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Dolby gives Chinese Blu-ray makers access to TrueHD / Digital Plus
It's hard to tell if this is a coincidence or not, but just hours after the Blu-ray Disc Association granted the DRA audio coding technology approval for use on Blu-ray flicks, Dolby has come forward to proudly proclaim that its TrueHD and Digital Plus audio technologies can now be used by select Chinese firms. TCL Technoly Electronics, MIT Technology and Lite-On have all been given the green light under license to use Dolby's tech on Blu-ray Disc products, though it does seem a bit curious to us that only these three were selected. Maybe those other guys didn't pass the "apt-to-ape" test?
Recession-busting $150 Blu-ray players coming this year
If digital distribution is going to be held off for another year, Blu-ray players are going to need to achieve some serious market penetration at a rather difficult time. VIZIO's $200 VBR100 should help when it releases in a few months, but could be quickly undercut by a predicted flood of $150 drives said to be inbound from a number of other industry players, including Lite-On. These "white-box" drives will probably be short on features, but so too were the cheap DVD players that killed off the VCR, and nobody thought twice about that. If all goes according to plan look for stacks of inexpensive drives to start appearing at whatever retailers are still in business later this year.
Skyla Memoir scanning digiframe caught on video
Remember Skyla's scanning digiframe? This company has managed to market a $219 piece of technology that does something that people have been doing for a hundred years without scanners, screen resolution, RAM or any of that good stuff. And you know what? It's pretty sweet. Pretty, pretty, pretty sweet. Don't believe us? Check out the video and decide for your own self.
Skyla's Memoir scanning digiframe scans and frames your precious memories
So, you've been collecting Monkees memorabilia for so long that you have a two foot tall stack of photos clipped from Tiger Beat and no way to display them all? Well, you're in luck! The Memoir Scanning Digital Photo Frame is the first product from Skyla, Lite-On's brand new consumer electronics division. It looks like almost all of the other digiframes out there, for better or for worse (actually, for worse) but for one key difference -- this beauty features a 4 x 6-inch, 600 dpi photo scanner. Hits the streets in late December with an expected retail price of $219.99.[Via OhGizmo!]
Lite-On intros 6x iHES206 internal Blu-ray reader / DVD writer
If you were hoping to grab a new Blu-ray writer to slap inside of that new tower, you'll be sorely disappointed with Lite-On's new iHES206. The 6x optical drive simply reads Blu-ray Discs, but it will handle writing of blank CD and DVD media. As for speeds, it can digest single-layer BD-R / RE / ROM discs at 6x (dual-layer at 4x) while writing DVD±R at 16X, DVD±R DL / DVD+RW at 8x, DVD-RW at 6x and DVD-RAM at 12x. It's on track for a November release in Europe for a manageable €139 ($189).[Via CDFreaks]
Rumorang: Lite-On not manufacturing Xbox 360 Blu-ray drives, Microsoft insists
Microsoft has again flipped the 'light off' on the glowing promise of Blu-ray for Xbox 360. Of the latest reports spread from Digitimes that Lite-On would begin shipping Blu-ray drives for Xbox 360 later this year, Microsoft told Techradar: "Lite-On is not manufacturing Blu-ray drives for Xbox 360. As we have stated, games are what are driving consumers to purchase game consoles and we remain focused on providing the largest library of blockbuster game available."Additionally, Microsoft used its swift denial as an opportunity to plug Xbox 360's Video Marketplace, saying, "For our customers who want a premium movie experience we offer the largest library of on-demand HD content available" ... and oh, don't forget, a budget-priced HD-DVD player! (While supplies last.)
Microsoft hoses down latest Xbox 360 Blu-ray rumor
If you're suddenly overcome with a feeling akin to déjà vu, go ahead and kill that speed dial to your physician. For the second time in a month, Microsoft has actually come forward to squash a Blu-ray Xbox 360 rumor. This go 'round, an alleged statement from Redmond states quite outrightly that "Lite-On is not manufacturing Blu-ray drives for Xbox 360," and it continues on by noting that "customers who want a premium movie experience [can check out the] library of on-demand HD content" available to console owners. Still, we've grown accustomed to these denials by now, and while you'd think that having a pair of rumors on the matter smashed would put the issue to rest, we've all ideas this one isn't quite dead and buried just yet.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Xbox 360 with Blu-ray to spark price war with Sony PS3?
