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Media
Information > Media DVD Coverage 
Archive
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| Updated February 22, 2007 DVD
NEWS DIGEST
1 -
Saw III Lions Gate Home Entertainment
If you fancy a shiny new digital video recorder – here’s how to get picture-perfect recordings every time. Maximise the TV signal - get a specialist to perform a health check on your TV aerial. Often, an inexpensive realignment can produce a much better signal, while fresh coaxial cable from aerial to outlet socket can also make a massive difference to the picture. Cable & satellite signals - Remember that the signal path between your set-top box (whatever type it is) and your recorder needs to be as direct as possible – avoid routing pictures and use short cables. RGB-Scart can be best - If you're buying a recorder to use with a set-top box, make sure it has an RGB-Scart input. It will make a huge difference to image quality. Upgrade your cabling - get a quality aerial cable to maximise signal quality. Upgraded video cables are also essential: an RGB-capable Scart cable is ideal for a cheaper recorder, while many recorders justify using superior component video connections, or even HDMI, if possible. Hard-disks make life easy - a recorder with a hard-disk drive (HDD) is a great buy, though it'll cost you more. Having a hard disk means you can play pre-recorded DVDs and record from the TV at the same time Max your recording quality - stick to better-quality, shorter-duration modes when setting your timed recordings. Image quality can drop off significantly in long-play modes, and you'll see the difference clearly on a good TV, especially a flatscreen. Hard-disks can be even more accommodating: with 250GB of space, you can record around 40 hours at best-quality. Don't fill up your hard disk – If you have a hard-disk recorder, delete older content from it regularly to avoid crashes. We've found that most hard-disk recorders suffer from stability problems when you approach their maximum capacity. If you only have 20 percent of storage space or less on your disk, give it a spring clean, or archive some content to DVD. Home Media Magazine: Same-Day VOD, DVD Tests Studios have been participating in same day release tests since last fall. “So far we have seen no cannibalization of the expected [DVD] sales rate and very little impact on rental in the test markets compared to the controlled markets,” said one producer. One producer has sold 600,000 episodic downloads of a popular series, in addition to 400,000 DVDs. Variety: DVD Burning Desires But the next big DVD market show-down is likely to come over a piece of familiar hardware: the DVD player. After years of painful negotiations, tech companies will finally be able to offer the ability to burn DVDs of downloaded pics this year. Those discs could then be screened on any home DVD player. A major drugstore chain in the U.S. plans to expand its DVD offerings beyond a handful of discs to thousands by installing kiosks and DVD burners in all its stores. Consumers could order a disc and 10 or 15 minutes later pick up a disc and box. Consumers could also order movies online and pick them up instore. One major retailer is also working on a DVD burning concept, though it doesn't have deployment plans yet. Initially, the home-burning technology only works with "DVD 5," a format that holds less data than the newer "DVD 9." That means some movies, along with all their extras, may not fit on a single disc, though insiders expect burning on a DVD 9 to be possible by next year.
1. Pick up the disc and hold it by the edges. 2. Use a soft, lint-free cloth to wipe the surface, starting at the center and moving outward to the edge. Wipe across the disc in a straight line, rather than in a circular motion; following the grooves can cause micro-scratches that will damage the disc. 3. If simply wiping the disc does not help, dampen the cloth with a gentle soap-and-water solution and wipe again from the center out, not in a circle. Never use household cleaners, abrasives or solvents on CDs or DVDs. Philippine Star: Smuggling of DVD Copy Machines The Bureau of Customs has started investigating a foiled attempt to smuggle DVD replicating machines worth millions of pesos at the Port of Manila. BOC Commissioner Napoleon Morales ordered the temporary relief of a port examiner who authorized the release of the illegal shipment. According to an expert, the replicating machines could produce as many 6,000 copies of bootleg movies a day. end
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