SONY DEBUTS 8X BLU-RAY DISC WRITER DRIVE

Sub-$400 Model Leaps Ahead in Recording Speed; Includes Blu-Ray Disc Movie Title “Men In Black”

SAN JOSE, Calif., Sept. 23, 2008 – Sony Electronics today announced its third generation internal Blu-ray Disc™ (BD) writer for the computer aftermarket, which at about $400 achieves a new level of affordability for BD enthusiasts.

The new BWU-300S model burns single and dual layer BD-R media at up to 8X speed, recording a full 25GB disc in about 15 minutes and a full 50GB disc in about 30 minutes. The 8X recording speed is achieved using 6X compatible BD-R media. The drive also records DVDs at up to 16X, CDs up to 48X, and supports DVD-RAM recording, with an eye towards data backup, making it an excellent replacement burner for a standard DVD drive while offering all the benefits of Blu-ray Disc technology.

To provide consumers with the opportunity to experience high-definition movie playback first-hand, the new drive comes bundled with a “Men in Black” Blu-ray Disc from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. “Men In Black” stars Will Smith (“Hancock”) and Oscar®-winner Tommy Lee Jones (“The Fugitive”) saving the world from a total intergalactic disaster in Barry Sonnenfeld’s smash-hit sci-fi action comedy. The “Men In Black” high-definition Blu-ray Disc boasts advanced BD-Live enabled bonus features, including a multiplayer trivia game, an interactive Frank the Pug advice generator, an alien subtitle track and much more.

Also included with the drive is CyberLink’s software suite for capturing, authoring, editing, burning and viewing high-definition personal content.

“Consumers are demanding a better experience,” said Bob DeMoulin, marketing manager for branded storage products in Sony Electronics’ IT Products Division. “Not only are we providing state of the art hardware, but also the industry’s most complete software bundle and premium content.”

“Sony's new 8X Blu-ray Disc writable drive significantly improves the BD recording speed, a key feature in the optical storage technology,” said Wolfgang Schlichting, research director for removable storage at IDC. “The explosion of digital media usage by consumers, whether in the form of high-definition video, music or data, continues to grow at exponential rates. Innovative products such as this next-generation drive will help fuel the acceleration of Blu-ray adoption in the years ahead with more than 100 million drives shipping worldwide by 2011.”

The BWU-300S drive can record up to 50GB of data for random access storage and backup on BD-R (write once) or BD-RE (rewritable) discs, or up to 230 minutes of high-definition HDV 1080i video on a BD-R/RE 50GB disc. It also supports recording on standard single layer 4.7GB DVD+R/+RW/-RAM discs, 8.5GB DVD+R double/dual layer discs, and CDs.

The internal drive features a Serial ATA (SATA) interface and standard 5.25-inch form-factor for easy installation inside a desktop PC with Microsoft® Windows XP or Windows Vista® operating systems.

The new drive is fully supported by Adobe® Encore® CS3 software, now included with Adobe Premiere® Pro CS3, and Sony’s Vegas Pro 8 and DVD Architect Pro 5 software, providing video production professionals with another option for outputting high-definition video on a Blu-ray Disc with MPEG-2 or H.264 compression.

Availability

The BWU-300S drive will be available through select retailers, resellers and directly at sonystyle.com starting next month. Pre-orders are now being accepted by Sony on the website.

The optics remain largely unchanged, with a 10x zoom but this time coming with an optical anti-shake system. There's also face recognition for exposure and focus automation, and the same Picture Master image processing tech built in.

In HX mode, at full 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution, the cam manages a 15Mbps bitrate and fits about 4.5 hours of recording onto the 30GB drive, or an hour onto a 8-cm BD. At 720 x 480 resolution, in SX mode (9 Mbps) it'll fit 20 minutes onto a DVD. Its battery will shoot for about 80 minutes, and the whole package weighs about 1.27 pounds and measures 3.1 x 5.5 x 3.4 inches.

Available in Japan at first, from August 9th for around $1,400. [AVWatch]

The movies themselves will start appearing in April, starting with Sony's own releases, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story and The 6th Day. The update also brings new PSP interoperability, such as the ability to move a photo or music playlist from the PS3 to the PSP. All known details are below.

PLAYSTATION(R)3 To Support New Interactive Blu-ray Movie Features (BD-LIVE) With Upcoming System Software Update

PS3(TM) Owners Will Soon Enjoy Downloadable Movie Content, Games And More With Blu-ray Disc(TM) Profile 2.0; PS3's Interoperability With PSP(R) Will Also Be Enhanced

FOSTER CITY, Calif., March 20 /PRNewswire/ — Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) today announced that the next system software update for PLAYSTATION(R)3 (PS3(TM)) computer entertainment system, slated for release in late March, will add Blu-ray Disc(TM) (BD) Profile 2.0 or BD-LIVE, enabling PS3 owners to experience interactive features, such as downloadable video content, ringtones, games, and more. In addition to BD-LIVE, the system software update (v. 2.20) will enable photo and music playlists on PS3 to be copied to PSP(R)(PlayStation(R)Portable) handheld entertainment system, among other new features. These updates demonstrate how PS3 continues to evolve as a home entertainment hub with the flexibility to deliver the newest technology innovations that benefit PS3
owners.

"With Blu-ray established as the high-definition optical disc standard, more consumers are ready to jump in and take advantage of everything the format offers," said Scott A. Steinberg, vice president, product marketing, SCEA. "Whether you want to download movie extras, send ringtones to your phone, or play interactive games, BD-LIVE will offer exciting new ways to enjoy a Blu-ray movie. With these regular firmware updates and future-proofed technology, SCEA is making the 10-year lifecycle of PS3 possible."

