Looking to capitalize on the incredible growth of netbooks and mini-notebook systems (which lack optical disk drives), Samsung has announced their new portable external DVD writer – the SE-S084B. Available in seven colors, the SE-S084B comes with only one single cable – relying on the USB cable for both data transmission and power. Features and specs of the Samsung SE-S084B include:

• Tray design
• Weighs less than a pound
• Eco-friendly design; RoHS compliant
• Speed Adjustment Technology
• Tilt Actuator Compensation
• Double OPC (optimum power control)
• Buffer Under Run Free Technology for stable writing under high speed
• Magic Speed technology
• ABS (Automatic Ball Balancing System) reduces vibration and noise

The SE-S084B is available in a 8X DVD+R and DVD-R writer, a 6X DVD+R and –R Dual Layer writer, and a 5X DVD-RAM writer. The seven colors are as follows - black, white, silver, pink, blue, sky-blue, and red – all of which are available now for $79.99.

Technorati Tags: Samsung SE-S084B, External DVD burner

Looking to upgrade your internal DVD drive on your PC? How about trading it up for a new Sony third generation BWU-300S Blu-ray writer? The device has a suggested price of around $400 dollars and has the following features:

• Supports single and dual layer BD-R media at up to 8x speed
• Records 25GB disc in approximately 15 minutes; 50GB in approximately 30 minutes
• Records DVDs at up to 16x
• Records CDs at up to 48x
• Supports DVD-RAM recording
• Comes bundled with “Men in Black” Blu-ray Disc
• Includes CyberLink’s software suite
• SATA interface

The Sony BWU-300S will be available starting next month.

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Technorati Tags: Sony BWU-300S, Blu-ray recorder writer

Buffalo Technology is now offering two Blu-ray DVD Combo drive solutions - the MediaStation 8x External Blu-ray drive (model BR-816SU2) and the MediaStation Internal Blu-ray drive (model BR-816FBS). Both drives offer 8x read/write speeds for BD-R media - making the drives some of the fastest out there today.

Both MediaStation drives support the following media types: Blu-ray BD-R 8x, Blu-ray BD-RE 2x, DVD RAM 5x, DVD –R 16x, DVD +R 16x, DVD-RW 6x, DVD +RW 8x, CD-R 48x, and CD-RW 24x. 

The external MediaStation connects to a PC via USB 2.0 or eSATA while the internal MediaStation connects using a SATA interface. You’ll get a Cyberlink software suite bundled with these drives which include applications such as PowerDVD, PowerDirector, Power2Go, PowerBackup, and PowerProducer.

Both drives will be available later this month with the MediaStation 8x External Blu-ray drive selling for $399.99 and the internal MediaStation 8x Blu-ray drive selling for $349.99.

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Technorati Tags: Buffalo Technology, MiniStation 8x External Blu-ray Drive, MiniStation 8x Internal Blu-ray drive

Panasonic will be releasing a new internal Blu-ray burner in Japan on Sept. 13th called the LF-PB371JD. The drive supports a multitude of formats including BD-RE, BD-R, BD-ROM, DVD-RAM, DVD+-R, DVD+-R DL, DVD+-RW, DVD-Video, DVD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, and CD-ROM. Other specs include Serial ATA support, 8MB cache, and support for Windows Vista, and Windows XP.

[Check it out via TechFresh]

Technorati Tags: Panasonic LF-PB371JD, Blu-ray Burner

Well here’s an interesting statistic. According to a study funded by Macrovision, nearly one third of consumers pirate commercial DVDs. This study was based on a polling of 3613 DVD users in the US and 1718 users in the UK and was released by Futuresource Consulting. The study showed the following:

• Commercial DVD piracy has increased in the last year
• Copying has become easier than ever before thanks to PC software
• Men between 18 to 24 years of age are the “biggest offenders”

Adding fuel to the fire - nearly 2/3rds of the offenders would have purchased some of the titles had they not been able to copy the DVD.

So yes - a report such as this will further press Hollywood to come up with ways to circumvent DVD copying - whether through technology or through legal means. Personally - I hate these kinds of studies simply because we don’t know a thing about the respondents. What are the age ranges of the polled users? What part of the country are they from? How does the age range affect the frequency of copying (although we do know that people between 18 to 24 copy the most). Without this information, this study is effectively useless and will only be used as propaganda for increasing and furthering copy protection laws.

