Some second-tier and smaller manufacturers of optical discs recently increased their OEM quotations for CD-R discs to US$0.10, up from US$0.08-0.09, on increased costs of polycarbonate (PC), a key component.

A short while back we announced the introduction of the new RiDisc Silver Printable DVD-R. Our resident Guru Flash has managed to get his hands on some and has sent us this review.

Ritek have changed their DVD dye formulation but is it an improvement? Our resident DVD Guru Flash has been examining this new media see what he has to say about it in this review.

Our resident DVD Guru Flash has been busy with six different 16x speed DVD writers in his quest to find the best burner. Check out his latest reviews in the series: RiDisc Dual Layer DVD+R and Prodisc 16x speed DVD+R

In order to maintain their leverage in negotiating royalty charges, leading Taiwan manufacturers of optical discs and optical disc drives (ODDs) are remaining neutral in the battle for next-generation blue-laser DVD standards, and specifically the battle between Blu-ray Disc and HD-DVD, according to Taiwan industry makers.

DVD+RW technology guardian, the DVD+RW Alliance, this week issued the final version of the 8x rewrite specification... almost.

Leading Japanese manufacturers of 16x DVD+R/-R discs began to expand their production capacities in the third quarter of this year, which has Taiwan makers guessing about their motives.

CMC Magnetics, the largest producer of optical discs in Taiwan, will raise its OEM quotation for CD-R discs by US$0.01 to US$0.14-0.15 per disc, according to the company.

U.S. film studio Twentieth Century Fox will support the Blu-ray standard for next-generation optical discs, a Japanese business daily reported Sunday, advancing the cause of Sony Corp. and its partners in a war over the next generation of DVDs.

A claim by IT experts the Gartner Group that Linux downloads are a cover for piracy has been dismissed by the Open Source Industry Association (OSIA). The Big G’s claim was that more than three quarters of Linux shipments are likely to end up running Windows and very often pirated versions.

The price level of optical discs, due to decreasing competition, is likely to bottom out in November, which is earlier than originally expected, according to CEO Gordon Yeh of Ritek.

Sony will soon ship an updated version of its first hard drive-equipped digital music player, this time to pitch the product straight at Apple's iPod Mini.

Toshiba has today announced the launch of the RD-X5, a mammoth 600Gb Hard disc driver and DVD video recorder that in real-terms will offer just over 1000 hours of video footage.

Optodisc Technology, a producer of DVD discs in Taiwan, has denied a rumor that the company extended the use of Maxell's DVD-R code from OEM production of DVD-R discs for Maxell to production for other purposes. The company also denied that Maxell is planning to sue Optodisc for patent infringement.

Our friends at disQworld, in conjunction with Bulkpaq are offering 5 free discs. NB: This offer is open to disQworld members only, so if you aren't a member yet to get your 5 free discs you'll need to follow the free and easy registration process.

Press Release: In an industry first for consumer level DVD writers, Nu Tech are utilising the capabilities of the Nexperia PNX7850 chipset to bring us DC Erase technology. This is made possible via six months of work between the Nu Tech engineers and the creator of DVDInfoPro, Nic Wilson.

Members of the webs biggest and busiest DVD forum, disQworld, have conducted independent reviews of the new Fuji-dye 8 speed Greys from Datawrite. Noted comments include, "Very Happy". "Definitely a winner, datawrite is going from strength to strength!!" "I'll definately be getting a few cake tubs of these to give further testing and at the price they are currently they are a bargain." "To sum it up i was very impressed." Click for the Datwarite Grey 'Fujis' review.

Press Release: Plextor heve announced the new PX-716 series DVD±R/RW drive. With high-speed 16X DVD+R and 16X DVD-R recording, the PX-716 gives users the ability to create, edit, and share customized DVDs and CDs in less time than ever before.

Sony have announced the sampling of key components for Blu-ray Disc (BD) drives. Beginning early part of December this year, samples of the key components for BD player/recorders, including optical heads and optical related semiconductor devices will be available, thus offering opportunities for manufactures to develop BD related products, as well as supporting to expand the overall BD market.

The head layer at Microsoft has said that if the European Union insists it tweaks Windows to comply with its anti-trust ruling, it will be able to comply. The man said that Microsoft has spent millions in the last few months to comply with the European Union's wishes that its Media Player be unbundled or offered in a cut down way.