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11 July 2007

Buying a computer with integrated graphics can save you money. However, when it comes to things like playing Blu-ray or HD DVD movies, they just don't have the horsepower. To give these computers the performance boost they need, Albatron has released a Blue Ray Decoder Card (Yes, they spell it "Blue"). By utilizing NVIDIA's Geforce 8500GT GPU, this low-profile VGA card can reduce CPU utilization by 60% during high-def video playback.

Albatron has recently announced the exciting new "Blue Ray Decoder Card" giving mainstream users a great alternative to Integrated Graphics. This low-profile VGA card can provide even the most basic systems with High Definition video playback including Blu-ray and HD-DVD. This card also supports DirectX 10, boosting 3D graphics performance for the Windows VistaTM operating system...

...The technology behind this high performance, high definition video playback is NVIDIA's PureVideo HD technology, embedded into the NVIDIA Geforce 8500GT GPU. One of the most practical aspects of this technology is that it focuses video playback mostly on the GPU, leaving your CPU to do other things. In fact, systems using Core 2 Duo processors with PureVideo HD usage has consistently shown CPU utilization under 20% during high definition video playback which also demonstrates up to a 60% reduction in CPU impact when using PureVideo HD versus using other technologies. This card also supports H.264, VC-1 and MPEG-2 encoding/compression formats used to record data on both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray disks.

In reality, Albatron's Blue Ray Decoder Card is nothing more than a low-profile version of the 8500GT-256 graphics card. No word yet on price or availability. As we find out more, we'll let you know. In the mean time, Albatron's entire press release can be found here. 0 Comments

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06 July 2007

AMD Athlon X2 BE-2350 @Hardware Zone
Cooler Master CoolViva Pro @InsideHW.com
Eagle Tech Consus D-Series 2xSATA External Raid Storage @Madshrimps
HighPoint RocketRAID 2314 eSATA @TweakTown
MSI P35 Neo Motherboard @ChileHardware
PowerColor HD 2900 XT Video Card @I4U
Saitek GM3200 3200dpi Laser Gaming Mouse @Tweaknews.net
Samsung LN-T4061F 40" 1080p High Definition LCD TV @Tweaknews.net
Sapphire Radeon HD 2600 XT 256MB GDDR4 @Hardware Zone
Thermalright HR-03 Plus VGA Cooler @HardwareLogic

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05 July 2007

Toshiba announced this morning that they've filed a lawsuit against the German DVD maker, EDD Bizz GmbH. According to Toshiba's press release, EDD is infringing on their patents by manufacturing DVD's without a licensing agreement.

Toshiba Corporation announced today that the Company filed a lawsuit in Germany against a German disc replicator of DVD discs on July 4, 2007. The suit was brought to the Düsseldorf Regional Court against EDD Bizz GmbH (EDD) and its managing director, Mr. Denny Holwerda, as a means to halt infringement of some of Toshiba's DVD patents. Toshiba seeks injunctive relief and declaration that EDD is liable for damages resulting from its infringement of Toshiba's DVD patents.

Toshiba licenses patents essential for meeting DVD format specifications. EDD has not entered into license agreements with Toshiba or the DVD6C Licensing Group, and has engaged in the manufacture and sales of DVD video discs in Germany without permission. EDD's infringement of Toshiba's patents has damaged Toshiba's DVD-related business, and also caused damage to the legitimate and licensed DVD product manufacturing and distribution business as a whole. In filing the lawsuit, Toshiba prepares to recover monetary damages, and secure agreement from EDD to respect Toshiba's intellectual property rights in future.

Toshiba isn't messing around when it comes to their patents. In April alone, they sued 17 companies over patent infringements. If you'd like to read more, Toshiba's entire press release can be found here. 0 Comments

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04 July 2007

LG announced this morning that they've filed a lawsuit against Quanta Computer. According to their press release, Quanta has infringed on four patents related to DVD standard.

LG Electronics (LG), a global leader and technology innovator in consumer electronics, filed a lawsuit against Taiwanese computer maker Quanta Computers (Quanta), for infringement of patents related to LG’s DVD technology. LG is seeking an injunction for Quanta’s use of this technology as well as monetary compensation in the suit that was filed in U.S. District Court, the Western District of Wisconsin on July 3, 2007.

LG’s claims include infringement of four patents related to DVD standard. Quanta has been using these patents without LG’s permission to produce notebook computers that were supplied to U.S. computer companies.