DigiTimes is feeling pretty confident about the rumors they started yesterday regarding the Xbox 360 with integrated Blu-ray. They are so confident that they're predicting a price war as Microsoft takes on Sony's PS3 at its own game. Their sources claim that the Blu-ray Disc drive will cost Microsoft between $95 and $100 -- much higher than the $18 to $20 DVD drives already found in the Xbox 360. Microsoft is of course, expected to sell its new Blu-ray rig at a loss as is customary in the console market. Sony may then be forced to lower the cost of the PS3 and/or retaliate by increasing Lite-On's cost for the Blu-ray components (like the BD-ROM pick-up heads) purchased from Sony. Whatever the result, the competition would be nothing but good news for consumers of HD media... you know, if the rumor is true.
Rumor: Lite-On bringing Blu-ray drives to 360
We're beginning to get a little dizzy amidst all this tête-à-tête action between Microsoft and Sony regarding the Blu-ray format. Sony says Microsoft's building a Blu-ray drive, Microsoft says it's not. MS CEO Steve Ballmer says the company's thinking about it, then another MS exec says disc technology's on its way out. Now, Digitimes is reporting that manufacturer Lite-On IT is amidst development of Blu-ray drives for the Xbox 360, to be included in future iterations of the 360 hardware.According to Digitimes' sources, the BD-ROM drives are due to ship out to Microsoft in the second half of this year. Lite-On has previously developed internal DVD-ROM drives for the Xbox 360, leading us to believe that Microsoft may plan to include internal BD-ROM drives in future 360 iterations (such as those including the Jasper, Opus and Valhalla chipsets). No need to fear, however: Such an inclusion would likely be solely for Blu-ray disc playback, and not for Xbox 360 games pressed on BD-ROMS (we hope).
Next generation Xbox 360 with built-in Blu-ray coming in 2008?
Ok, here we go again. Despite Microsoft's attempt to quash Xbox 360 Blu-ray rumors, they're back... with a vengeance. According to "industry sources" speaking to DigiTimes, Lite-On is developing built-in Blu-ray Disc drives for the "next generation" Xbox 360 game console. Lite-On is expected to begin shipping the new BD players for assembly in the second half of 2008. DigiTimes also claims that the new, presumably smaller Xbox 360 will reduce the power supply from 210-watts to 170-watts. So... care to comment, Microsoft?Update: As noted by our readers, Falcon-based 360s are already running at 175-watts.
Philips and Lite-On push out external Blu-ray drive
Yeah, just another Blu-ray drive for your perusal: this one, called the DX-4O1S, reads at 4x, and will be the first by Philips and Lite-On Digital Solutions, that joint venture formed about a year ago. Exciting stuff, this; due out next quarter.
Lite-On factory fire threatens Dell and HP monitor business
A fire at Lite-On's factory in China this month is set to have rippling repercussions on the desktop monitor business. In all, 14 of Lite-On's LCD monitor production lines have been affected by the damage. The very same lines which supply those hi-specced, low priced monitors to Dell and HP, who along with Lenovo are Lite-On's top contract partners. Our advice? If you're on the fence with a purchase then you'd best hop off. Dell and HP are looking at a 20% and 22% shortage, respectively.
Lite-On's Moldable Mouse takes whatever shape you want
Finally, a mouse just for you. Thanks to the folks at Lite-On, you'll never have to suffer the debilitating discomfort of an unshapely mouse ever again. The Moldable Mouse will make all your bad memories of ill-fitting input devices float away, using a lightweight modeling clay combined with a nylon and polyurethane fabric to make up its surface. Once you're palming your new best friend, you can shape its contours to whatever form you desire, though we're pretty sure making a perfect cube will present a challenge. The "stick-on" buttons and scroll-wheel can be added to any location you like, and communicate via RFID. The thing won a Red Dot design award and everything... but coming soon? Probably not.[Via Wired]
Philips and Lite-on announce a $199 Blu-ray drive
All the action in the next-gen format war might be at the front lines of cut-rate players, but the battle rages on across the entire spectrum of devices -- which is why we've seen the poor $199 DH-401S BD-ROM drive from Philips and Lite-on touted as the answer to those $200 HD-A2s in a couple places. That's quite a stretch, obviously, but it's still much cheaper than any other BD-ROM drives we've seen. The read-only SATA drive pulls data off BD media at 4X, single layer DVDs at 12X, DVD-DL and DVD±RW at 8x, and CDs at 32X. Giving up write capabilites is obviously limiting, but for those of you building out HTPCs, this bad boy might be just the ticket.[Thanks, AG23]
Lite-On's LH-2B1S 2x Blu-ray burner gets reviewed
The list of internal Blu-ray burners hitting the test bench just keeps on growing, and if you've been holding off on picking one up as prices begin to sink, here's yet another to mull over. Lite-On's LH-2B1S Blu-ray writer doesn't deviate too much from its major competitors, sports a 2x maximum write speed to BD-R and BR-RE single-layer discs, and toasts up to 8x on certain formats of writable DVDs. The unit was tested using Nero CD/DVD Speed v4.70, and was primarily pitted against Sony's own BWU-100A. During traditional transfer rate testing, the Lite-On lagged behind in average transfer speeds, random seek times, and full stroke times, while actually using more CPU power all the while. Interestingly, the LH-2B1S' write performance was better on vanilla DVD+Rs, marginally slower on DVD+R dual-layer, and a wee bit less quick than the Sony burning to BD-RE. As expected, reviewers weren't mauling crowds at their local retail shop in order to grab on of their own as the ho hum performance really wasn't groundbreaking, but if you've got to have such a unit this very moment in time, the comparatively cheap $499 pricetag still makes the LH-2B1S a viable option.
