In the Taiwan retail market, small brands or brands without a reputation have recently provided a large volume of DVD+R/-R discs of which purchasers have found as many as 30-50% failed in performance. Such defect rates are historically very exceptional, according to Taiwan retail channels.

Microsoft and SanDisk today announced they have agreed to deliver a next-generation software and hardware solution to place application programs and personal customization on USB flash drives and flash memory cards.

Motorola is set to unveil a mobile phone with full-motion video display and the means to play feature films on small removable storage cards, Chief Executive Ed Zander has said.

New technology has been designed stateside that will thwart DVD thieves by making discs unplayable until they're activated at the shop till.

Microsoft has a final patch available for a Vista bug that can 'corrupt' your iPod if you use the Safely Eject Hardware option or the Eject command in Windows Explorer.

DVD genius Flash has posted in another fine article that should help anyone looking to play a HD DVD movie on their PC with the minimum hassle and expense. Read all about it in his HD DVD Movie Playback From Disc on a PC guide.

DVD lodestar Flash has added to his ongoing series of articles giving answers to common questions he receives. The latest is How do I know if my DVD burner burns at the correct speed?.

CMC Magnetics, the largest producer of optical discs in Taiwan, has announced it has obtained level A certification for its Blu-ray Disc (BD)-R (recordable, write once) SL (single-sided single-layer) disc from an international vendor. The company stated that it is the first among makers of optical discs in Taiwan to receive this certification.

After Fuh Yuan admitted recently that it has not received orders from Wal-Mart for two million HD DVD players at a target retail price of US$299, industry sources commented that it is unlikely that HD DVD players will fall to such a low price this year.

Unlikely bedfellows Microsoft and Apple have asked the US Government to put Canada on its priority blacklist of intellectual property crooks, saying the country isn't doing enough to prevent their products being ripped off.

The days of the humble cassette tape will soon be coming to a timely end with the announcement from British electrical retailer Currys that their existing stocks of blank cassettes will be sold but not replenished.

Hewlett-Packard will be one of the first major PC builders to sell systems containing a hybrid HD drive. Although specific computers and prices have yet to be mentioned, the company says it intends to incorporate LG's GGW-H10N, better known as the Super Multi Blue. The drive is able to read both Blu-Ray and HD DVD discs; it can only write to CD, DVD and Blu-Ray however, the last at 2x speed.

DVD ivory dome Flash has been busy again with a brand spanking new review for anyone interested in DVD and DivX authoring. Read all about it in his guide to TMPGEnc DVD Author 3 with DivX Authoring.

Don't know if you have been over to this site but dshirt.co.uk is the place to be if you are any good with the old paint packages. Dshirt has started promoting again for new designs to enter the competition for the chance to win £500 and there are 15 lucky winners who will get £500 each.

DVD guru Flash has come up with the goods again as he pits two popular network media players in his latest head-to-head review. Read all about it in his KiSS 1600 & Freecom 350 HD Network Media Players Head to Head review.

The secrets of HD DVD are out for the entire world to see, with bloggers across the globe revealing a code which cracks the hi def format’s AACS content protection.

Microsoft has released a test version of its new Silverlight online media platform, a rival to Adobe's dominant Flash player.

Nine Inch Nail tracks have been readily available from the NIN.com website, downloadable via the traditional client/server method, for some time. Surprisingly new material from the band is now available for download via the BitTorrent protocol. Even more surprisingly, the torrents were uploaded to The Pirate Bay.

Sony has gone webcam crazy this week with the launch of the first official units for both its PlayStation 3 and PSP.

Viewers in the UK will be able to access a full weeks' worth of BBC output via their PCs and other digital devices when the broadcaster finally launches its iPlayer service later this year.