to the next level with Qflix," said Harvey Liu, president of Advanced Media Inc. "RITEK’s strong global reputation for producing DVDs of uncompromising quality and compatibility ensures a great consumer entertainment experience regardless of whether content is manufactured on-demand to fulfill an online order, purchased through a retail kiosk, or produced in the home."

Why Qflix?
Qflix DVDs are specialized discs that allow the on-demand recording of digitally distributed entertainment with CSS encryption (Content Scramble System). This is the same protection found on commercially mass-produced movie titles. Qflix DVDs can also be used by duplication system operators providing custom DVD publishing services to Internet retailers and in movie kiosks that will offer retail customers touch-screen access to vast libraries of rich content. Qflix media is also available for consumer use in the home to legally record premium entertainment downloaded from the Internet. To learn more about Qflix, visit www.qflix.com.

"Qflix fulfills the need for the efficient distribution of licensed high-quality entertainment content," said Jim Taylor, chief technologist, general manager of the Advanced Technology Group, Sonic Solutions. "We are pleased that Advanced Media will now be proactively marketing RITEK manufactured Qflix media to the Americas."

The recorded Qflix DVDs are functionally identical to standard retail DVDs and can be created with printed case liners and disc artwork just like off-the-shelf DVDs. These discs look and behave identically to standard replicated DVD titles and will play in all standard DVD players.

www.ritekusa.com
www.sonic.com

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Aleratec RoboJet Disc Printer Produces Photo Quality BD/DVD/CD Labels Automatically in Living Color

Aleratec Inc., leading developer and manufacturer of "Prosumers' Choice" solutions for the USB, Flash, HDD, Blu-ray, DVD/CD, duplicating, and publishing markets, has launched its new Aleratec RoboJet AutoPrinter 100™, a robotic BD/DVD/CD disc printer that prints custom inkjet labels directly on each disc in brilliant color. It is fully automatic and can print up to 100 BDs/DVDs/CDs virtually unattended. The innovative RoboJet AutoPrinter 100 uses standard HP ink cartridges available anywhere and features HPs unique PhotoREt color-layering technology that delivers vivid, true-to-life photo quality images with extremely sharp text printed directly on the customer's discs.

The Aleratec RoboJet AutoPrinter 100 is a compact, attractive, totally integrated package with a sculptured transparent protective door that allows viewing of it in operation. It's fast, affordable, and easy-to-use. Just plug it in, connect one USB 2.0 cable, and install the software. Anyone can put the Aleratec RoboJet AutoPrinter 100 to work in a matter of minutes.

"On the top of our list of most important criteria in developing the RoboJet AutoPrinter 100 was to have a unit that produces professional results," stated Perry Solomon, Aleratec President and CEO. "Recognizing that image quality and color are critical to the success of a disc printer, we chose HP, the leaders in inkjet printing technology. With its HP engine, the Aleratec RoboJet AutoPrinter 100 is capable of producing top quality, crystal clear images in brilliant colors and the Aleratec RoboJet uses standard HP ink cartridges. The Aleratec RoboJet is convenient for customers who prefer widely-available, standard cartridges over proprietary consumables. The Aleratec RoboJet has a compact desktop size, and includes an intuitive Aleratec disc label design software suite that makes designing professional looking custom labels really easy."

Most automated inkjet disc printing solutions available today require complex external robotics to load and unload discs to and from the printer. A key differentiating feature of the Aleratec RoboJet AutoPrinter 100 is the disc handling robotics are a part of the printer. There are no external moving robotic arms or disc handling apparatus. Blank discs are loaded in the top the printer and finished discs eject automatically from the printer tray. The RoboJet has a footprint no larger than a manual inkjet disc printer and it has a 100 disc capacity.

The Aleratec RoboJet AutoPrinter 100 incorporates HP PhotoREt color-layering technology for controlling the placement of the inks more precisely than ever before. Each dot is capable of receiving 29 minuscule drops of color, each one precisely positioned to achieve smoother graduations in tone and to virtually eliminate any grain in the printed image. The result is a color palette many times greater than conventional Inkjet printers, finer color control, faster printing, and improved image quality.

The Aleratec RoboJet AutoPrinter 100 inkjet disc printing system (Aleratec Part No. 360101, Ingram Micro SKU U07770, Tech Data SKU 86967J), proudly assembled in the USA from components sourced globally, can automatically and quickly print up to 100 disc labels, unattended, directly on the discs in brilliant colors has a low Estimated Retail Price of $2099.

