ASUS has just launched the new BW-12D1S-U, the world's fastest external 3D Blu-ray writer. It enables an easy transition from DVD, the fastest and most reliable Blu-ray burning performance, and a unique artistic approach to optical media.

With burning speeds up to 12X via USB 3.0, Optical Tuning Strategy (OTS) technology for the best writing quality available and high definition 3D playback, the BW-12D1S-U further highlights the attention ASUS pays to design, arriving in a form inspired by diamond shapes. It also includes a unique blue power indicator for an artistic touch, and features a matching stand that allows for practical two-way horizontal and vertical placement to help users save space with increased versatility.

ASUS, the leading provider of integrated Home Entertainment PC solutions, today unveiled an innovative suite of entertainment solutions for home users. Slim, stunningly beautiful, and incorporating the latest standards in dynamic home entertainment, the solutions include the ultra-slim ASUS LS and MS Series monitors, the versatile ASUS 24T1E TV Monitor that receives both analog and digital TV signals, the convenient ASUS O!Play HDP-R1 HD Media Player that supports a wide array of media formats, the aurally superior ASUS Xonar Essence ST audio card which minimizes jitters for clearer and crisper audio output, and the highly portable ASUS External Slim Blu-ray Optical Disk Drives for high quality, high definition entertainment on the go.

VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient x86 processor platforms, today unveiled the next generation of VIA Vinyl HD Audio codecs, the VIA Vinyl VT1818S and 1828S, with support offered by CyberLink in their latest award-winning DVD player software, CyberLink PowerDVD.

The leading Blu-ray Disc and DVD playback software, CyberLink PowerDVD provides enhanced high-definition audio through the embedded VIA Vinyl HD VIA Vinyl 1828S Audio codecs, which also support Blu-ray Disc audio content protection, allowing for optimal audio output. Without content protection support, audio quality is dramatically reduced to that of a regular CD with a sampling rate of only 16-bit/48kHz.

After having won the battle for supremacy over HD DVD, Blu-ray is on its way to become the standard consumer video format. It is not just a format, it's an industry in itself which begins from HD content creation production houses to recording companies to the consumers who again, invest in necessary equipment such as high-definition displays, Blu-ray disc players, etc. An important name in this industry, Samsung, which makes high definition televisions and players has noted that the format has five years left to remain a premium content format.

In an interview to Pocket-lint, the director of consumer electronics at Samsung UK, Andy Griffins said "I think it [Blu-ray] has 5 years left, I certainly wouldn't give it 10". Griffins believes that 2008 is the year of the Blu-ray, where consumers embrace the format by purchasing necessary appliances. He added that Samsung is heavily back-ordered in regard to appliances at the moment.

After our brand new TechPowerUp Reader Survey 08 results, it's time for some news coming from Plextor. The firm has released two new multifunction disc drives that combine next-generation Blu-Ray and HD DVD technologies. I'll start with the more sophisticated model the PX-B920SA, a Blu-Ray and Blu-Ray DL (50GB) burner that plays HD DVD discs and supports high-speed reading and recording of DVD and CD formats, including DVD-RAM and Dual/Double Layer DVDs. The internal drive features 4X BD-R write speed, Serial ATA (SATA) interface, 4MB buffer and Lightscribe disk labeling. Second in order is the PX-B300SA, a multifunction drive capable of only playing both Blu-Ray and HD DVD media, while DVD and CD burning features remain presented. Other than that, the PX-B300SA is identical to the PX-B920SA model. Both drives support Buffer Underrun Proof technology and come with one year full warranty. They are also bundled with a complete package of application software, including InterVideo WinDVD 8, Ulead MovieFactory 5.5 SE, and Burn.Now 4.5 SE. The PX-B920SA costs $599 while the PX-B300SA Blu-Ray/HD DVD reader ships for $499.

