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CESI Technology announced today that it has been designated as the first official Blu-ray Disc Test Center in China. By establishing a test center in this country, the BDA hopes to shorten the time it takes Chinese companies to develop and launch fully compliant BD products.
CESI Technology Co. Ltd., a contributor member of the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), has been designated as the first official Blu-ray Disc Test Center in China. CESI Technology’s joining BDA as a Contributor member and their establishment of the Test Center indicates the strong momentum building for the Blu-ray Disc format in China.

The establishment of this Blu-ray Disc Test Center is also a critical piece in the Blu-ray Disc value chain in China. From today, Chinese manufacturers can receive verification services for the official production of BD-ROM Movie Players at this center. This will dramatically shorten the time needed for product development and market launch of fully compliant BD products for Blu-ray Disc product manufacturers. the contribution of CESI Technology.”
Hopefully, this means that we'll be seeing Blu-ray players from more Chinese manufacturers. If you'd like to read more, CESI's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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The Blu-ray Disc Association is making a big push into the Chinese market. At SinoCES, the group announced that DigiRise DRA (DRA), a Chinese digital audio coding technology, has passed a technical evaluation and is one step closer to being adopted by the BDA. By making DRA part of the Blu-ray Disc format, the BDA hopes to compete with China's own high-def format, the China Blue High-definition Disc (CBHD).
The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) has today announced that DigiRise DRA(DRA) digital audio coding technology has passed an important technicalevaluation. This represents a key milestone for a locally-developed Chinesetechnology to be potentially adopted by Blu-ray Disc format. This milestone is theresult of hard work by engineers in the Audio Codec Evaluation Technical TaskForce under the BDA’s Joint Technical Committee, and close collaboration withChina Hualu Group and DigiRise Technology Ltd.

"We are very happy that DigiRise DRA, an original Chinese audio coding technology,has passed the BDA technical evaluation. The BDA is now taking final steps to formallyadopt DigiRise DRA as part of the format. The BDA is always open to such discussionsand evaluations in its pursuit to creating the best format possible," stated Mr. Sumitaka Matsumura, Chair of the BDA China Task Force. The testing processstrictly followed BDA’s worldwide evaluation standards where contributions camefrom all major vendors in the value chain, including key hardware manufacturers and content providers.
If you'd like to read more, the BDA's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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In celebration of their fifth anniversary, SlySoft is offering a 20% discount on all products (except upgrades and t-shirts) until July 31st, 2008. No coupon code is necessary as the discount will be automatically applied to your order.

What are you waiting for? Head on over to the SlySoft website and take advantage of this sale! Add a comment

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On behalf of everyone here at CDRLabs, I just wanted to wish all of our U.S. readers a happy Independance Day.




I know that many consider July 4th to be another day off and one more excuse to cook out, drink beer and blow things up. Just remember to take a few minutes to think about what this day is really about. Add a comment

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CDRLabs finishes up the week with a review of Lite-On's new EZ-DUB enabled DVD writer, the DX-20A4PU. While affordably priced, this external drive sports some pretty impressive specs including 20x DVD±R, 8x DVD+RW, 6x DVD-RW, 8x DVD±R DL and 12x DVD-RAM writing speeds and a maximum DVD read speed of 16x. The DX-20A4PU also features many of the technologies we've come to expect from Lite-On including more advanced ones like SmartWrite and OverSpeed. More importantly, its EZ-DUB technology makes copying discs and backing up data a quick and easy process.

In this review we'll take a look at the features found on the DX-20A4PU and see how it compares to some of the 20x DVD±RW drives from the competition. Does the DX-20A4PU have what it takes? You'll have to read the review to find out.

Lite-On DX-20A4PU 20x EZ-DUB DVD±RW/RAM
If you have any comments or questions about this review or the Lite-On DX-20A4PU, please post them in the forum. Add a comment

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Blockbuster announced this week that it has joined forces with the USO to send movies and games to U.S. service men and women stationed across the globe. Until July 14th, the public can donate new or previously viewed DVDs and games at designated USO drop boxes located in participating Blockbuster stores. The retailer will also be matching all donations with up to 20,000 DVDs and plans to raise $100,000 for the USO by selling American Flag Antenna Ball/Pencil Toppers.
Blockbuster Inc. and the USOare teaming up to bring much deserved entertainment to our service membersand their families. Through July 14, the American public can show theirsupport for the troops by donating DVDs and games at designated USO dropboxes in participating BLOCKBUSTER(R) stores. The entertainment retailerwill match all donations with up to 20,000 DVDs.