For best results in maximizing superior print quality with bright, vibrant colors, Aleratec HydroGuard Duplicator Grade media is recommended for its quick drying smear, smudge, and water resistant disc surface with glossy uniform whiteness from hub to outer edge:

HydroGuard Inkjet Printable DVD-R 16x Duplicator Grade Media 90-Pack
Aleratec Part # 230116, Ingram Micro SKU U06807, Tech Data SKU 25373I
ERP $89.99
HydroGuard Inkjet Printable DVD R 16x Duplicator Grade Media 90-Pack
Aleratec Part # 300117, Ingram Micro SKU U09518, Tech Data SKU 90316M
ERP $89.99
HydroGuard Inkjet Printable CD-R 52x Duplicator Grade Media 90-Pack
Aleratec Part # 110119, Ingram Micro SKU U06806, Tech Data SKU 25372I
ERP $79.99

The full line of Aleratec solutions, and accessories is featured at AAFES, Adorama, Amazon.com, B&H Photo Video, Best Buy, Buy.com, CDW, Circuit City, Dell, Hewlett Packard, Insight, J & R, Mac Connection, MacMall, Meijer, Micro Center, NewEgg, Office Depot, PC Connection, PC Mall, PC Nation, ProVantage, Quill, QVC.com, Ritz Camera, Staples, 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, 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 www.aleratec.com

More information about HP is available at www.hp.com.

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DivX Strengthens Presence in Blu-ray Disc Market with Broadcom Chip Certification

DivX, Inc. (NASDAQ: DIVX), a digital media company, today announced that it has significantly expanded its influence within emerging Blu-ray players through the DivX Certification™ of Broadcom’s BCM7440 chip. Broadcom Corporation is a global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications.

Broadcom’s DivX Certified® BCM7440 chip enables Blu-ray manufacturers to include integrated support for high-quality DivX® video. An industry leader, Broadcom is one of the few semiconductor producers to offer a mass-market Blu-ray chipset solution to major consumer electronics manufacturers. New Blu-ray players in development based on the BCM7440 will be able to play back high-quality DivX video burned on Blu-ray discs or saved on USB flash drives. Broadcom’s DivX Certified Blu-ray chip solution significantly contributes to the expanding influence of DivX video within the Blu-ray market and complements its growth in other product categories, such as set-top boxes and digital televisions.

“There is strong consumer demand for DivX and so we are pleased to extend support for DivX on our BCM7440 Blu-ray chipset,” said Dan Eiref, Vice President & General Manager of Broadcom’s Consumer Electronics Group. “Broadcom is dedicated to designing differentiated products for our customers. We believe that the addition of DivX to our product portfolio opens up a compelling new source of content for consumers who increasingly rely on digital solutions for their entertainment experience.”

“Blu-ray has emerged as the clear standard for high-definition video and, through DivX Certified chips such as the BCM7440, DivX is well-positioned to repeat the success it achieved within the DVD market,” said Patrice Lagrange, Senior Vice President, Products, DivX, Inc. “Broadcom’s high performing DivX Certified BCM7440 Blu-ray chip highlights DivX’s prominence within the marketplace as the standard for high-quality digital video and we are pleased to work with Broadcom in offering a premium digital experience within next-generation entertainment platforms.”

Products that bear the DivX Certified® logo have undergone a rigorous testing program to ensure interoperability, security and visual quality. DivX Certified products enable consumers to create, play, and share high-quality video content across a range of devices and platforms.

For more information on DivX Certification, visit www.divx.com/certification.

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Imation's 'TDK Life on Record' Offers First 6x Blu-ray Discs to the U.S. Market

Imation Corp. (NYSE:IMN), exclusive licensee of the “TDK Life on Record” recording media brand, today announced the first 6x Blu-ray recordable (BD-R) and Blu-ray recordable double layer (BD-R DL) media for the U.S. retail market. Imation is also launching a full line of TDK Life on Record Blu-ray disc cleaning and storage accessories to protect and maintain high-definition content on this new media format.

“As more consumers create new digital memories in high definition, those memories will be relived on Blu-ray media,” said Jean-Paul Eekhout, global brand director of the TDK Life of Record brand, Imation Corp. “The TDK Life on Record brand continues to be a sought-after Blu-ray pioneer both as the first-to-market with 6x Blu-ray recordable media, and for unique technology and accessories that make TDK Blu-ray media more durable and compatible with Blu-ray players.”

TDK Life on Record 6x Blu-ray Discs
Blu-ray media has the high capacity needed to handle content like high-definition movies and television – 25GB on a single layer and 50GB on double layer discs, about 5-to-10 times the capacity of standard DVD media. TDK Life on Record Blu-ray 6x discs have the fastest recording speeds currently available in the U.S. market with data transfer rates of up to 216 Mbps – equivalent to approximately 20x recordable DVD media. Using TDK Life on Record 6x Blu-ray discs, consumers can record 25GB of data in as little as 17 minutes – approximately six minutes faster than a 4x BD-R.