BD Profile 2.0 requires an Internet connection and at least 1GB of local storage. The following features have all been demonstrated as possibilities with BD-Live and will vary by movie title.

— A variety of downloadable content can be offered, including bonus scenes, shorts, trailers, subtitles, ringtones that can be sent to mobile phones, images, and more.
— Interactive movie-based games can pit players who are sitting in the same room, or are across the world and online, against each other.

In conjunction with the PS3 firmware update, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (SPHE) is pleased to announce two BD-LIVE enabled titles to be released on April 8 - Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story and The 6th Day. Both titles will include exclusive downloadable content that goes beyond what is available on the actual Blu-ray discs. These initial releases preview some of the exciting new developments that will soon be available from BD-LIVE on Blu- ray disc.

Beyond BD-LIVE, the new system software update enhances PS3 system's interoperability with PSP system, enabling users to take their favorite music and photo playlists with them on-the-go with their PSP. To copy a playlist, PSP and PS3 must first be connected with a USB cable, and the PSP must be in USB mode. Then, on PS3, select "Copy" in the option menu of each music or photo playlist, and choose PSP as the destination. Now the playlist order, and the songs or photos themselves, will be accessible on the PSP's Memory Stick PRO Duo anytime, anywhere. This new functionality makes it easer than ever to share media content between the two systems.

The following new features will also be included in the system software update.
— "Resume play" will enable PS3 system to start playing a Blu-ray disc and DVD at the point it was stopped, even if the disc had been removed.(*1)
— "Audio Output Device" will be a new Remote Play setting, enabling PSP to serve as a remote control for music played through PS3.
— PS3 system's Internet browser will be enhanced: Video files directly linked from a Web page will be able to be streamed, and the browser's view speed will be improved.
— DivX and WMV format videos that are larger than 2GB will be playable.
— "Mosquito Noise Reduction" will be added as an AV setting in the control panel of the DVD/BD player for improved movie playback.(*2)

*1 BD-J format disc is not supported.
*2 BD discs recorded with BDMV format are not supported.

About PS3 and PSP System Software Updates

PS3 and PSP systems were designed to continually evolve with regular system software updates that deliver new features. There's no additional investment required from consumers, who simply update their systems and can immediately enjoy the benefits of the added functionality. This process lengthens the lifecycle of PS3 and PSP, and consumers no longer have to worry about their hardware becoming outdated or missing out on exciting new capabilities. SCEA will continue to release system software updates on an ongoing basis. For further details and instructions on how to update the PS3 and PSP system software, please visit us.playstation.com.

Panasonic to Release DivX Certified Blu-ray DVD Player Next Generation DVD Player to be Available in Europe and Russia DivX, Inc., a digital media company, announced the DivX® Certification of Panasonic's Blu-ray Disc (BD) Player The Panasonic Blu-ray Disc player, which joins a number of existing DivX Certified products from Panasonic, is scheduled to be released beginning in March and is expected to be the first DivX Certified® Blu-ray Disc Player available in Europe and Russia. Like Panasonic's existing DivX Certified DVD players, the latest DivX Certified Panasonic Blu-ray disc player enables users to enjoy high-quality DivX video playback. "In order to give our users access to the extremely popular, high-quality DivX format, we have introduced the first DivX-Certified Blu-ray Disc Player for Europe and Russia," said Yuki Kusumi, Group Manager of Product Technology, Video Business Unit, Network Business Group, Panasonic AVC Networks Company, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. "The timely launch of this strategic product is a direct response to the strong demand for DivX playback among consumers. We are very confident this product will be very popular in the European and Russian markets." "The DivX Certified Panasonic Blu-ray Disc Player is a great device from a leader in next generation DVD technology, and marks an important strategic milestone in our growth into new product categories," said Kevin Hell, CEO of DivX, Inc. "DivX has already become a de-facto standard on existing DVD players and we are well-positioned to repeat that success in the Blu-ray category. We're pleased Panasonic continues to recognize DivX technology as an important feature on next-generation devices." Products that bear the DivX Certified logo have undergone a rigorous testing program to ensure a high quality DivX media experience that includes reliable video playback, excellent visual quality, and interoperability with other DivX Certified digital devices. The DivX logo has become a powerful symbol for a high-quality digital video experience across any device. About DivX, Inc. DivX, Inc. is a digital media company that enables consumers to enjoy a high-quality video experience across any kind of device. DivX creates, distributes and licenses digital video technologies that span the "three screens" comprising today's consumer media environment—the PC, the television and mobile devices. Over 100 million DivX Certified devices have shipped into the market from leading consumer electronics manufacturers. DivX also offers content providers and publishers a complete solution for the distribution of secure, high-quality digital video content. Driven by a globally recognized brand and a passionate community of hundreds of millions of consumers, DivX is simplifying the video experience to enable the digital home.

One thing that may be changing is our strategy...When both formats launched and hardware prices were high, we made a decision to support both formats and let the consumer decide.

But now that hardware pricing is affordable for both Blu-ray and HD DVD, it appears consumers no longer want to decide—so the notion of staying in two formats for the duration is something we are re-evaluating now that we are in the fourth quarter...[but] we are committed to the [Blu-ray] format.

Just when you thought a dual format player was inevitable, the scales could still drastically tip. [homemediamag via engadget]

The $2,620 recorder is followed by the BD-HDW15, which packs a 500GB HD for $1,750.

The other models are the BD-AV10 and BD-AV1, which don't have hard drives built in but come in seven different colors. [Ascii]