Items concerning DVD material
The popularity of Blu-ray went ballistic during 2008, with sales and rentals of Blu-ray content discs almost tripling in the US and quadrupling in the UK.
US sales notch up $750 million
Laughing in the face of an overall downturn in the U.S. home entertainment market, the entire Blu-ray Disc market in the U.S. totted up to a hefty $750 million last year, up from $270 million in 2007.
A strong sense of Deja Vu is flowing thick around the Digital-Lifestyles offices today as we hear that ‘Hollywood’ is to take legal action against Real Network for their DVD copying software, RealDVD.
Five years ago last month, the collected legal might of the Hollywood studios took a disliking to 321 Studios as they too had the temerity to create and sell software that allowed people to copy their DVDs.
Punters are failing to feel the love for the shiny new high tech Blu-ray format, with many happy to stick with their trusty old DVD players, according to a recent survey.
In a survey of 1,000 consumers, ABI Research found that over half had “other priorities” to shelling out for a Blu-ray player, although just under a quarter said that they were likely to buy one sometime next year.
It’s all well and good strutting around town with your snazzy slim’n’light ultraportable laptop but if there’s no optical recorder lurking inside you’re going to feel a bit of a chump when you need to back up content or access material on CD or DVD.
Continue reading LG GSA-E5ON Slim Portable CD/DVD Rewriter Review (76%)
Yesterday we gave an overview of the Teac Reference DR-H300DAB and looked at its usability.
Viewing tests
The Teac did a pretty job playing back DVDs through a conventional TV and it even had a pretty good stab at upscaling to 720p and 1080i video resolutions, although a few jagged edges and over-bright colours occasionally gave the game away.
Continue reading Teac Reference DR-H300DAB DVD Receiver – Review Part 2/2 (74%)
Compact receiver packs hi-fi performance and DVD playback in a stylish package.
Looking dapper with its old-school looks, stylish brushed steel finish and promising oodles of hi-fi goodness is Teac’s DR-H300DAB DVD Receiver.
Aimed at space-strapped folks looking for a lorra entertainment without the need to fill up the room with half of ton of cables’n’components, the DR-H300DAB packs a CD player (CD-R/RW, MP3, WMA, PictureCD and DivX; 3.11, 4.x, 5.x) and a DAB/FM RDS receiver.
Continue reading Teac Reference DR-H300DAB DVD Receiver – Review Part 1
If you’re the kind of person that is happy to sacrifice a bit of sound quality in exchange for some serious pose value, then Philips’ new MCD299 micro home theatre could be just the ticket for your a la mode living room.
Continue reading Philips DVD Micro Theatre MCD299
After refusing to entertain the idea for many years, the DVD Copy Control Association (DVD CCA), are ‘actively considering’ letting DVD to be burnt in-shops and by video download services.
The only caveat? ‘Special blank DVD discs’ would be require as they will use the current DVD protection scheme, Content Scrambling System (CSS). It also give the studios to charge consumers extra money for the disc, that they’ll use to burn films that they also be paying for (or are we just getting too cynical?).
It’s anticipated that early uses of this will be kiosks in public places, probably shops when the public will be able to select films, possibly the more obscure ones (see Long Tail), and walk out with a DVD disk that they can play in the DVD player.
DVD CCA are saying that once they get that up and working, they’ll work on a version that consumer can use at home. They’re talking about letting it record films, TV shows – clearly predicting the time when TV programs will not be freely recorded. Some online services like MoveiLink have been considering this recently.
The DVD CCA is a vehicle for the film industry to control and dictate the technical specification of DVDs.
The film industry really had to do something to counter what lots of people are doing anyway, making copies of their DVDs to use in their holiday homes or in their cars. This has been made possible by CSS being cracked many years ago by Norwegian computer programmer, Jon Lech Johansen, otherwise know as DVD-Jon.
CSS was significantly flawed by its design, as it uses fixed software keys to encrypt the content of the DVD. These keys were kept secret, so when some of those became revealed, the protection was cracked.
It’s amazing to watch the price reduction of consumer goods. First we saw the free fall of the VHS machines, then DVD players which got to the ridiculous level of £19.99 – with 10 DVD’s.
Now, of course, it’s DVD recorders. Three years ago DVD recorders were costing around £400. Today we were stunned to see that DVD recorders have already got to under £50.
OK, we’ve never heard of the manufacturer, Cello, but what do you expect for that sort of money. We’ve also got no idea what the quality of it is like, or how long it will last. That’s not the point. Here’s something that will let you backup your video material to DVD – either from your video camera, or other Firewire equipped equipment; from S-Video and if you’re really desperate, composite video, or TV.
Product Details
Features
Recording Format
– DVD+RW, DVD+R
Recording Time
– HQ-1 Hr.; SP-2 Hr.; LP-3 Hr. EP-4 Hr.
Playback Format
– DVD±RW, DVD±R, DVD-Video, VCD, CD, MP3, CD-R, CD-RW.
TV Tuner
– For PAL I 05 Modulator Output: CH.21 ~ CH.69
Rear I/O: Input
– Video: Composite Video, S-Video, TV Tuner Audio: R/L Stereo Output: Video: Composite Video, S-Video, YUV / P-SCAN, Audio: 2-CH, Coaxial One Key Recording
IR Remote Control
– 53 keys, 3V infrared Panel keys: Power, Record, Source, CH up, CH down, Play, Stop, Open / Close
See the Cello R100B DVD Recorder for £48.99 at SavaStore
Movielink, a service which delivers films over the Internet, will soon be offering the ability to burn the downloaded films to DVD, complete with DRM protection, reports ZDNet.
It is understood that Sonic Solutions has been working with Movielink to provide the last link in the chain that has held many consumers back from using the service.
People like the idea of being able to take the films down, but as very few people have the PC in their lounge, don’t cherish sitting in front of the PC for 2+ hours to watch the film. As the films are delivered now, it’s not possible to transfer the films DVD, for fear that those naught consumers might copy the disc.
Being able to burn films to DVD is second nature for anyone using file sharing services, you know, the ones where the film companies don’t make any money from the films being downloaded, so it would seem quite reasonable to offer the same service to the people who are willing to pay for the films, wouldn’t it.
Sonic Solutions signed a similar deal with video CoDec company DivX back on 20 June to use Sonic’s AuthorScript disc-burning engine, although it was unclear if DRM would be transfered to the burnt disc.
The Movielink service, is limited to only US user, who own Windows-based machine and is a joint venture between Paramount, Sony Pictures, Universal and Warner Brothers.
MovieLink If you’re outside the US, don’t bother clicking, you won’t see anything of interest.