MFDigital CD DVD Information Library
Friday, June 26, 2009
 
Australian Researchers to Create Next Generation optical Discs
Futuristic discs with a storage capacity 2,000 times that of current DVDs could be just around the corner, thanks to new research from Swinburne University of technology. Researchers from the university's Centre for Micro-Photonics have demonstrated how nanotechnology can enable the creation of 'five dimensional' discs with huge storage capacities.

The research, carried out by Mr Peter Zijlstra, Dr James Chon and Professor Min Gu was published today in the scientific journal Nature. The Nature article describes how the researchers were able to use nanoscopic particles to exponentially increase the amount of information contained on a single disc. "We were able to show how nanostructured material can be incorporated onto a disc in order to increase data capacity, without increasing the physical size of the disc," Gu said.

Discs currently have three spatial dimensions, but using nanoparticles the Swinburne researchers were able to introduce a spectral -- or colour -- dimension as well as a polarisation dimension. "These extra dimensions are the key to creating ultra-high capacity discs," Gu said. To create the 'colour dimension' the researchers inserted gold nanorods onto a disc's surface. Because nanoparticles react to light according to their shape, this allowed the researchers to record information in a range of different colour wavelengths on the same physical disc location.

This is a major improvement on current DVDs that are recorded in a single colour wavelength using a laser. The researchers were also able to introduce an extra dimension onto the disc using polarisation. When they projected light waves onto the disc, the direction of the electric field contained within them aligned with the gold nanorods. This allowed the researchers to record different layers of information at different angles.

"The polarisation can be rotated 360 degrees," Chon said. "So for example, we were able to record at zero degree polarisation. Then on top of that, we were able to record another layer of information at 90 degrees polarisation, without them interfering with each other." Some issues, such as the speed at which the discs can be written on, are yet to be resolved. However the researchers are confident the discs will be commercially available within 5 - 10 years. They have signed an agreement with Korea-based Samsung, one of the world's largest electronics manufacturers.

The discs are likely to have immediate applications in a range of fields. They would be valuable for storing extremely large medical files such as MRIs and could also provide a boon in the financial, military and security arenas. Last month, US technology giant General Electric said its researchers had developed a holographic disc which can store the equivalent of 100 standard DVDs.


Source: CDRinfo

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- posted by MF Digital Marketing @ 11:04 AM
Friday, May 29, 2009
 
The NPD Group: DVD Still Dominates Home Video in the U.S.
According to The NPD Group market research, watching movies and other video content on DVD and Blu-ray Disc (BD) comprises the lion?s share of home-video acquisition and viewing, even as newer digital methods are beginning to gain a foothold in the consumer market.

In fact DVD and BD sales and rentals represented 88 percent of consumer spending on home video content, based on a survey that asked about home video consumption over the previous three months.

Results from NPD's March 2009 update to the "Entertainment Trends In America" consumer tracking study revealed that the average U.S. home video consumer reported spending an average of $25 per month on all types of home video purchases and rentals. When it comes to spending on home video content: 63 percent was spent on DVD purchases; 7 percent on BD purchases; 18 percent on DVD/BD rentals from retail stores, subscriptions or kiosks; 9 percent on video on-demand (VOD); and 3 percent on digital downloads and online streaming.

When consumers were queried about all the ways they watched a full-length movie in the past three months, digital options were not widely used; however, the category has grown since last year. According to NPD 9 percent of consumers with home Internet connections reported watching movies streamed online in the past three months, versus just 5 percent last year; 8 percent rented a digital an increase of 4 percentage points since last year. Viewing movies downloaded through game consoles attracted fewer than 5 percent of consumers.

According to the research, eight out of 10 digital movie downloaders also reported buying or renting a DVD, which compares to only 50 percent for the population as a whole; 25 percent claimed to buy or rent a Blu-ray disc, versus 5 percent overall. "While many in the home video industry worry that digital consumers might walk away from packaged media, that hasn?t happened yet," said Russ Crupnick, entertainment industry analyst for NPD.

"Discs are still and by far the dominant way Americans enjoy home video, but there is an increasing appetite for digital options," Crupnick said. "The good news is that the consumers engaging with digital video today also tend to be heavy consumers of DVDs and Blu-ray Disc, but it remains to be seen just how long physical discs and digital formats can co-exist."

Data note: Information in this press release was derived from The NPD Group’s "Entertainment Trends In America" consumer tracking study. The study is conducted online and is based on more than 11,000 completed responses from U.S. consumers. Final survey data was weighted to represent U.S. population of individuals age 13 and older. All data was tested for statistical significance at 95 percent confidence level.


Source: EmediaLive

- posted by MF Digital Marketing @ 12:26 PM
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
 
Inexpensive Blu-Ray Players to Hit U.S. Shelves
According to the latest industry information, Blu-Ray players are expected to hit the $99 barrier somewhere next year.

The average selling price of Blu-ray players has been falling steadily -- it's now about $200 -- and there's little doubt that prices will keep dropping as Blu-ray goes mainstream and player shipments increase. But one report says the average price for entry-level Blu-ray players may to drop to as little as $99 in the very near future.

According to a Blu-ray.com report, Chinese manufacturers are preparing to enter the market for the high-definition video players, and this development could mean very aggressive prices for low-end Blu-ray hardware. The Blu-ray Disc Association recently began licensing Blu-ray technology in China, a move that has led Samsung marketing director Mark Leathan to speculate that $99 players aren't far off, the report states.

"Black Friday, maybe. It's entirely possible you could see a few players down at that price level," says Baker, who adds that it's a little early to speculate about holiday prices. The industry will have a better idea of holiday pricing by mid-summer.

