Japan-based Pioneer recently stopped ordering DVD-ROM chip sets from VIA Optical Solution (VOS), a Taiwanese optical chip designer, according to VOS parent VIA Technologies.

DivX Networks have released their much anticipated DivX encoding software. This could really make video encoding mainstream.

South Korean firm Samsung will show off a 21.3-inch TFT-LCD at a conference in the States today which it claims is a breakthrough in low temperature poly silicon (LTPS) technology. The TFT-LCD uses thin film crystallisation technology called which lets it put panels and driver circuitry on the substrate that will eventually allow sheet computers, and even "wearable" displays, a somewhat bizarre thought.

BenQ announces that in the second half of May, it will launch the world's fastest DVD+RW drive-the BenQ DW400A. The DW400A offers 4x write and 4x re-write speeds, handily surpassing the DVD burner products of its global competitors. Utilizing key components from Philips BenQ Digital Storage (PBDS) and through the efforts of BenQ's elite R&D team, the company makes the optimal use of the most advanced DVD burning technology in the DW400A.

Dell Computer, Gateway and others will release PCs today featuring new chipsets and processors from Intel that are expected to enhance the desktop experience. The 865 series of chipsets, formerly code-named Springdale, accelerates the flow of data between the processor and various computer components, leading to richer graphics and better performance from applications such as audio- or video-editing programs.

Plextor has entered the digital video market with the announcement of ConvertX, a hardware real-time digital video converter and editing device. This straightforward box captures video from a wide range of sources -- such as camcorders, DVD players, VCRs, and television -- and automatically converts the analog video into a digital format for editing, authoring, and recording on media. With support for a variety of MPEG video/audio compression standards, including the latest MPEG-4 technology, ConvertX is easily the most flexible and versatile product in the video converter market.

Digital media software vendor Roxio said yesterday that it had acquired the online music service Pressplay, which it plans to use as the foundation for a new Internet-based music service under the Napster brand.

We have a list of the specs for Pioneer's new A06 DVD Recorder which will be available in June.

Sony has upgraded its multi-format DVD recording drive adding faster recording to the unit, although users will have to wait a while to use one format at the higher speed because of a lack of available media. The DRU-510A internal drive and DRX-510UL external drive are upgraded versions of Sony's 500 series multi-format drives that were unveiled last year. They were the first drives to support both the competing 'plus' and 'minus' recordable DVD formats.

Japanese electronics giant Hitachi says it has developed technology to make DVDs with storage capacity for 200 movies and aims to commercialize the technology in 2007.

The European Commission plans to impose 7.3 per cent countervailing duty on the value of imports of CD-R's originating from India. The proposal is expected to be put up to the EU Council of Ministers for approval by the Member States before June 17, according to a filing with the BSE by Moser Baer India Ltd.

That is the warning Walt Disney will issue this August when it begins to "rent" DVDs that are set to become unplayable after two days and that therefore do not have to be returned. Disney home video unit Buena Vista Home Entertainment will launch a pilot movie "rental" program that uses self-destruction technology.

Pioneer is aiming to reduce confusion in the DVD rewritable market by incorporating support for several major formats with its next generation drive. The electronics maker has announced that its sixth generation drive, the DVR-A06, will arrive in the United States in June. The drive will retail for $329 (£200) and support DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, CD-R and CD-RW. The DVD+RW format includes support for DVD+R media.

A Press Release from Macrovision states: "Macrovision, the leading provider of copy protection and digital rights management (“DRM”) technologies, today unveiled its new DVD version of SafeDisc® during the Electronic Entertainment Exposition (E3 Expo) at the Los Angeles Convention Center. SafeDisc-DVD protects DVD-ROMs from unauthorized copying."

AOL says it will demonstrate a new service that includes voice instant messaging for Sony's market-leading PlayStation 2 video game console. AOL has said the demonstration at E3, the video game industry trade show in Las Vegas this week, would include music programming, movie trailers, TV show clips, and footage from a new feature of AOL Games called "AOL Players Club", showing members executing special moves in Sony games.

Around one billion pieces of personal data are handed over to the police and other official bodies each year by communications companies, privacy advocates have calculated. UK law enforcement and investigative agencies are forcing communications providers to hand over around one million customer records each year, Privacy International claimed yesterday.

The latest major clash between technology and copyright owners heads to federal court today, where software start-up 321 Studios hopes to win a reprieve from a legal attack by film companies on its DVD-copying software. The case, which will be heard in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, holds important consequences not only for software developers and for the motion picture industry but also for consumers, who face increasingly complex rules governing the uses of entertainment products.

On-demand digital video and Internet delivered rapidly and cheaply to your home or business could be made possible by a new technology from Xerox Corp. A single silicon chip could help route high-capacity fiber optics to small businesses and homes.

Trading standards officers have confiscated a stash of illegal CDs and DVDs with a street value of more than £50,000. The haul was collected after staff working for Bath and North East Somerset Council made a spot check on a car boot sale in Lansdown.

If you're still confused by DVD+RW, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD-R, CD-R and CD-RW, (and you've read our excellent article on the differences) Verbatim-Cendyne claims to have a product that will dispel all that dashed misery the different formats entail. It has introduced a 4X 44-dual format recorder which support all of these formats and come with DVD burning software that doesn't care about the plus and minuses.