TDK Blu-ray discs are ideal for consumers who expect their archived digital memories to be there in years to come. They feature revolutionary Durabis 2 hard-coating technology, which delivers a high degree of protection against scratches, fingerprints and dust. Additionally, TDK Blu-ray discs incorporate a unique inorganic double-layer metal recording structure that resists against breakdown from exposure to light for superior durability and longevity.

TDK Blu-ray discs also address compatibility concerns with newer technology. They offer one of the industry’s highest compatibility with the wide range of Blu-ray recordable hardware and are compliant with Blu-ray disc recordable format VER. 1.3.

TDK Life on Record Blu-ray 6x media is available in 25GB single layer and 50GB double layer capacities starting in October at select retailers for suggested retail price of $13.99 for a BD –R 1 pack; $32.99 for a BD-R DL 1 pack.

Blu-ray Disc Cleaning and Storage Accessories
Using Blu-ray-specific cleaning and storage accessories helps users safely clean and preserve Blu-ray discs and players, protecting their digital memories over the long-term. The TDK Life on Record accessories include:

TDK Life on Record Opticloth for Blu-ray. These re-usable micro-fiber cloths are designed specifically to clean Blu-ray media safely. They will be available in November for a suggested retail price of $4.99.
TDK Life on Record Blu-ray Clean Cloths. These dry, disposable, non-abrasive cloths provide a safe way to remove dust, dirt and oil from Blu-ray disc surfaces. The cloths are available in November for a suggested retail price of $4.99 for a pack of 20 cloths.
TDK Life on Record Blu-ray Player Laser Lens Cleaner. Blu-ray Player Lens Cleaner helps maintain and clean Blu-ray players, ensuring consistent high-performance, quality disc playback. The TDK Life on Record Blu-ray Player Laser Lens Cleaner will be available in November for a suggested retail price of $29.99.
TDK Life on Record Blu-ray Tyvek® Sleeves. Tyvek sleeves make it easy to store and protect Blu-ray discs in a scratch-resistant sleeve. Packs of 25 will be available in November for a suggested retail price of $8.99

www.imation.com

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Reliant Digital Releases Sentry PC Connect Duplicator

Reliant Digital, Inc., today announced the release of its “Sentry” PC Connect Duplicator, the world's first tower duplicator built specifically to create copy protected DVD-Rs. Intended markets include Duplication Houses and Service Bureaus, Event Videographers, Producers, Corporate applications, and any other environment where small to medium runs of copy protected DVD Video projects need to be produced.

The basic system (4-burner tower, PC Card, USB Key with licenses for 100 burns, Software, and Cabling) retails for $995. A software only version that requires the user to burn to a single internal PC DVD Burner is available for $295. Discounts are offered for larger license purchases.

“Effective, affordable, easy-to-use copy protection is something that this industry has needed and requested since it's inception” says David Adame, President of Reliant Digital. “We are thrilled to bring to market a solution that will help producers prevent unauthorized duplication of their work and maintain and increase their income stream."

The basic Sentry system requires a Windows XP or Vista PC with a minimum of 1GB RAM. Users simply save the DVD-R Video to be copied as an .iso file, load the blank discs into the tower, select the burners to use, then press “go”. The copy protection adds only a small amount of data (30MB), and does not add any significant time to the burn process.

www.reliantdigital.com

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Mediatechnics Announces FUSION DiscWrite Pro Software for Publishing

Mediatechnics Corporation (PINKSHEETS: MEDT) announces today that we have expanded our FUSION DiscWrite CD/DVD software to add publishing features for applications from Banking and Games to Medical, Music and Video.

"After many years of feedback from our customers we feel we have released the most advanced duplication and publishing software on the market today," stated Trevor Bono, Mediatechnics Vice President of Sales.

The following are a few of the features of the NEW DiscWrite Pro Software:

Publishing functions:
- Disc Image creation from existing audio and data CD/DVD/BD discs
- Copies CDs, DVDs, and BDs from physical masters
- Supports Data premastering for CDs, DVDs, and Blu Ray
- Integrated Disc Label Editor
Job queue support - ability to queue a number of duplication jobs, edit jobs in the queue, change priority, and delete jobs.
Create your own job queue for simple duplication of disc sets
Estimates time for completion
Email notification support for completed job or error code information
Ink level detection and thermal ribbon countdown support
Serialization and Merge field support
Ability to verify media speed compatibility with the recorder

www.Mediatechnics.com

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Memorex Introduces Full-Featured Blu-ray Disc Player for Under $270 and New Line of Blu-ray Disc Accessories

Memorex, a portfolio brand of Imation Corp. (NYSE: IMN), announced today the availability of the Memorex MVBD-2510 Blu-ray Disc Player featuring advanced Blu-ray Disc (BD) entertainment technology at an outstanding value of less than $270. Memorex also announced that it has expanded its specialty Blu-ray Disc offerings to include a full-line of BD cleaning and storage accessories.