Another issue is just how stripped down those entry-level Blu-ray players might be. It's unlikely that established players such as Panasonic, Samsung, and Sony will sell sub-$100 Blu-ray players, but rather they'll leave the low end to the Chinese upstarts and other value-sector brands like Magnavox and Sylvania, the Blu-ray.com report says.

Source: CDRinfo

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- posted by MF Digital Marketing @ 3:15 PM
Friday, March 20, 2009
 
Optical Storage Industry to Introduce Certification For the Longevity of DVD Recordable Media
CDs21 solutions, an association that promotes CDs and other optical storage media announced plans to contribute in the development of a longevity certification program of DVD +R and DVD-R media. The association, which was founded in 2001 and was organized to promote CDs (compact discs), announced that its plans to start a series of tests in DVD recordable discs available today and provide specific certifications to all those media that would successfully show a longevity and reliability of 30 years or more.

The tests, which will be performed by the NPO Archive Test Center in Japan in four different labs, are expected to start in the following three months. The testing procedure will be based on the ISO/IEC 10995, a global standard for optical media archive life testing for recordable and rewritable DVDs. ISO International approved the standard last year and it is the culmination of joint development efforts by OSTA and ECMA. It defines the standard procedures for media archive life testing and classification.

The standard specifies an accelerated aging test method for estimating the life expectancy for the retrievability of information stored on recordable or rewritable optical disks. The method includes specific measurements of the electrical signals on the discs (readability), during the various phases of the aging test.

CDs21 solutions has also proposed a certification for all those media that will prove to be reliable at least for 30 years. Today, the majority of DVD disc makers claim that their discs are reliable for more than 50 years.

The certification can be printed on the package of the DVD recordable discs. As a result, end-users will be able to select the media life expectancy best suited to their application requirements.

source: CDRFreaks

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- posted by MF Digital Marketing @ 11:07 AM
Monday, January 26, 2009
 
Sony opens Blu-ray plant in China
Just two months after Sony Pictures Home Entertainment announced it will begin to offer select Blu-ray movies to the Chinese market, Sony has opened a Blu-ray manufacturing plant in Shanghai, China.

Sony will work with the Shanghai Media Group to produce up to 500,000 Blu-ray discs per month at the 130,000 square foot facility. The Japanese electronics company hopes to have 200 full-time employees working at the new facility as soon as possible.

At least 32 Blu-ray movie titles are already available in China, with Sony aiming to have 100 released before the end of 2009. Sony already has Blu-ray disc plants in the United States, Japan and Austria.

Sony's likely going to have to restructure and cut more jobs, and the Chinese market is flooded with $1 illegal DVDs, so it will be interesting to see if both companies involved will be able to convince consumers to spend up to $30 per Blu-ray disc.

Having a manufacturing plant in the country will allow Sony to better combat piracy by avoiding import permits and taxes while also releasing movies to consumers faster. Blu-ray is growing in the country, with Pioneer, Panasonic and Sony importing Blu-ray players into the market -- China Hualu also has three Blu-ray players that have been made inside China.


Source: CDRFreaks

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- posted by MF Digital Marketing @ 1:12 PM
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
 
Blu-ray recorders outpace DVD in Japan
The market share for Blu-ray disc recorders has finally taken control of more than 50 percent of the consumer market in Japan, according to new recent numbers compiled by GfK Retail and Technology.

In April 2002, DVD recorders had 10 percent of the Japanese market share, and continued to pick up steam up until 2008. Now that the price of Blu-ray recorders has finally started to drop, expect sales numbers to begin to pick in other parts of the world besides Japan.

During the first week of June 2008, the average cost of Blu-ray recorders ranged from $1,100 up to $1,300. GfK Retail and Technology indicates the average price is now below $1,000.

The demand for the Blu-ray recorders has accelerated due to the popularity of flat panel TVs, which have seen a higher level of demand as of late. During the Thanksgiving week, including Black Friday, U.S. shoppers purchased almost 150,000 standalone Blu-ray players, spending $30 million. Video Business said that figure is three times the sales numbers from a week prior to Thanksgiving, when Blu-ray players were still had an average price of $240.

The sales numbers for Black Friday and Cyber Monday were helped when Blu-ray players like the Samsung BD-P1500 and Sony BDP-S350 were available for $199 during the shopping weekend, when both players retail for $249. Many of you indicated you want prices on Blu-ray players to drop below $200 on average, with the cost of Blu-ray movies competing with DVD prices.

Source: CDRFreaks

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- posted by MF Digital Marketing @ 10:56 AM
Monday, November 17, 2008
 
New ISO standard Gives Recommendations For Care of Optical Discs
A new International Standard establishes general principles and gives recommendations for the care and handling of optical disks during use with a view to maximizing their effective life.

ISO 18938:2008 establishes general principles for the care and handling of digital optical discs during use. It addresses the issues of physical integrity of the medium necessary to preserve access to the recorded data (information).

It applies to the families of compact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), high definition digital versatile disc (HD DVD), Blu-ray disc (BD), and any hybrids of these families, as well as each type of disc within a family, e.g. injection moulded [read-only memory (ROM)], dye-layer [recordable (R)] and phase change [rewriteable (RW), random access memory (RAM)] technologies.

As with other media there are concerns about the life expectancy of recorded information on optical discs which, like paper records, photographic film and magnetic tape, can be subject to both damage and decay.

ISO 18938:2008 addresses the issues of physical integrity of the medium necessary to preserve access to the recorded data. These include use and handling environments, including pollutants, temperature and humidity and light exposure, contamination concerns inspection, cleaning and maintenance, including cleaning methods and frequency, transportation disasters, including water, fire, construction and post-disaster procedures as well as staff training.

The effective life of optical disks can also be increased or decreased significantly depending upon the conditions under which they are stored.

Source: CDRinfo

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- posted by MF Digital Marketing @ 10:18 AM