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Posts with tag hybrid drive

HP's Pavilion Slimline s3330f PC does Blu-ray and HD DVD


A slim PC destined to handle both of the major high-definition movie formats? Say it ain't so! Turns out, HP is indeed doling out such a machine, and it's so eloquently dubbed the Pavilion Slimline s3330f PC. Here's a look at what this mighty mini-tower will be packin':
  • 2.8GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 processor
  • 2GB of DDR2 RAM
  • 500GB 7,200 RPM SATA drive
  • HP Pocket Media Drive Bay
  • Single LightScribe-enabled optical drive that reads Blu-ray / HD DVD and writes to dual-layer DVDs
  • NVIDIA's 256MB GeForce 8500 GT
  • 802.11b/g WiFi
  • Built-in NTSC / ATSC TV tuners
  • Front-mounted 15-in-1 multicard reader
Furthermore, you'll find 6 USB 2.0 ports, FireWire, audio in / out, DVI / HDMI ports and a wireless keyboard / mouse bundled in along with a whole suite of software. Intrigued? Be on the lookout for this one to land later this month starting at $949.

Addonics offers peace with external HD DVD / Blu-ray drive


Combo drives made specifically with computers in mind aren't unheard of or anything, but they're still a long ways from being a dime a dozen, so we figured it was worth the time to check out Addonics' latest. This peace maker plays back HD DVD, Blu-ray, DVD and CD, but it will only burn to the latter two; also, it's available with eSATA or eSATA / USB 2.0 interfaces, and it should play nice with Windows, OS X and Linux-based rigs. If you're wondering about speed, it can reportedly toast CD-Rs at 48x, CD-RWx at 32x, DVD±R at 16x, DVD±RW at 8x and DVD±R DL at 2.4x. Both of these suckas are available now for $409 / $429 depending on your choice of interface, and trust us, you never know when having something like this around will totally save the night.

HP to launch desktops with Blu-ray / HD DVD combo writers?

Regrettably, there's not a lot to go on just yet, but DigiTimes has it that HP will soon be launching "next-generation PCs with a Blu-ray / HD DVD dual-format burner." The announcement was reportedly issued at a product presentation held in Singapore, and while no model numbers were doled out, we can purportedly expect the two-faced machines to land in Europe and America sometime next month. Notably, HP has hemmed and hawed between formats in the past, but we're all for a rig that burns (and reads) both.

[Via TG Daily]

Buffalo offers up external HD DVD / Blu-ray combo drive in Japan


Nah, Buffalo isn't manufacturing the HD DVD / Blu-ray drive that sits comfortably within its new external enclosure, but those parked in Japan can reportedly get ahold of this peace maker for just ¥51,000 ($440). Apparently, Buffalo chose the GGC-H20N optical drive to read both high-definition formats in its BHC-6316U2, and CyberLink's PowerDVD7.3 Ultra will also be thrown in for good measure. Next month, Buffalo will be loosing the BRHC-6316U2, which will utilize the GGW-H20N Blu-ray burner / HD DVD reader and will run customers a respectable ¥74,800 ($644).

[Via EverythingUSB]

Inteset stuffs HD DVD / Blu-ray combo drive in media PCs


Currently, there's just not a whole lot of options when you're scouting a pre-fabricated rig that does both HD DVD and Blu-ray on a single optical drive, but adding one more to mix certainly helps. Enter Inteset, which has just announced that an HD DVD / Blu-ray combo drive will be an option in the firm's Maximus and Denzel media server systems. The machines will reportedly come loaded with CyberLink's PowerDVD Ultra software, support 7.1-channel surround sound, and sport an array of ports including audio in / out, DVI / VGA / component / S-Video, USB, FireWire, and antenna inputs for the TV tuners. 'Course, since the company recommends that you "contact a dealer for pricing," you should assume that this here HTPC won't run you cheap.

VidaBox Magnum HTPC gets priced out of our league


Hey, we all knew good and well VidaBox was sparing no luxury when crafting the CableCARD-ready, HD DVD / Blu-ray supporting HTPC it affectionately dubs the Magnum, but even the well prepared may be a tad taken aback by the price. While the vendor's website still requests that you swallow a chill pill and calmly call for any pricing inquiries, AudioJunkies has apparently done us all the favor. Wrapped up in what appears to be OrigenAE's oh-so-sexy aluminum chassis, the VidaBox Magnum reportedly starts at a dollar under eight grand, and while we're sure the base configuration is more than plenty, why not throw in an extra stick of RAM and a few terabytes of HDD space to ensure your next media PC costs more than a new Kia Rio?

Hitachi showcases internal GGW-H20N Blu-ray burner / HD DVD reader


Ah, the sweet aroma of competition in the air. That's what we've gotten a whiff of after catching an (admittedly grainy) shot of what appears to be an internal Blu-ray writing / HD DVD reading combo drive from Hitachi. The GGW-H20N should have no issues playing your favorite high-definition films on either format, and it can also burn 50GB dual-layer Blu-ray discs, BD-R, BD-RW, and the typical flavors of writable DVDs and CDs. Reportedly, the drive will also boast a speedy SATA interface and will posses a read rate of up to 6x and burn rate of 4x, but the most important detail (read: worldwide release details) was unsurprisingly omitted. Bring on the price drops.

[Via FormatWarCentral]

Hard disk makers form Hybrid Storage Alliance

With the format wars going on in one part of the tech world, it is good to know that some companies can still see the benefit of coming together. Putting aside their competitive differences, hard disk makers Hitachi, Seagate, Toshiba, and Samsung, have joined forces to form the Hybrid Storage Alliance, a group advocating -- you guessed it -- the use of hybrid drives. As you may or may not remember, these new storage devices combine the capacity of conventional platter drives with the speed of flash memory. Put that together with Microsoft's Windows ReadyDrive, and now you have longer battery life and faster boot-up times. While we appreciate the push the "Alliance" is making for the adoption of anything that makes laptop usage more enjoyable, we would rather see them create a group with SanDisk and push SSD prices down even more. Plus, where's Western Digital up in this piece?

Seagate announces bevy of new drives

Seagate's not holding out on us today, people. They've launched a whole slew of new drives, such as: the Momentus 5400 PSD (Power-Saving Drive), a 5,400RPM drive with 256MB non-volatile memory -- also known as a hybrid drive (which we've been hearing oh so much about); the Momentus 5400.2 FDE, their latest mobile drive, now with full disc AES encryption; the Momentus 5400.3, the largest yet laptop drive with 160GB of storage space on those tiny 2.5-inch platters; the Momentus 7200.2, a 160GB 7,200RPM 2.5-inch drive; the Savvio 10K.2 146GB 10k RPM 2.5-inch drive (small enough for a laptop, designed for a blade server); the ST18 1.8-inch 60GB perpendicular media-device drive; and, of course, a new 8GB Pocket Drive. Expect those to trickle out throughout the year, but we'll be paying especially close attention to our 160GB laptop drive (or, preferably, the 200GB Toshiba), oh yes we will.

[Via TG Daily]



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