Items tagged with optical
It's official -- there's a new Blu-ray specification called Ultra HD Blu-ray, and just as the name implies, the new spec represents a bump in resolution to 3840x2160, the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) announced this week. To go along with the new spec, BDA came up with a new logo to delineate Ultra HD Blu-ray...
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One area of technology that never ceases to amaze me is storage. Despite the extreme complications in increasing densities, it continues to happen, and while at one point an 8GB mechanical hard drive seemed incredible, 4,000GB models are easily found today (with 5,000GB models on the way). When looking at "small"...
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A growing number of gamers have been complaining about an annoying issue affecting a "very small number" of Xbox One consoles. The issue has to do with the built-in disc drive not working properly. It seems that all or most who received a faulty console hear an awfully unsettling grinding noise when popping in a game...
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It seems like the tech industry at large has its collective head stuck in the cloud these days, but don't forget about optical storage. Though there hasn't yet been an official announcement, there's reason to believe that the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) is close to revealing the next generation 4K Blu-ray Disc...
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The race to figure out more efficient ways of storing the ever-increasing amount of data we generate every day is on, and researchers have developed a simple yet powerful way to dramatically increase the storage density of a DVD. How dramatic? DVDs can handle 4.7GB of storage using conventional means of burning; a...
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Nobody’s going to be pulling enemy star fighters into a mothership Star Trek-style anytime soon, but researchers at the University of St. Andrews (Scotland) and the Institute of Scientific Instruments (ISI, Czech Republic) have developed a tractor beam--or at least an experimental version of the concept. Basically, they figured out how...
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The wide open worlds of 3D and Blu-ray are combining, and it's Asus that's bringing the two closer than ever. The company's new SBW-06C2X-U is a 3D Blu-ray writer, fully supporting BDXL, 6x Blu-ray writes, Blu-ray 3D playback, 2D-to-3D conversions, DVD upscaling to 1080p HD, 5.1 channel Dolby EX and DTS-HD and the ability to even play nice...
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We have discussed Intel’s Light Peak technology on a number of occasions over the last few years. We caught a glimpse of the technology at work at the Intel Developers Forum a couple of years ago and in later briefings with Intel we’ve seen the technology mature into what’s being officially announced...
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Sony introduced the next generation of its internal Blu-ray Disc rewritable drives. The new drives are capable of writing single BD-R media at up to 12X and dual layer BD-R media at up to 8X speeds. Sony's BWU-500S model comes with CyberLink’s Media Suite 8 software and one 25GB Sony BD-R blank disc. In addition to recording to BD-R...
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Right from the start, Sony has been one of Blu-ray's largest fans, and also one of the company's pouring the most money into marketing the format. Many people assumed that Blu-ray was a format created by Sony at first, but it's actually not. Nevertheless, Sony is now helping to advance Blu-ray into the next level, teaming with Tohoku University...
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Netbooks may be all the rage these days, but one thing is for sure: if you need an optical drive, you're hosed. Of course, that's why companies like Lite-On exist--to solve quandaries you never knew you'd end up in. For on-the-go computer users that love the low price and small design of netbooks, but wish they had an...
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Plextor Announces New Lineup of Optical Drives with PlexUTILITIES Advanced Application & Diagnostic SoftwarePlextor, a leading developer and manufacturer of high-performance digital media equipment, announces new products as a part of its new 2008 lineup. Featured in the new offering are 6x Blu-Ray Combo drives, 22x Super Multi DVD±RW...
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Practical optical computing is like unicorn hunting to researchers. It promises all sorts of wonderful effects like superfast speeds and less waste heat. But messing about with photons instead of electrons posed challenges that seemed insurmountable, especially the limit on the size of the conduit needed to carry it. Researchers at the University...
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Here's an idea that - well, read it, then you decide.Indian manufacturer Spice Mobile on Tuesday introduced a phone with a built-in optical disc player, the first of its kind, here at the Mobile World Congress trade show.VMedia produces a 1.2", blue laser optical disk that holds one gigabyte per layer. Current discs have one layer, which is...
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Contemporary routing solutions mainly involve electricity, which is inefficient as the process involves the conversion of bursts of light into electrons and back again. The alternative, optical routing, has been a challenge because pulses of light are difficult to control. That may soon change as scientists at Cornell University are working...
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DigiTimes reports that industry sources are expecting SATA to replace standard IDE as the format for optical disk drives in 2007. SATA has been extremely popular the last few years as the connection of choice for the vast majority of consumer hard drives. However, cases which were cleaned up through the use of the smaller cable were...
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Cortina Systems Purchases Intel's Optical-Networking Components Business SANTA CLARA, Calif., Sep. 11, 2006 - Cortina Systems Inc. and Intel Corporation today announced that they have completed the sale of product lines and associated assets of Intel's optical-networking components business to Cortina. Cortina...
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In a follow-up to the distinctive 5.0MP dual-lens EasyShare V570, Kodak has announced the new 6.1MP EasyShare V610. The dual Schneider-Kreuznach C-Variogon zoom lenses are still carried over with the V610, but this time one has a focal length of 38-114mm while the second lens goes from 130-380mm....
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Looking to use that spare CD/DVD Rom drive you have laying, but you have no more room in your computer? It's a common problem, with an easy solution. PimpRig takes a look at the Enermax Laureate USB 2.0 Series 5.25" Optical Drive Enclosure, which aims to be a quick problem solver. ...
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Atek Super Mini Optical Mouse Good Things Come in Small Packages... By Marco "BigWop" Chiappetta March 27, 2001 I know what you're all thinking, "This is HotHardware.Com! Why are you posting a portable mouse review?!?"...Well, I'll tell you, let me set the stage...A few weeks ago, while lounging on my couch, browsing with my...
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