Microsoft has developed a cheap, disposable pre-recorded DVD disc that consumers can play only once. The discs would give Hollywood increased control over the release of new films and allow consumers the chance to watch a film at the fraction of the price of an ordinary pre-recorded DVD. More important, the discs would prevent copying and digital piracy.

Recently published patents at the US Patent & Trademark Office could bring some light to the so-called "ROM Mark" protection layer of the Blu-Ray format.

OEM prices for entry-level DVD recorders have precipitously dropped to US$70-80 (£40-£46) due to less than expected global demand, forcing Japanese maker Sanyo Electric to forgo production, according to local industry sources.

Press Release: Roxio, a division of Sonic Solutions the leader in digital media software, today introduced Easy Media Creator 8, the most significant upgrade ever to its industry-leading digital media suite. Easy Media Creator 8 seamlessly merges advanced technologies from Roxio and Sonic into the most comprehensive suite of CD and DVD authoring, burning, photo, video, and music applications available.

Prodisc and Optodisc have today announced their merger. They are going to use the stock exchange method to set up a new company called “Hsin Lien Industrial Investing Stock" control company with Capital of 7.76 billion NTD (£133m). Lin Ming-Fa will be the president and CEO of the new company and Wang Cheng-Ming will be the vice president. After the merger, they will take 15.5% of the DVD-R market share.

Resident DVD wizard Flash has started a campaign to find the best discs in the 16x market. In this review he compares Datawrite Titanium 16x DVD+R versus the RiDisc 16x DVD+R. You can find the review here.

CMC Magnetics and Ritek were overtaken by India-based Moser Baer India (MBI) in the number of global CD-R disc shipments in the second quarter of this year, according to Japan-based market research firm Fujiwara-Rothchild.

The company behind the popular peer-to-peer network eDonkey has announced that the site is to shut down.

Press Release: AudioDev has unveiled its CATS HD DVD analyzer. A pre-release version of the analyzer will be on display at the upcoming industry event - Mediatech showcase and conference in Frankfurt, October 4-5.

Crackers this week claimed to have successfully ripped out the latest Sony PlayStation Portable firmware and replaced it with an earlier version of the code containing fewer anti-piracy features.

CMC Magnetics' surge in revenue for July and August are already enough to cover a net loss of NT$282 million (US$8.5 million) posted for the first half of this year with profitability for this month expected to hit a record high level, according to report by the local media Central News Agency in an interview with company chairman Robert Wong.

Pioneer's new DVD recorders are capable of recording high-definition TV broadcasts to HDD in the original HD picture quality, and moving recordings to DVD-R DL disc in VR mode.

Press Release: Swopex has announced the launch of an online community site allowing members to swop their watched or unwanted DVDs for new DVDs for just 99p, legally and with no subscription fees.

Microsoft and Intel are throwing their full weight behind one side in the long-running battle over the format for the next generation of high-definition DVD's.

Ritek and CMC Magnetics, in view of growing global demand, will expand their monthly production capacities of DVD DL (single-sided double-layer) discs from three million discs to five million, and from one million discs to two million, respectively, at the end of this year, according to the two companies.

Following the increased demand for DVD+R/-R discs this year, it is expected that prices of the DVDR OEM blank media to increase 10%-15% in total in the fourth quarter.

During the Cold War, the West spent billions of dollars trying to spy on the military installations of the Soviet Union. Now Western governments are targeting secret Russian military facilities in a new conflict, this time over the piracy of music, films and software.

Popular file-sharing site WinMX.com ceased operating and the New York office of another, eDonkey.com, appeared to be closed, in the continuing legal fallout among underworld peer-to-peer music services, industry sources and users said on Wednesday.

The bassist of Switchfoot is teaching fans how to disable the copy protection measures in the San Diego rock band's own CDs, presumably upsetting Sony and perhaps unwittingly testing the anti-circumvention rules of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs today claimed the world's biggest recording companies have begun to demand the iTunes Music Store raise its prices. But the Mac maker is responding with the spectre of a return to the days of mass online music piracy.