"Our customers want products that bring entertainment into their homes, but at a family-friendly price," said Carla Pihowich, Memorex brand director, Imation Corp. "With this in mind, we have introduced a Blu-ray Disc player that offers consumers the full high-definition viewing experience, but at a price that almost anyone can afford. The high-definition movie experience, with its sharp details and amazing sound quality, is one that brings families and friends together."

Blu-ray Disc, the next-generation optical media format, utilizes the shorter wavelength of blue lasers to store large amounts of data or content on a single disc. This increased capacity of Blu-ray Discs, combined with the advanced technology in Blu-ray Disc players, translates to movies that playback with finer picture quality and superior sound for an unprecedented high definition experience.

The Memorex MVBD-2510 Blu-ray Disc Player
The Memorex MVBD-2510 Blu-ray Disc Player offers advanced Blu-ray playback technology in a sleek design, at a great value. Elegant details like brushed metal accents and white LED display contribute to the Memorex Blu-ray Disc Player's sophisticated look and feel. Its simple elegance and superior technical features make this a perfect addition to your home entertainment system.

Advanced technical features include video resolution of 1080p and video frame rates of 24p and 60p. The product also features Bonus View 1.1, allowing for special functions like "Picture in Picture" viewing for enjoying special content, including director's commentary, during movie viewing. Audio playback features include Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus, and DTS-HD High Resolution Audio decoding and bit stream output, as well as Master Audio bit stream output. The MVBD-2510 features a 7.1 HDMI digital audio output and 5.1 analog audio output. The player is compatible with a wide range of video formats, including BD-ROM, DVD+ROM, DVD-R/DVD-RW, DVD+R/DVD+RW, CD-ROM, CD-R/CD-RW and JPEG on DVD/CD recordable media.

The Memorex MVBD-2510 Blu-ray Disc Player has a suggested retail price (SRP) of $269.00 and is available at U.S. retail and online starting in November.

Memorex Blu-ray Disc Cleaning & Storage Accessories
Memorex's full line of Blu-ray Disc accessories offer everything you need to safely clean and store your Blu-ray Disc movies and optical media, and to maintain the performance of your Blu-ray Disc players and recorders. The Memorex Blu-ray Disc Accessories line includes:

Memorex OptiCloth for Blu-ray -- A re-useable micro-fiber cloth that safely cleans Blu-ray media. OptiCloths are available at U.S. retail and online for $4.99
Memorex Blu-ray Disc Clean Cloths, 20 Pack -- Dry disposable, non-abrasive cloths delicately remove dust, dirt and oil from Blu-ray Disc surfaces. Available at U.S. retail and online in packs of 20 for $4.99
Memorex Blu-ray Disc Player Laser Lens Cleaner -- Cleans the laser in your BD player to maintain the performance level of the player and ensure quality and consistency of disc playback. Available at U.S. retail and online for $29.99
Memorex Blu-ray Disc Tyvek Sleeves, 25 Pack -- Scratch-resistant storage solution for protecting and storing your Blu-ray media. The disc sleeves are available at U.S. retail and online in packs of 25 for $8.99

www.memorex.com

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Associations Join Forces to Create New Packaged Media Event, The Future of Packaged Entertainment Summit

The two leading media creation, storage, manufacturing, and distribution industry associations: the Content Delivery and Storage Association (CDSA) and MEDIA-TECH Association (MTA) have announced that they are to join forces to provide a new industry event early next year.

The Future of Packaged Entertainment Summit, jointly produced by MTA and CDSA, will take place February 3 4 at the Universal Hilton in Hollywood. The two-day program will address technology challenges on the first day and content and marketing challenges on the second. In addition, the event will feature a Showcase so supporting companies will be able to exhibit their products and services. The over riding message of the Summit is that there is life in packaged entertainment, and the industry trade associations intend to help all those concerned learn how to maximize potential and profitability in the short to medium term.

"It makes sense for us to join forces on this event," says Bryan Ekus, managing director of MTA, "as our memberships are entirely complementary and cover the entire spectrum of packaged media senior executives, from content owners and replicators through raw material and equipment manufacturers. Our joint message is that there is a future for packaged media, and we intend to bring together a number of key speakers from leading companies to show how that can be done, from improving manufacturing processes to identifying and marketing the right content for high definition media."

