Recordable DVDs are likely to become more expensive in coming months as rising oil prices push up plastic costs.

Japanese consumer electronics maker Sanyo has joined a group of companies led by Sony to develop Blu-ray DVD disks, but will also remain allied with the rival HD DVD group.

In the UK, small businesses are calling on the government to change the law to stop the sale of VAT-free CDs from Jersey by major supermarket chains Asda and Tesco.

Ridisc have launched several new consumable products onto the market including Compatible Ink Cartridges for the Epson, Canon and HP range of Printers. Ridisc inform us next month they plans to launch a range of Photo paper.

Microsoft has announced that it is planning on offering a subscription download music service in an attempt to claw back some of the ground lost between it and Apple’s iTunes service.

Taiwan currently prohibits local makers from undertaking OEM production of pornographic pre-recorded discs for exports, although some makers have illicitly done so in small volumes, according to local industry sources. However, the government is expected to lift the ban next quarter, rousing a large influx of OEM orders from abroad to major producers of pre-recorded discs in Taiwan because Taiwanese makers are more competitive in quality than fellow makers in China and Hong Kong, the source indicated. Such OEM orders are valued at an estimated NT$3.0-4.0 billion a year, the source said.

In a groundbreaking response to movie piracy, Warner Bros. Entertainment has released its latest film on DVD in China the same day it debuted in U.S. theaters.

Sony Computer Entertainment may be planning to bring print publications to the PSP. Sony has recently filed Japanese trademarks for "PSP Comics", "PSP Books", and "PSP Magazine".

A group of four Japanese manufacturers said they have successfully developed a prototype HD DVD-R disc, a write-once next-generation DVD disc, that can be easily mass-produced on standard DVD production lines.

iTunes is proving to be a formidable competitor against free peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing services, According to information from NPD's MusicWatch Digital service, Apple iTunes's industry-leading a-la-carte download store tied with LimeWire as the second-most-popular digital music service in March, 2005. WinMX was the most popular.

A legal fight is brewing in Britain between Sony and the grey-market importers who are selling its highly sought-after PlayStation Portable (PSP) device ahead of the official Sept. 1 European launch date.

The world premiere of the latest version of the HG Wells tale The War of the Worlds, was pulled at the last minute because of a fear of Internet pirates.

Following Wal-Mart's recent introduction of an inexpensive DVD recorder, BenQ and Lite-On IT have introduced models priced at US$99-129 (£55-£70), and the companies plan to tout the new products to gain ODM/OEM orders as well as boost their orders for loaders (component kits) of DVD recorders, according to the two makers.

US drugstore chain CVS is to launch the world's first-ever disposable video camera. It weighs under five ounces, holds 20 minutes of video and sound, features a 1.4-inch playback screen and is available for $29.99 (£16).

Nan Ya Plastics Corporation (NPC) has decided to terminate its production of CD-R and DVD+R/-R discs amid disappointing revenues and profits from the segment, according to local makers of optical discs and sales agents for NPC.

Ritek CEO Gordon Yeh recently stated that 2005 is a milestone in the optical disc sector, as the DVD+R/-R segment is growing at a fast rate, while the CD-R market is gradually declining.

Maxtor announced that the company will be shipping its next-generation 3.5-inch 7200RPM 3.0Gb SATA and ATA 133 hard drives with capacity points up to 500GB in the third quarter of this year.

BenQ demonstrated its BW1000 prototype blue-laser DVD burner at the recently concluded Computex 2005 and the company plans to start volume producing the product in the first or second quarter of 2006, depending on how quickly the market for blue-laser products develops.

Press Release: This week VSO Software is releasing a new version of its DVD slideshow generator: PhotoDVD 2.0. Hot new features include DVD subtitles for adding comments, multiple audio tracks per slideshow to fit the mood of various audiences, and focus points to each picture.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez warned China yesterday to crack down hard on piracy or risk "an outbreak of protectionism" in the United States.