Circuit City and Canadian retailer Future Shop are both running schemes which will allow owners of HD DVD hardware to trade-in their current players to receive a discount on Blu-ray hardware. An internal memo from Circuit City states:

We do not want to upset our valued customers. For this special circumstance, we are happy to offer an exchange for a Blu-ray player (customer pays any difference in purchase price) - even if it has been several months since the customer made their HD DVD player purchase. If the customer does not want a Blu-ray player, we can issue a gift card refund for their original purchase price. For products purchased in the last 30 days, handle as usual.

Meanwhile, Future Shop is allowing customers to return their HD DVD players between 7th March and 3rd April to receive a $100 discount off either an LG or Samsung Blu-ray/HD DVD combo player - even if their HD DVD player was purchased at another store. However, HD DVD movies are not eligible for a refund or trade-in at either store.

As part of the total HD DVD denial, Microsoft has now started selling its Xbox 360 HD DVD drive for $49.99. The optional accessory was also officially discontinued by Microsoft last week, so be adviced that its availability from this time forward, will be limited.

Given that Toshiba has now officially discontinued its HD DVD business, this news acts merely as an extra nail in the format's coffin. Paramount has become the last of the big six Hollywood studios to decide upon Blu-ray, saying:

We are pleased that the industry is moving to a single high-definition format, as we believe it is in the best interest of the consumer," the statement reads. "As we look to (begin) releasing our titles on Blu-ray, we will monitor consumer adoption and determine our release plans accordingly.

Universal, Sony Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney Studios and Warner have already made the switch to Blu-ray, which looks almost certain to become the dominant high definition format for the next few years.

Microsoft's PR team sent out this statement regarding the recent developments in the HD DVD camp and rumors that there will be a Xbox 360 Blu-ray add-on drive in the near future:

We do not believe the recent reports about HD DVD will have any material impact on the Xbox 360 platform or our position in the marketplace. As we've long stated, we believe it is games that sell consoles and Xbox 360 continues to have the largest next-gen games library with the most exclusives and best selling games in the industry. We will wait until we hear from Toshiba before announcing any specific plans around the Xbox 360 HD DVD player. HD DVD is one of the several ways we offer a high definition experience to consumers and we will continue to give consumers the choice to enjoy digital distribution of high definition movies and TV shows directly to their living room along with playback of the DVD movies they already own.

Toshiba has responded to claims that it plans to give up on the HD DVD format with a rather half-hearted statement that seems to neither confirm nor deny the speculation. The firm released a statement saying:

The media reported that Toshiba will discontinue its HD DVD business. Toshiba has not made any announcement concerning this. Although Toshiba is currently assessing its business strategies, no decision has been made at this moment.

However, it certainly doesn't sound like a strong denial given that Toshiba at no point gives any indication that it is still backing the format. So there may be a slight glimmer of hope for HD DVD owners, but things still look rather bleak.

Following closely on the heels of news that both Netflix and Wal-Mart plan to drop HD DVD support, it looks like Toshiba, one of the key firms behind the format, is planning to do the same. A company source is being reported as saying:

We have entered the final stage of planning to make our exit from the next generation DVD business.

An official announcement is expected to come within the next few days, and it is estimated that the move could see Toshiba suffer losses of hundreds of millions of dollars. This is likely to put an end to the HD format war, with Blu-ray, backed largely by Sony, looking almost certain to overcome HD DVD, which had powerful names including Toshiba and Microsoft supporting it.

Update: Toshiba denies the reports:
"The media reported that Toshiba will discontinue its HD DVD business. Toshiba has not made any announcement concerning this. Although Toshiba is currently assessing its business strategies, no decision has been made at this moment."

Netflix believes the winner in the HD format war has been determined and said that it has begun stocking Blu-ray discs exclusively. The company said that its move is prompted by the decision of four out of the six major movie studios to publish high-def DVD titles only in the Sony-developed Blu-ray format. The online movie rental company intends to phase out HD DVDs by the end of this year and, as of now, is purchasing HD titles in Blu-ray only. The firm's current HD DVD inventory will remain available to customers until the discs' "natural life cycle" takes them out of circulation in the coming months. "The prolonged period of competition between two formats has prevented clear communication to the consumer regarding the richness of the high-def experience versus standard definition," said Ted Sarandos, chief content officer for Netflix, in a prepared statement.

