Taiwanese electronics maker Asustek Computer Inc (華碩電腦) is planning to launch its first Blu-ray digital video disk (DVD) burner, which allows consumers to record and watch high-definition digital videos on computers, next month, raising the stakes in the escalating war on DVD formats.
The competition between Blu-ray and High-definition (HD) DVD for the next-generation DVD format is set to fire up as more products from both camps are scheduled to hit the stores next month.
"We are bullish about Blu-ray because of its bigger storage and wider bandwidth that caters to users' growing need to access multimedia data," said Tommy Lo (
Lo said that a Blu-ray burner can hold around 50 gigabytes of high-definition video or data, or 20 hours of viewing content, and provide twice the bandwidth that HD-DVD-based burners offer.
However, the high price tag could make it a tough start for Blu-ray-based storage makers, Lo said.
A Blu-ray burner is priced at around US$700, compared with less than US$100 for an HD-DVD burner, according to Lo.
Blu-ray has wider support among consumer electronics manufacturers, including Sony Corp, Sanyo Electronics and other big names. HD-DVD is spearheaded by Toshiba Corp and recently gained support from Microsoft Corp and Intel Corp.
HD-DVDs aren't compatible with Blu-ray players and vice-versa. The red-ray drives now commonly used in computers can only hold about 7.8 gigabytes, or three hours, of data with lower viewing quality.
Taking a safer path, BenQ Corp (
BenQ plans to introduce a new hybrid model for consumers to connect to their televisions, or computers in mid-August, a company staff member said at the Computex show.
Acer Inc, the world's No. 5 computer brand, is even more cautious about the future of DVD products.
"We are not in a hurry to back any format now. We will see how market demand develops and ship products accordingly," said an Acer product manager, who requested not to be named, at the computer show.
As it's not easy for end users to detect the small difference between the two formats, the product manager said, "it would be difficult for consumers to plunk down big money on those cutting-edge products."
Acer, however, showcased a computer-based device, with an innovative design that is markedly different from a traditional desktop. The device can work like a media center, featuring an HD-DVD drive and multimedia access.
However, unlike most media centers introduced by other local companies, the product does not support Intel Corp's ViiV platform.
Vincent Wei led fellow Singaporean farmers around an empty Malaysian plot, laying out plans for a greenhouse and rows of leafy vegetables. What he pitched was not just space for crops, but a lifeline for growers struggling to make ends meet in a city-state with high prices and little vacant land. The future agriculture hub is part of a joint special economic zone launched last year by the two neighbors, expected to cost US$123 million and produce 10,000 tonnes of fresh produce annually. It is attracting Singaporean farmers with promises of cheaper land, labor and energy just over the border.
US actor Matthew McConaughey has filed recordings of his image and voice with US patent authorities to protect them from unauthorized usage by artificial intelligence (AI) platforms, a representative said earlier this week. Several video clips and audio recordings were registered by the commercial arm of the Just Keep Livin’ Foundation, a non-profit created by the Oscar-winning actor and his wife, Camila, according to the US Patent and Trademark Office database. Many artists are increasingly concerned about the uncontrolled use of their image via generative AI since the rollout of ChatGPT and other AI-powered tools. Several US states have adopted
A proposed billionaires’ tax in California has ignited a political uproar in Silicon Valley, with tech titans threatening to leave the state while California Governor Gavin Newsom of the Democratic Party maneuvers to defeat a levy that he fears would lead to an exodus of wealth. A technology mecca, California has more billionaires than any other US state — a few hundred, by some estimates. About half its personal income tax revenue, a financial backbone in the nearly US$350 billion budget, comes from the top 1 percent of earners. A large healthcare union is attempting to place a proposal before
KEEPING UP: The acquisition of a cleanroom in Taiwan would enable Micron to increase production in a market where demand continues to outpace supply, a Micron official said Micron Technology Inc has signed a letter of intent to buy a fabrication site in Taiwan from Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電) for US$1.8 billion to expand its production of memory chips. Micron would take control of the P5 site in Miaoli County’s Tongluo Township (銅鑼) and plans to ramp up DRAM production in phases after the transaction closes in the second quarter, the company said in a statement on Saturday. The acquisition includes an existing 12 inch fab cleanroom of 27,871m2 and would further position Micron to address growing global demand for memory solutions, the company said. Micron expects the transaction to
RSS