Pioneer have released an upgrade for their AO6. Details are few and far between at the moment - so watch this space - but you can download the new firmware here. Pioneer website: pioneer.co.uk.

Several high-profile acts are offering free music on the Internet. The catch? Fans need to buy a CD to get it. Moving one step beyond the trend of packaging a second CD or DVD in the jewel box, the latest CDs by such acts as Metallica, Liz Phair,50 Cent, Wilco and Kelly Clarkson invite purchasers to access bonus content online.

Press Release: The boundaries of multimedia have been extended by the introduction of NEC's MultiSpin dual format DVD writer. This drive offers users a maximum 12x DVD-ROM read speed combined with a maximum 40x CD-ROM speed. In addition this drive gives users: DVD-R: 4x, DVD+R: 4x, DVD-RW: 2x, DVD+RW: 2.4x, CD-R: 16x, CD-RW: 10x. The DVD-RW ND-1300A has 2MB cache, and a claimed access time of 140ms for DVD-ROM and 120ms for CD-ROMs.

Press Release: Lite-On, the Taiwanese manufacturer of ultra-Speed CD-RW/COMBO ReWriters, have announced their first half-height ATAPI/E-IDE 4X DVD+RW ReWriter - the LDW-401S. This DVD ReWriter is able to write DVD+R media at 4X maximum, rewrite DVD+RW media at 4X, and read DVD-ROM media at 12X maximum. It only takes around 15 minutes to backup 4.7 GB data on a certified DVD+R/DVD+RW media at 4X.

Plextor are set to launch the fastest dual format (DVD-R/RW and +R/RW) internal and external DVD-Recorders on the market. With recording speeds of 8x, the PX-708A and PX-708UF can burn a full DVD (4.7GB) in less than 10 minutes. Both drives also have fast CD capabilities: recording at 40x, re-writing at 24x and reading at 40x.

Taiwan-based Quanta Storage is set to challenge for the top place among global slim-type combo drive makers in the fourth quarter of this year, when the company expects to ship up to 500,000 combo drives per month, according to company president CC Chien.

Press Release: Datawrite announced today that they will begin shipping their new 4x DVD+RW media next week. Certified to write and rewrite at 1x to 4x speeds, the 4.7GB media incorporates a new proprietary recording layer technology that provides accurate recording at high speeds and noise-free playback. At 4X speed, the fastest recording speed of any current ReWriteable DVD format, users can record 120 minutes of video or 4.7GB of data in approximately 15 minutes. Datawrite 4x DVD+RW media is compatible with the Sony DRU-510A 4X DVD+RW drive as well as announced drives from BenQ, Philips, Ricoh and others that support 4x +RW write/rewrite speeds. The new technology looks set to provide reliability during high-speed recording and stability during playback.

Press Release: Sony Pictures Digital Inc.(SPD) company and pioneer in developing unique online service + software offerings for enhancing and sharing personal media, today announced that the new versions of its award-winning digital media software, Sony Screenblast Movie Studio and Sony Screenblast ACID 4.0 (formerly Screenblast Music Studio software), will be available in August 2003.

A London man convicted of selling counterfeit software online has received a 15-month prison term. The Business Software Alliance is celebrating after a three-year investigation resulted in the imprisonment of a prolific software pirate.

Our resident burning guru Flash has contacted us with this news - errr - flash. "Just recieved my Sony burner and it had firmware 1.0a. I burnt to a Datawrite Red Princo 4x disc and after 10% the burn dropped down to 2x speed and the burn took 30 minutes, I upgraded the firmware to the latest version and did the same burn. This time it took 15 mins to burn the same disc and files: the latest firmware 1.0c enables 4x writing to Princo media." The firmare is available for free download here. Installation instructions can be found at the Sony website: sony.storagesupport.com.

321 Studios is pushing ahead with new DVD-copying software despite an imminent ruling on its legality under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The software house are preparing to launch six new applications, including an enhanced version of DVD copying software that is the subject of a US court case brought under the controversial DMCA.

Sony have said they will replace their own DVD+RW discs that were included in its DVD/CD rewriteable drive DRU-500AX and DVD/CD rewriteable drive DRX-500ULX free of charge worldwide. This will mean replacing some 18,000 DPW47L1 discs as some of them may not be able to record information or have data read off them because the disks' memory layer may oxidize after a certain period of time. Owners of the drives should contact their local Sony sales center.

Thanks to strong sales of CD-R and DVD discs, all three first-tier Taiwanese optical storage disc makers - Ritek, CMC Magnetics (CMC) and Prodisc Technology - in June experienced the highest monthly revenues they have seen since late 2001.

Korean manufacturer LG Electronics is showing off a 71-inch plasma display panel (PDP) using a system on a chip to improve digit TV programme quality. The 71-inch TV was shown off in Korea yesterday, and pips its competitor Samsung which boasted a 70-inch PDP monitor earlier this year.

Hoping to capture more of the growing flat-panel LCD TV market, Philips Semiconductors has rolled out a new generation motion compensation and estimation IC, designed to improve LCD picture quality.

Poikosoft have released the newest verion upgrade of their popular CD ripper, burner and format converter. With plenty of features and great usability, Easy CD-DA Extractor supports plug-ins that allow you to rip directly into mp3 or any other format that your Windows' CODECs allow. It also has CDDB (FreeDB) support with a submit capability. Easy CD-DA has an advanced "Error recovery & repair"-mode that helps to get perfect rips from damaged discs. Click here for download.

Ahead Software have released the Nero changelog for there latest version - Nero 5.5.10.42. Nothing huge in this one as Ahead Software is preparing for the Nero 6 launch. Click here for download.

InterVideo has juiced up their DVD backup software DVD Copy. It is now capable of compressing a DVD-9 on a single DVD-5. With Intervideo's Bitrate Balance Profile the bitrate of the backup follows the original bitrate, so you'll get the highest bitrates in the places it's most needed.

Following its patent litigation against MediaTek in the US, VIA Technologies has again brought its competitor to court over the same cause in Taiwan. In addition, VIA has added the name of Lite-On IT, a client of MediaTek, to the suit filed in the US, VIA have said in a press release.

This week, Gateway introduced a wireless DVD product that connects your PC in your home office to your television, allowing you to show digital photos and listen to downloaded music or videos anywhere in your house.