DIGITAL DIGEST - http://www.digital-digest.com
DIGITAL DIGEST | LIVE UPDATE Issue 44
25 March, 2004

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TOP NEWS SUMMARY:

1. Introduction

2. DVD Digest Re-Design: Update

3. What's new on DVD Digest

4. What's new on DivX Digest

5. What's new on DVD±R Digest

6. How to cancel/change your subscription email address/settings
- how to maintain the subscription to this newsletter even if
your email address has changed

7. A simple thank-you and some concluding words

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1. Introduction

Again, sorry for the long gap between issues. Now that things have
settled a bit on the DVD Digest re-design, I finally have some spare
time to write a new issue. There's a lot to cover in this issue, so
let's get on with it...

-- DVDGuy

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2. DVD Digest Re-Design: Update

The DVD Digest re-design continues. Not so much the visual aspects of
the website, which is only there now for show only, but the scripting
parts, which I need to get right before working on the visual design.

I have added a new polling feature to the site, as well as tweaked
the existing voting features. I have also added search engines for
the articles and software sections, which hopefully should make
finding the right article/software much easier. There is also good
news for the news section, which is now indexed by Google News.

There shouldn't be any more major changes, only the visual aspects of
the site needs a little bit of more work. Then work starts on DivX
Digest...

Related Links:
The "New" DVD Digest: http://www.digital-digest.com/dvd/index.php


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3. What's new on DivX Digest

There's a bit of news about DivX after an interview of the creator of
DivX Gej at CeBit in German. My German is a little rusty (as in I
don't read or speak any), but word is that the next major version of
the DivX Codec (5.2) should be released in June. The next major major
version of the codec, codenamed "Q", should be out in 2005.

You may have noticed, but I usually don't mention every single
update/release that has happened on DivX Digest in this regular
section of the newsletter. The reason for this is that that it takes
a long time to summarize all the updates on DivX Digest (and also the
fact that I still want you to visit my website), and I like to leave
this section to highlight additions that are a bit unique. AIW Player
falls into this category.

Apart from being a multimedia player and TV capture viewer (and free
to boot), AIW Player's unique feature is that it can take the input
to your computer's TV capture card, and then stream it across a LAN
or even the Internet. Essentially, AIW Player can broadcast your TV
captures out to the world, and it even incorporates a chat server.

The other unique addition is a new player to playback the MPEG-4
H.264 format. Moonlight H.264 Player is currently in the pre-release
phase, so a full version is currently not available, but you can
already download some sample H.264 clips on the Moonlight website to
test out the player. This player has been released just in time, as
the DVD Forum has recently just announced the use of H.264 as part of
the HD-DVD specs.

Related Links:
AIW Player: http://www.divx-digest.com/software/aiw_player.html
DivX Codec: http://www.divx-digest.com/software/divxcodec5.html
DivX Codec - Official Site: http://www.divx.com
HD-DVD News - WMV9 codec will be used:
http://www.digital-digest.com/dvd/shownews.php?newsid=046
Moonlight H.264 Player:
http://www.divx-digest.com/software/moonlight_h264_player.html
Sample H.264 Clips: http://www.moonlight.co.il/down_video_compare.php


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4. What's new on DVD Digest

With the new DVD Digest site re-design, it is now much easier for me
to make updates to the site, and hence, I can spend more time adding
new content such as news articles. One of the news articles on
recently was about HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface). To
put it simply, it's a new type of digital connector set to replace
DVI and also includes digital audio as part of the cable.

Normally, no one would get over excited about a new type of
connector, but I think HDMI has the potential to be something big.
DVI is already common-place on computer system, and is now beginning
to find its way onto consumer electronics, such as high end DVD
players. HDMI, being backwards compatible with DVI, should find it
easy to fit in. HDMI could do to digital home entertainment what USB
has done for computers.

The other piece of news recently was about Disney's expansion of the
EZ-D DVD trials. EZ-D DVDs is a type of DVD that self destructs
within 48 hours, using a special chemical coating that reacts with
air. It is meant to be a substitute to DVD rentals, and on the
surface, it looks like a good solution. However, if you consider the
fact the "expired" discs cannot be re-activated (unlike the already
tried and failed DIVX rental system), and that millions of discs
could be "rented" out each year, the environmental impact EZ-D DVDs
have is unmeasurable. Because EZ-D DVDs can be sold through any store
location without going through a rental network, it will make video
rental slightly easier. But it's real aim is to give the studios more
control over how we view our content, and of course, to increase
profits by bypassing rental outlets - at the expense of the
environment.

