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| Posted by | Wesley Novack |
| Posted on | 10/01/06 08:21 |
InterVideo Ulead:
InterVideo Ulead was displaying their latest software with integrated HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc format support. Ulead Movie Factory 5 and WinDVD 7 are both ready to support the new blue laser disc and video formats.
Ulead Movie Factory 5 will support the creation of both Blu-ray and HD DVD compliant videos, allowing home users to create and author their own content, which can then be burned to a writeable HD DVD or Blu-ray disc. The HD DVD directory structure will look familiar to those who have browsed a DVD Video disc. The directory that stores video content on an HD DVD disc must be named HVDVD_TS. Advanced content such as advance navigation and playlists are stored in a directory named ADV_OBJ.
InterVideo WinDVD 7 supports the playback of both HD DVD and Blu-ray disc videos. These applications will be released once the PC drives are available.
Verbatim:
Verbatim was displaying their newly announced mini DVD+R Double Layer and mini DVD-R Dual Layer media.
According to Verbatim, writing to the "new" format will not be supported by the current ODD hardware. This means that if you want to take advantage of mini DVDR DL media, you will need to purchase a new DVD writer. Samsung has announced support for the mini DL media, and Verbatim believes that Samsung will have one of the first drives on the market that is able to write to this format. The media will be released as soon as the first writer that supports it is available on the market. It is interesting to note that the mini DVD+R DL packaging has a speed of "2.4x" specified, whereas the mini DVD-R DL packaging has a speed rating of "2x-4x". Has the DVD-R camp finally launched a higher speed product? We'll have to find out when this media hits the market.
Verbatim 8x DVD-R Dual Layer media is coming soon!
Verbatim also took the time to inform us about the latest developments in LightScribe technology. DVD recordable media compatible with LightScribe version 1.2 should be available starting in February. Version 1.2 is up to 30% faster than the original LightScribe technique (v1.0) currently in use on the market. The LightScribe surface of the new discs also have a more reflective 'rainbow' type effect as well. LightScribe 1.2 color discs (bottom right of the above photo) are planned to launch in five different flavors this Spring. LightScribe version 1.3 media is also scheduled to launch this Fall, which will speed up the LightScribe process even more. Newer versions of CD-R LightScribe media are behind the DVD Recordable formats, and will launch a bit later.
The following table provides a rough estimate into LightScribe labeling times. These times were provided by Verbatim. Our own tests with LightScribe v1.0 have proved to be a bit faster and closer to the 25 minute mark. Please keep in mind that text-only labels as well as normal or draft quality mode will result in much faster LightScribe labeling times.
| LightScribe version | Completion time (full photographic label in Highest quality mode) |
| 1.0 | 30-38 minutes |
| 1.2 | 16-20 minutes |
| 1.3 | 8-10 minutes |
As expected, Verbatim also had a few next generation DVD discs on display.
Verbatim Blu-ray BD-R media.
Verbatim HD DVD-R
Ritek - RiDATA:
RiDATA was exhibiting at this year's CES and displaying many new products. We spoke to a representative and received some interesting information regarding upcoming products. RiDATA will soon have 5x DVD-RAM on the US market, which will hopefully make it much easier for consumers to obtain this hard to find media type.
A mockup of a 20Gb HD DVD-RAM disc was also on display.
Ritek Blu-ray and HD DVD media was also on display throughout the booth. RiDATA will also be launching many new flash media based storage products.
The picture above shows one of the new RiDATA flash drives, which includes an integrated laser pointer.
BenQ:
The most interesting drive at BenQ's optical storage display was of course, their 'new' Blu-ray PC Writer. This drive is currently named the BW1000 and should be available in the third quarter of 2006. The drive supports reading and writing to CD, DVD and Blu-ray media. No price points are currently available for this unit.
BenQ BW1000 Blu-ray PC Writer
Back to the current DVD generation of optical disc drives, BenQ has announced the DW1670.
BenQ DW1670 DVD drive
The DW1670 supports reading and writing to all CD and DVD formats including DVD-RAM. This drive should be available starting in April. I for one can't wait to get a hold of this drive, as it has the potential to be one of the best DVD multi drives on the market.
We also asked BenQ about the BenQ DQ60 DVD burner. Why does it use a Panasonic chipset? Why does it not follow a similar naming scheme compared to all other BenQ DVD drives? BenQ informed us that this drive was originally not planned to be released under the BenQ brand. The drive was manufactured and developed for Teac, who had given BenQ the requirements to use the Panasonic chipset. After the development and production was in place, BenQ made a new decision to attempt to sell some of these units under the BenQ brand and the DQ60 was born.
It was also nice to find the CDFreaks Editor's choice award displayed on the BenQ banner located in their optical storage section.
BenQ was also displaying some BenQ branded media featuring "DataGuard X" technology. According to the display sign, DataGuard X is a data protection technology designed especially for DVD media, and integrates Sterling Silver Reflective Layer, Enhanced Recording Layer, Anti-UV Strengthened Substrate, and Seamless Bonding Technology. Using DataGuard X, BenQ DVD media is able to offer the ultimate protection for all your precious DVD recordable data and video.
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SONY DRU-820A info:
http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=4076900
[edited by _chef_ on 10.01.2006 18:08]
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