Sadly, this isn't the first time LG has sued Quanta over a patent. The company filed a suit against Quanta in 2000 and it has been tied up in the courts ever since. If you'd like to read more, LG's entire press release can be found here. 0 Comments

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03 July 2007

Alienware Area-51 7500 System @HardwareLogic
Cooler Master GeminII CPU/Motherboard Cooler @Tweaknews.net
Logitech X-540 Speakers @InsideHW.com
Sapphire Radeon HD 2600 PRO 256MB GDDR3 OC Edition @Hardware Zone
Toshiba USB 2.0 200GB External Hard Drive @I4U
Zotac GeForce 8800GTX AMP! Edition @TweakTown

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03 July 2007

The battle between Blu-ray and HD DVD has caught the eye of the European Commission. While the group has not launched an official investigation, they are concerned that the exclusive deals struck by some Hollywood studios may be a sign of anticompetitive activity.

Hollywood's studios are racing to dig up files, emails and records of telephone conversations related to the competing Blu-ray and HD DVD formats after the European Commission sent out letters last month demanding evidence of their communications and agreements on the new generation of DVD formats.

The European Commission, the European Union's executive body, appears to be particularly interested in the activities of the Blu-ray group because of its dominance in Hollywood, according to people familiar with the situation. The commission is investigating whether improper tactics were used to suppress competition and persuade the studios to back their format.

According to the article, HD DVD supporters lobbied the European Commission, asking them to investigate relationship with Blu-ray and its supporters. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. 0 Comments

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02 July 2007

To become more competitive, Asustek will be splitting up its branded and contract manufacturing businesses in January. While the branded business will retain the Asustek name, the contract manufacturing business will be broken up into two specialized units named Pegatron and Unihan.

Taiwan's Asustek Computer Inc. (2357.TW: Quote, Profile, Research), the world's top computer motherboard maker, said on Monday it will split its contract manufacturing from its branded businesses in January to become more competitive.

Asustek also said it would separate its contract manufacturing, or original equipment manufacturing (OEM), into two units: Pegatron, specialising in PC-related equipment, and Unihan, focusing on casing, modules and non-PC products.

The branded business will retain the company's current Taiwan listing and the Asustek name. The two OEM units could also be listed in Taiwan, but the company does not rule out a listing overseas, Chairman Jonney Shih told a news conference.

If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. 0 Comments

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02 July 2007

Verance announced today that their audio watermark technology is now available for licensing. This new technology will give HD DVD and Blu-ray players the capability to identify and restrict the use of watermarked content camcorded in a movie theater or ripped from a prerecorded disc.

Verance Corporation today announced the immediate availability of its audio watermark technology for licensing by manufacturers of Blu-ray and HD DVD players and components. The licenses provide access to technical specifications, implementations, and intellectual property rights necessary for the inclusion of the Verance audio watermark detection within their products on a reasonable and non-discriminatory basis...

AACS LA, LLC (http://www.aacsla.com), the cross-industry consortium that is providing the content protection architecture for use in next-generation optical media formats (including HD DVD and Blu-ray), identified the Verance audio watermark technology as an element of its content protection solution and approved the use of Verance watermark on AACS-protected pre-recorded HD DVD and Blu-ray discs in February 2006. AACS is expected to release final license agreements requiring the inclusion of VCMS/AV detector technology in HD DVD and Blu-ray players in the coming months.

It will be interesting to see how well Verance's audio watermark technology works. If its anything like AACS, it will be cracked or bypassed in no time. If you'd like to read more, Verance's entire press release can be found here. 0 Comments

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29 June 2007

Apple TV @I4U
ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT @ChileHardware,HardwareZone
BlueAnt SuperTooth Bluetooth Handsfree System @The TechZone
Cooljag 92-Cu Intel/AMD Heatpipe CPU Cooler @Tweaknews.net
Eagle Tech Consus T & M Series SATA-IDE Enclosures @Madshrimps
ECS PN2 SLI2+ nForce 680i SLI Motherboard @Futurelooks
Nexus Morpho Premium Aluminum Case @Tweaknews.net
NZXT HUSH Silent PC Case @ThinkComputers.org
Samsung 19" SyncMaster 940UX USB LCD Monitor @Everything USB
XFX 8600 GT Fatal1ty Video Card @I4U

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