To participate, customers can purchase new or previously viewed DVDsand games at participating BLOCKBUSTER stores, then drop them in convenientUSO drop boxes on site. Donated DVDs and games will be enjoyed by troops atUSO centers and Mobile USO units worldwide and also will be placed in USO 2Go program boxes for delivery to troops in remote locations. To ensureproduct quality and content the USO can only accept DVDs and gamesoriginating from participating BLOCKBUSTER stores.
I'm sure many of you have DVD's that you don't watch anymore. In the spirit of July 4th, I urge you to head to your local Blockbuster and donate them to the troops. You'll probably make a service person very happy by doing so. If you'd like to read more about the program, Blockbuster's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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ASRock K10N780SLIX3-WiFi nForce 780a SLI Motherboard @ThinkComputers.org
Gateway P-6831FX Gaming Notebook @HotHardware.com
iMetal iP-HS2 Isolation Headset for iPhone @I4U
Lubix UBHS-NC1 Stereo Bluetooth Headset @ASE Labs
Samsung SC-HMX20C High Definition Digital Camcorder @Futurelooks
Sapphire 1024MB Radeon HD3850 Graphics Card @Bigbruin.com
ThermalTake ProWater 850i Liquid Cooling System @Virtual-Hideout
Thermaltake XaserVI Mx Case @Rbmods
Toshiba Satellite U300 Notebook @InsideHW
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ASRock K10N78hSLI-WiFi Motherboard @BCCHardware
Cyber Snipa Sonar 5.1 USB Surround Sound Headset @BCCHardware
HP Compaq 8710w Notebook @InsideHW
Lenovo IdeaPad U110 11.1-inch Laptop @ThinkComputers.org
Maximo iP-HS1 iMetal iPhone Headset @I4U
Mvix MX-780HD Wireless HD Media Center @TweakTown
OCZ 800w EliteXStream Power Supply @Virtual-Hideout
Sapphire Radeon HD 3870 Ultimate @ASE Labs
SOYO 26-Inch Widescreen LCD Monitor DYLM26E6 @Benchmark Reviews
Super Micro C2SBX+ Motherboard @Phoronix
Thermaltake Xaser VI VG4000SNA Computer Case @Tweaknews.net
X-Spice Kira 530w Power Supply @High Tech Reviews
Zalman Reserator XT Liquid Cooling System @HardwareLogic
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Antec Fusion Black 430 HTPC Case @High Tech Reviews
Areca ARC-1231ML SATA RAID 6 Controller @TweakTown
ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB GDDR3 @Hardware Zone
Crucial Ballistix DDR3-2000 2GB Dual Channel Memory Kit @ThinkComputers.org
In-Win B2 Stealth Bomber ATX Case @Madshrimps
Nyko Frontman Wireless Guitars for Wii and PS3 @Futurelooks
SoundCast OutCast Wireless Speaker System @I4U
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Back in January, Matsushita Electric announced that it would be changing its company name to 'Panasonic Corporation'. The name change has now been approved by the company's shareholders and will go into effect on October 1, 2008.
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (Matsushita [NYSE symbol: MC]), best known for its Panasonic brand products, today announced its shareholders approved a proposal to change the company's name to "Panasonic Corporation" at its 101st Annial Shareholders Meeting that was held today. The change will become effective from October 1, 2008. The name change will also take effect for some of the group companies currently using the names Matsushita or National. The shareholders of each of these companies approved that this move would also become effective from October 1, 2008. In addition, Matsushita announced its ticker symbol change on the New York Stock Exchange from "MC" to "PC" as of October 1, 2008.

The brand changeover from National to Panasonic to be phased-in across Japan commencing October 1, 2008 has started earlier than the original plan, expected to complete within fiscal year 2010 ending March 2010. Currently, the National brand is used for home appliances and housing equipments in Japan.
If you'd like to read more, Panasonic's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment
  1. Hardware Reviews - 6/24/2008
  2. Hardware Reviews - 6/23/2008
  3. Hardware Reviews - 6/19/2008
  4. Hardware Reviews - 6/18/2008
  5. Hardware Reviews - 6/17/2008

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