The last piece of news I've selected has a little to do with what I
mentioned in Issue 42 ("Copy Protection Palladium Style"). It's not
really news that the current DVD copy protection system (CSS) is so
flawed that a 2 year old with a "My First Computer" toy can probably
hack it. So a new copy protection system has been in the works
probably ever since DeCSS made its way onto the Internet. HP and
Philips are currently developing such a system where a "broadcast
flag" is set/unset to indicate whether the digital content can be
copied or not. While it's aimed at DVDs, the term "broadcast" does
suggest that digital broadcasts in the future may also feature
something similar, and so, prevent the recording or delayed viewing
of digital content, even from free-to-air transmissions. Delayed
viewing is a fair use issue, although with the MPAA using the DMCA to
destroy all facets of fair use, I won't be surprised if we're robbed
of this right as well.

Related Links:
Copyright News: DRM for Digital Broadcasts:
http://www.digital-digest.com/dvd/shownews.php?newsid=035
Disc News: Self Destructing DVDs:
http://www.digital-digest.com/dvd/shownews.php?newsid=050
Issue 42: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/liveupdate/message/46
Technology News: HDMI: http://www.digital-digest.com/dvd/shownews.php?newsid=056


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5. What's new on DVD±R Digest

A lot of news recently, most about dual layer recording, but here's
an interesting piece of news about the new 4x DVD-RW media.
Apparently, new 4x DVD-RW media will not be usable at all in earlier
1x or 2x drives. 4x DVD+RW media does not have the same problem. This
leaves owners of 1x/2x drives in a bit of a dilemma, as new drives
will come out and eventually, slower media will be hard to find. It
does make you wonder whether the DVD Forum, the backers of
the "dashed" (as opposed to the "plus") format, want the format to
succeed or not...

Combined with the confusion of dual layer burning, there's more
confusion afoot. 16x single write media should be out sometime soon,
and many manufacturers are skipping 12x entirely, although whether
anyone can find 12x or 16x media is another question. So what we end
up with is "dashed"/"plus", R or RW, anything from 1x to 16x, single
or dual layered media, and then sprinkle with compatibility problems
across the board - would you like fries with that?

The author of the highly popular DVD2One tool has made another new
software, called DVD+Audio Creator. We've all heard of DVD-Audio, but
what exactly is DVD+Audio? There's a lot of space on DVD media, and
while it's not a lot for video, it certainly is a lot for audio.
DVD+Audio is a format compatible with DVD-Video, but aimed at audio
storage. DVD+Audio Creator allows you to improve the quality of your
original CDs and store them on DVD using a "revolutionary precise re-
sampling and resolution enhancement method". It also allows you to
store up to 45 hours of normal quality audio.

And the DVD Shrink updates continue even after the end of official
development for the software - it now has the ability to read and
write ISO files.

Related Links:
DVD+Audio Creator: http://www.dvdr-digest.com/software/download_58.html
DVD Shrink: http://www.dvdr-digest.com/software/download_32.html
Rewritable DVDs, old drives don't always play nice:
http://asia.cnet.com/newstech/personaltech/0,39001147,39172307,00.htm


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6. How to cancel/change settings/email address for your subscription
to this newsletter

Changing subscription status for this newsletter is pretty easy.

To un-subscribe:
- Send an email to liveupdate-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com using the
email account that receives this newsletter.

To change the email address that receives this newsletter:
- Un-subscribe using your current one, and sign up using a new email
address


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7. A simple thank-you and some concluding words

Just a note to thank all the thousands of people, including you, who
joined the Digital Digest LiveUpdate list. I've spent quite a bit of
time developing this site, and making it what it is today, and really
do appreciate your continued support.

I hoped you enjoyed another issue of the LiveUpdate newsletter. You
won't have to wait seven more months for the next issue, I promise :)

Thanks!!


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