I’ll say this much - Most of my friends do NOT know how to copy DVDs nor do they actually spend the time in front of their computers to do so.

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Technorati Tags: DVD copying, Macrovision

Are you looking to add a Blu-ray drive to your Mac system? Check out MCE Technologies new 6X Blu-ray Internal Recordable Drive for the Apple Mac Pro and Power Mac systems. This drive supports both 25GB single layer and 50GB dual layer Blu-ray discs - achieving 6X writing speeds for 25GB discs and 4X writing speeds for 50GB discs. Other features of this drive include:

• Support for all other DVD and CD recordable media formats
• Supports LightScribe technology
• 4MB buffer
• Built-in underrun protection

Now for a bit of irony. While the drive is completely compatible with OS X, you won’t be able to watch any Blu-ray movies because OS X has no built-in support for Blu-ray movie playback as of yet. Thus - you’ll have to boot into Windows to watch Blu-ray movies. If you want to burn data though, you’ll have no problems within OS X.

The MCE Technogies 6X Blu-ray drive goes for $499 and comes with a 25GB Blu-ray BD-RE rewritable disc. For $599, you’ll get the drive along with Toast 9 Titanium + Toast BD/HD plug-in software. Finally, for $1295.00, you’ll get the drive and Adobe Premiere Pro CS3.

[Check it out via  TUAW]

Technorati Tags: MCE Technologies new 6X Blu-ray Internal Recordable Drive, Mac Pro, Power Mac, MCE Technologies

Samsung is expanding their TruDirect line of optical disk drives with the introducing of the SE-T084M/RSWD - an external slim, slot-in drive. Samsung’s TruDirect technology allows users to create DVDs through PC’s without the need for a hard drive to act as a buffer. This basically means devices connected to your PC (such as a camcorder, or a digital camera) can now directly deliver data to a DVD burner without the need for an intermediate step thereby speeding up the burn process.

Key features and specs to the Samsung TruDirect SE-T084M include the following:

• Allows fast and real-time recording from most digital devices directly to DVD
• Eliminates pre-mastering, multiplexing or hard drive buffering
• USB 2.0 buffer
• 2 MB buffer
• Measures 6.41 x 1.96 x 9.13 inches
• Reads DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, DVD+-R, DVD+-RW, DVD+-R DL, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, CD-DA
• Writes DVD-RAM, DVD+-R, DVD+-RW, DVD+R DL, DVD-R DL, CD-R
• Supports Lightscribe
• 20X writing speeds

The Samsung TruDirect SE-T084M will be available in July for an MSRP of $149.

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Technorati Tags: Samsung TruDirect SE-T084M, DVD burner

Pioneer Electronics has introduced two new internal DVD burners for computers - the DVR-116D and DVR-216D - both featuring a new Optimal Write Speed setting that recognizes the disc media and automatically adjusts the drive’s write speed to ensure the best possible burn. Other common features include:

• Decreased total drive noise output by “trapping” the airflow noise generated by a spinning platter as well as “dampening” noise produced by a drive. 
• “Anti-Dust” internal mechanism design
• Liquid Crystal Tilt/Blur Compensator technology helps compensate for media irregularities

The drives support:

The DVR-116D is the PATA version while the DVR-216D is the SATA version. Both drives are expected to ship in July.

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Technorati Tags: Pioneer Electronics, DVR-116D, DVR-216D

LG Electronics has launched their Super Multi Blue Drive for the Korean market at a price of $520 U.S. dollars According to Newlaunches.com, the Super Multi Blue Drive supports both Blu-ray and HD DVD formats and features a 6x Blu-ray burner functionality. No word on the actual model number yet.

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Technorati Tags: LG, Super Multi Blue, Korea, HD DVD, Blu-ray

If you’re looking for a super slim external DVD burner, then you might be interested in the newly announced LG Electronics GSA-E50N - dubbed the “Slim Portable Super Multi”. Yes.. that name doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue.. but neither does GSA-E50N. The 8X speed DVD burner supports DVD+R/RW, DVD-R/RW, and DVD-RAM media formats and even comes with LightScribe technology support. More importantly, this external burner measures a mere 21.4 mm wide and weighs only 380 grams and is entirely USB powered. USB power == GOOD. AC adapter == BAD. Simple as that folks!

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: LG Electronics, GSA-E50N