According to Albert Penello, group marketing manager for Xbox hardware, the Xbox 360 console could be equipped with a Blu-ray add-on in the future if HD DVD fails to take off. Penello said:

It should be consumer choice, and if that's the way they vote, that's something we'll have to consider. I fundamentally don't think this has a significant impact on Xbox 360 versus PS3. You can't say it's not a bummer, not a setback, but I've seen this battle declared over so many times. I want consumers to have a voice in this and I think there are a lot of consumers who bought HD DVD who are going to have a say in how this shakes out.

The HD disk market has seen another twist with the news that Warner Bros. plans to make all of its high definition film releases exclusive to Blu-ray. The movie label is claiming that the decision was a strategic move, saying:

The window of opportunity for high-definition DVD could be missed if format confusion continues to linger. We believe that exclusively distributing in Blu-ray will further the potential for mass market success and ultimately benefit retailers, producers, and most importantly, consumers. A two-format landscape has led to consumer confusion and indifference toward high definition, which has kept the technology from reaching mass adoption and becoming the important revenue stream that it can be for the industry. Consumers have clearly chosen Blu-ray, and we believe that recognizing this preference is the right step in making this great home entertainment experience accessible to the widest possible audience.

Warner Bros. will stop releasing HD DVD movies in May this year, and any movies it does release before that cut-off will be initially launched on Blu-ray and released on HD DVD after a "short window." This news follows Paramount and DreamWorks announcing that they would release movies exclusively on HD DVD four months ago.

An Israeli firm known as Mempile is currently working on a new form of DVD called TeraDisc DVDs, which will offer 1TB of permanent storage on a single disk. The company has already managed to develop a disk capable of storing half a terabyte, and expects the 1TB disks to become available within the next few years. The disks, which are made of a polymer similar to Plexiglas, use powerful red laser technology to read and write, with a second laser which tracks data. The technology works by writing bits at the molecular level, which changes the color of florescent molecules in the disks. The main advantage of this method over current technologies such as HD DVD are that it has far less background noise, allowing it to read and write to hundreds of layers without any deterioration. The company plans to launch a 700GB version in 2011, with an expected price of around $30 per disk - although the DVD drives required to play them could set you back between $3,000 and $4,000.

Toshiba looks set to become to first manufacturer to sell notebooks with the ability to write HD DVD disks later this week with the introduction of its new Qosmio Series 2. The notebooks will be available in 15.4" and 17" versions, with resolutions of 1280x800 and 1920x1200 respectively, and both models will be equipped with a HD DVD-RW drive, twin TV tuners and 2GB of memory. The 15.4" model uses a 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo T7250 processor and is expected to sell for around $2,600, whilst the 17" model has a 2.2GHz Core 2 Duo T7500 processor and is expected to be priced at about $3,500. The notebooks should launch this Friday.

Microsoft Corp. today announced the release of the Xbox 360 HD DVD Emulator, enabling film studios and disc authoring companies to model the behavior of HD DVD disc content, including encoded video and HDi interactivity, in a virtual environment before committing to burning a single HD DVD disc. This comprehensive tool is among the first commercially available, software-based solutions of its kind, eliminating the need for expensive hardware or time-consuming and costly trial-and-error processes for testing HD DVD titles, helping to ensure that titles ship error-free.

Toshiba UK is giving away five free high definition (HD) DVDs to anyone who buys one of its new range of laptops that come with built-in HD DVD players. Anyone buying a new Toshiba HD laptop will now be able to kick-off a high definition movie collection with a choice of titles including Children of Men, Full Metal Jacket, Chronicles of Riddick, Hulk and The Prestige. Register for HD DVDs worth up to £75 here, until 31 January, 2008. Toshiba's high definition models include: Qosmio G40, Satellite X200/P200, Satellite Pro P200, Satellite A200 and Satellite Pro A200.