A specially-formed advisory committee will help organize the program for the event. The committee will include members from each of the associations, as well as key people from the content, research and publication communities.

"This Summit will address the key issues and concerns of the entire range of packaged entertainment executives," says Charles Van Horn, president of CDSA. "The location in Hollywood is always a popular choice both with the studios and major replicators, and with their vendors across the board. The program will be designed to cover the major issues facing that segment of our membership involved in the packaged media industry."

"While this is certainly the first step towards helping each other and the industry find ways to work together and extend the life of packaged entertainment," says Ekus, "the Associations will remain as separate entities, each bringing its own particular strengths to the core issue of extending the life of standard and high definition media."

"The Summit responds to the requests from the physical media segment of our membership for a highly targeted program presented in a condensed two-day setting delivering high value content designed to maintain the strong appeal for packaged media," says Van Horn. "We look forward to offering this opportunity to our respective memberships to network and work together in addressing the challenges and business opportunities available to today's leading packaged media companies."

www.media-tech.net
www.contentdeliveryandstorage.org

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Chatsworth Data Corporation and Blue Ray Technologies LLC Form Strategic Alliance

Chatsworth Data Corporation (CDC), a wholly owned subsidiary of Chatsworth Data Solutions, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: CHWD), announced today an exclusive strategic alliance between CDC and Blue Ray Technologies, LLC (BRT) Spokane, Washington.

The strategic alliance allows both companies to advance into the vast market of corporate document capture and management. Chatsworth Data Corporation will provide data capture services using its new line of image scanners and BRT will encrypt the captured data using the most advanced blu-ray encryption technology available in the market place. Together, they will offer a technological quantum leap alternative to government, corporations and other organizations seeking secured archival storage with internal input/retrieval stations for sensitive proprietary data.

Blue Ray Technologies Founder, President and CEO, Erick Hansen, said, "Blu-ray encryption technology has arrived. Its applications are not simply limited to Hollywood film titles. Anywhere there is a need for securing data, Blue Ray Technologies is committed to providing the latest encryption technology. We are the largest independent blu-ray manufacturer in the United States. Also, we are very proud of the fact that we have received recognition for being a 'Green' company."

Sid L. Anderson, CDC's President and CEO noted, "This is a huge strategic alliance for CDC. Blue Ray Technologies is the world leader in manufacturing blu-ray encrypted products. We are very pleased that BRT selected CDC as its exclusive data capture provider and we look forward to a long relationship with them. Louis W. Dedier III, CDC's Marketing and Sales Coordinator, did a heck of a job finalizing negotiations for the strategic alliance with Hansen and BRT. Mr. Dedier will be responsible for the implementation of CDC's document capture and management services for this strategic alliance."

www.chatsworthdata.com
www.blueraytechnologies.com

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DVD Disc Manufacturer Dicentia Infringing MPEG-2 Patents, German Court Says

The District Court Düsseldorf, Germany pronounced last week 12 verdicts on the merits finding that DVD disc manufacturers Dicentia Germany GmbH and Dicentia A/S (collectively, “Dicentia”) have infringed certain patents in the MPEG-2 Patent Portfolio License offered by MPEG LA as a result of Dicentia’s manufacture of DVD video discs.

The 12 verdicts of infringement were issued in all 12 cases on the merits brought by MPEG-2 patent owners who are also Licensors in the MPEG-2 Patent Portfolio License offered by MPEG LA. Those patent owners include CIF Licensing, LLC; GE Technology Development, Inc.; Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV; Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.; Mitsubishi Electric Corporation; Sony Corporation; Thomson Licensing S.A.; The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York; and Victor Company of Japan, Ltd. (JVC).

As a result of these 12 verdicts on the merits and upon the patent owners providing the requisite security bonds, enforcement of the verdicts will require Dicentia to cease its production of DVD video discs in Germany and to pay damages to the patent owners for past DVD video disc production. Dicentia may appeal these verdicts. “The verdicts against Dicentia further confirm the need for a license under MPEG-2 patents in DVD video disc production,” said Larry Horn, CEO of MPEG LA.

The MPEG-2 Standard is the core technology underlying the efficient creation, transmission, storage and display of digitized moving images and sound tracks on which DVD and other digital technologies are based; and the DVD-Video Standard (DVD Specifications for Read-Only Disc, Part 3: VIDEO SPECIFICATIONS) requires DVD Video discs to contain information formatted in accordance with the MPEG-2 Standard.

www.mpegla.com

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