Lite-On / Philips joint venture takes shape
It looks like joint ventures continue to be all the rage in the optical drive industry these days, with Lite-On and Philips today announcing the imminent arrival of their new combined effort, joining the likes of Sony-NEC, Hitachi-LG, and Toshiba-Samsung. As Daily Tech points out, this latest development doesn't exactly come as a surprise, with the groundwork for the new tag-team partnership laid almost a year ago. It seems that they've finally gotten everything sorted out, however, with the somewhat awkwardly-named Philips & Lite-On Digital Solutions (or PLDS) set to make its official debut on May 1st. Under the deal, the company will continue to sell optical drives under the Lite-On brand, and continue to provide HP with its self-branded drives. While there's still no word on when we might see the first joint venture between joint ventures, at the rate these things are going, we certainly wouldn't rule it out.
Microsoft and Broadcom team up on low cost HD DVD player design
Microsoft announced today that it has partnered with Broadcom to create a reference design for a low cost HD DVD player. With Windows CE-based software and Broadcom's BCM7440 system-on-a-chip based hardware the idea is to give volume manufacturers a chance to drive prices down faster than Blu-ray can match. Lite-On IT and Zhenjiang Jiangkui Group Co. Ltd./ED Digital are already on deck to build players based on the design, for this war not to be over already HD DVD is going to need every bit of price and manufacturing advantage it can get.
HD DVD backers see big 2007 ahead
The North American HD DVD Promotional Group took advantage of its press event to spread the good news about HD DVD, noting that over 300 additional HD DVD titles should be arriving in 2007. As of January 5th, the group estimates there were more than 175,000 HD DVD players sold in America, with an annualized attach rate of 28 movies per player. The group projects sales will reach 2.5 million players by the end of this year and more than $600 million worth of movie revenues. HD DVD buyers can look forward to more HDi enhanced titles, now featuring internet features that were demoed at the event, as well as more players hitting the market from manufacturers like Lite-On, Alco, Alpine, Meridian and Onkyo. Look for the trend of combo releases to continue, as the format's backers see it as a viable way of introducing current DVD owners to the format and building a library prior to upgrading. With Sony already hitting 1 million PS3s shipped and HD via IPTV picking up steam HD DVD surely has its work cut out for it in 2007 but with a slew of reference quality releases and enhanced hardware offerings they expect to hit all their goals.
Lite-On finally releases 20x Super AllWrite LH-20A1P DVD burner
Ok, so we knew these bad boys were coming, and now they're finally here -- well, almost. Lite-On is setting the burning world on fire with its newly released 20X Super AllWrite LH-20A1P DVD burner. Touting a lighting-fast 20x write speed for single-sided DVD+/-R discs and 8x for DVDs of the dual-layer variety, the new burner can toast 4.7GB of data in "around five minutes." Of course, it can handle those CD-R / RWs as well, and even DVD-RAM, but we all know you DVD archivers are after the coveted 20x mark when eying this one. To prevent pumping out coasters at an alarming rate, Lite-On included its SMART-BURN technology, which provides buffer underrun protection to keep those burns error free. Unfortunately, the drive hasn't quite hit shelves yet, but it should be ready to grab sometime next month for a currently undisclosed price.[Via Far East Gizmos]
Lite-on announces LX-2B1U external Blu-ray writer
Although still not shipping its internal Blu-ray burners, Lite-On has already announced an external counterpart for the drive-bay-challenged. Nothing too surprising here, but you can expect the USB 2.0-based LX-2B1U to handle both single and dual-layer Blu-ray discs, and both recordable (BD-R) and rewriteable (BD-RE) discs at 2x speeds, as well as DVD±R/RW for your less storage-intensive burning needs. Seemingly lacking, however, is CD-R/RW compatibility, which seems to be starting its long, slow trip the way of the 3.5-inch floppy. Look for this one "toward the start of 2007."
