I-O Data rolled out the DVRP-U8H portable DVD writer, which ships with Roxio Creator DVD authoring software, in addition to Nero 12 Essentials. The slimline external DVD writer is bus-powered, and relies on a single USB 2.0 connection for both power and host-connectivity. Measuring 137 x 154 x 20 mm, and weighing about 300 g, the drive can burn DVDs at speeds of up to 8X. Backed by a 1-year warranty, it is priced at 6,405 JPY (US $72.3).

I-O Data of Japan introduced a pair of new Blu-ray drives, the BRD-S16X and BRD-UT16X. The two are capable of writing Blu-ray ROM discs at 16X, and can write four-layer Blu-ray XL discs at lower speeds. The BRD-S16X is built in the internal 5.25" form-factor, with SATA 3 Gb/s interface. The BRD-UT16X, on the other hand, is the same drive built into an external USB 3.0 enclosure, measuring 158 x 220 x 50 mm, weighing about 1.1 kg. Both drives feature 4 MB write cache. Bundled software includes Corel WinDVD 10, Roxio Blu-ray Creator, and Nero 12 OEM.

In addition to the 16X BD-R write speeds, the two can burn double-layer BD-R at 12X, triple- and quad-layer BD-Rs and BD-R LTH at 6X; single-, double-, and triple-layer BD-RE at 8X, 6X, and 4X, respectively. The BRD-S16X is priced at 14,280¥ (US $173.7), while the BRD-UT16X will go for 19,845¥ ($242.4). The two are slated for market release in December.

Logitec also introduced a trio of portable DVD drives that are Windows 8-certified, and should work smoothly with Windows 8 installations on notebooks lacking internal optical drives. The three are bus-powered, with a single cable handling power and host-connectivity. The three include the LDR-PMF8U3L, a DVD±RW/DVD-RAM drive which features USB 3.0 interface; the LDR-PMF8U2V, which has the same feature-set as the LDR-PMF8U3L, but with USB 2.0 interface; and LDV-PA8U2VBK, a DVD-ROM drive.

The LDR-PMF8U3L includes a license to Nero Kwik Burn Express Essentials, while the LDR-PMF8U2V includes one to Nero 12 Essentials. The two measure 136 x 142 x 19 mm, weighing about 300 g. The LDV-PA8U2VBK includes a license to Nero Kwik Media + Kiwi DVD, and measures 132.8 x 146 x 15 mm, weighing 250 g. The three will be available from mid-October. The LDR-PMF8U3L is priced at 5,250 JPY (US $66.8), the LDV-PA8U2VBK at 4,935 JPY ($62.7), and the LDV-PA8U2VBK at 4,725 JPY ($60).

NVIDIA today announced that NERO has released an update to its Nero Move it software that reduces video encoding time by up to five times by utilizing NVIDIA's CUDA computing architecture built inside select NVIDIA Graphics Processing Units (GPUs). NVIDIA CUDA technology dramatically reduces the time it takes to transfer video files to portable devices, while freeing up the CPU to perform other tasks.

Nero Move it is designed to allow consumers to effortlessly convert and share digital media content among a variety of popular entertainment devices. It is a complete software solution for collecting, organizing, transferring, and publishing digital media files from one device to another, as well as for uploading digital content to online communities. By using CUDA technology to tap the massively parallel processing power of NVIDIA GPUs, Nero Move it converts videos in a fraction of the usual time, reducing the length of time to perform such tasks as customizing an HD video for an iPod, from hours to mere minutes.