Ritek on October 11 announced it recently obtained Philips certification for its 8x DVD+R DL (single-sided double-layer) discs. In late September of this year, Optodisc Technology secured Philips certification for its 16x DVD+R discs, according to company PR manager Robert Chang.

Japanese electronics giant Toshiba has developed the first laptop computer with a next-generation HD DVD drive, despite a format war with a rival Sony group.

We give up. A story stating that Microsoft had developed a technology which enabled DVDs to be played only once was much vilified on the Net. Some claimed it was a pure hoax. But the story's originator - The Business - has named now named its source.

PSP users are being urged to beware of a Trojan which, once executed, turns their games gizmo into little more than an expensive book weight.

CMC Magnetics will establish the largest DVD disc factory in the world, with a monthly production capacity of 40 million DVD discs, according to company chairman Robert Wong at an institutional investor conference on October 5. The factory, to be located in Thailand, will begin volume production in the first quarter of next year, according to Wong.

At the "DVD Forum Japan Conference 2005" yesterday, industry spokemen presented the HD DVD standardization progress, introduced the updated format roadmap and also unveiled that the upcoming HD DVD Video titles may not be regionally restricted as in the case of DVD Video.

On the Internet, a hoax can spread just as fast as a genuine news story. That’s the lesson from the bogus story we unwittingly published on wednesday that claimed Microsoft is about to unleash a new single-play DVD format.

Resident DVD genius Flash has an on-going campaign to find the best discs in the 16x market. In this review he compares Smiley 16x DVD-R versus the Moviestyle 16x DVD-R. You can find the review here.

Microsoft has developed a cheap, disposable pre-recorded DVD disc that consumers can play only once. The discs would give Hollywood increased control over the release of new films and allow consumers the chance to watch a film at the fraction of the price of an ordinary pre-recorded DVD. More important, the discs would prevent copying and digital piracy.

Recently published patents at the US Patent & Trademark Office could bring some light to the so-called "ROM Mark" protection layer of the Blu-Ray format.

OEM prices for entry-level DVD recorders have precipitously dropped to US$70-80 (£40-£46) due to less than expected global demand, forcing Japanese maker Sanyo Electric to forgo production, according to local industry sources.

Press Release: Roxio, a division of Sonic Solutions the leader in digital media software, today introduced Easy Media Creator 8, the most significant upgrade ever to its industry-leading digital media suite. Easy Media Creator 8 seamlessly merges advanced technologies from Roxio and Sonic into the most comprehensive suite of CD and DVD authoring, burning, photo, video, and music applications available.

Prodisc and Optodisc have today announced their merger. They are going to use the stock exchange method to set up a new company called “Hsin Lien Industrial Investing Stock" control company with Capital of 7.76 billion NTD (£133m). Lin Ming-Fa will be the president and CEO of the new company and Wang Cheng-Ming will be the vice president. After the merger, they will take 15.5% of the DVD-R market share.

Resident DVD wizard Flash has started a campaign to find the best discs in the 16x market. In this review he compares Datawrite Titanium 16x DVD+R versus the RiDisc 16x DVD+R. You can find the review here.

CMC Magnetics and Ritek were overtaken by India-based Moser Baer India (MBI) in the number of global CD-R disc shipments in the second quarter of this year, according to Japan-based market research firm Fujiwara-Rothchild.

The company behind the popular peer-to-peer network eDonkey has announced that the site is to shut down.

Press Release: AudioDev has unveiled its CATS HD DVD analyzer. A pre-release version of the analyzer will be on display at the upcoming industry event - Mediatech showcase and conference in Frankfurt, October 4-5.

Crackers this week claimed to have successfully ripped out the latest Sony PlayStation Portable firmware and replaced it with an earlier version of the code containing fewer anti-piracy features.

CMC Magnetics' surge in revenue for July and August are already enough to cover a net loss of NT$282 million (US$8.5 million) posted for the first half of this year with profitability for this month expected to hit a record high level, according to report by the local media Central News Agency in an interview with company chairman Robert Wong.

Pioneer's new DVD recorders are capable of recording high-definition TV broadcasts to HDD in the original HD picture quality, and moving recordings to DVD-R DL disc in VR mode.