DVD Forum, the international organization that oversees standardization of DVD and HD DVD optical disc formats, has finally approved version 2.0 of triple-layer HD DVD discs, that can store up to 51GB of data. The approval of DVD specifications for high density read-only disc [HD DVD-ROM (51G)] version 2.0, took place during the 40th steering committee meeting on November 15, 2007. The new 51GB HD DVD ROM disc has a three-layer structure with each layer storing 17GB of data, which is an advancement in capacity over current ROM discs, which hold 15GB of data in each layer of a single-sided disc. Neither Toshiba, nor DVD Forum have confirmed that triple-layer HD DVDs will playback on existing HD DVD hardware, such as players and computer drives.

After Wal-Mart decided to sell the Toshiba HD-A2 HD DVD player for just under $99 today, Best Buy decided to follow suit and was offering the same player for $99. However, the company met a problem when it let more people order than it had stock for - and Toshiba has now discontinued the HD-A2. You might expect a firm like Best Buy to simply cancel the orders and apologise to customers for the mistake, but Best Buy decided to go one better. Instead, every customer that ordered the HD-A2 after the stock was gone is having their purchase upgraded to the new Toshiba HD-A3, retailing at $299, for no extra charge! Best Buy does say that if you don't want the new HD DVD player you can have a refund instead, but as that's a saving of $200 I doubt too many customers will be interested in that option.

Catering to users who need an optical disc drive that is able to provide high definition movie playback, versatile multi-functionality and quiet operations, ASUS, leading producer of multimedia products, has today released the new ASUS HR-0205T optical disc drive. This new generation HD DVD ROM drive supports reading data from DVD+R/RW/DVD-R/RW formats, and is the quietest ODD in the market, operating at a mere 21.1 dB - providing users with the best HD movie playback entertainment experience.

Following a sudden price war between retailers to offer the lowest price HD DVD player (which Best Buy is currently winning at $180) Wal-Mart has gone one better than the competition to offer the Toshiba HD-A2 at just $98.87 this Friday as part of its 'Secret In-Store Specials'. However, you might want to get to Wal-Mart early (the offer starts at 8:00 a.m.) if you're interested, because the company does comment that this deal is only available while stocks last and it will not be offering the discount in all stores. Wal-Mart's regular price for the HD DVD player is currently $198, so this is a saving of almost $100.Update: here is a link to the Wal-Mart page pictured above, you should be able to check if your local store will be offering this promotion by clicking on the HD DVD player's picture.

Toshiba and Microsoft today announced plans to form the Advanced Interactivity Consortium (AIC), an open forum aimed at the promotion of superior interactivity for a wide range of next-generation consumer devices, digital content and distribution scenarios. The newly formed organization's mission is to maximize consumer satisfaction worldwide by accelerating industrywide adoption of advanced interactivity and interoperability across a broad array of HD DVD products.

At CEDIA 2007, Sony tried to get more investors in on Blu-ray technology by presenting them with current sales figures. While it is true that Blu-ray is getting quite a lot of support, with exclusive deals from retail giants Target and Blockbuster, Blu-ray is nowhere near as popular as Sony wants you to believe. In the graphs that Sony does publish, they claim "more than twice the sales of HD DVD" and a much higher market share. However, if you look closely, the Blu-ray market is very unstable, and a current recession might even put HD DVD ahead of Blu-ray. A closer look at the market share graph shows that for several months, HD DVD had a much larger market share.

Transformers producer Micheal Bay was quite confused when deciding what to release his summer blockbuster (the Transformers movie) on. Fortunately for anyone with an HD-DVD player, Paramount studios decided to give Micheal Bay a little advice. By promising Micheal Bay enough profits to create a Transformers 2, Paramount ensured that the only HD format Transformers would see is HD DVD. On October 16th, Transformers fans worldwide can see the movie on HD DVD, as well as the standard DVD format. Transformers fans will also be delighted to hear that Transformers will be coming in a two-disk package, which will be ripe with full-HD features. HD DVD owners will also get the benefits of an "Intelligence Mode", which can describe each robot's strengths/weaknesses as the movie is playing.