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DIGITAL DIGEST - http://www.digital-digest.com
DIGITAL DIGEST | LiveUpdate Newsletter - Issue 68
18 November, 2007

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TOP NEWS SUMMARY:

1. Introduction

2. Weekly News Roundup

3. Weekly Software Roundup

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

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1. Introduction

A somewhat quieter than usual news week (or maybe just because I
wasn't paying attention). The big news, for me at least, was DivX on
the PS3. I don't have a PS3 (yet), but this might force Microsoft to
re-consider adding DivX to the 360, and earlier comments by the DivX
Inc. CEO sounds promising. The October NPD report also came out for
US game console sales, after NPD first reported that they will stop
publishing the number, and then changed their minds after public
pressure. Nintendo has somehow managed to transform them from 3rd
place in the previous-gen to clear first place this generation. It's
a victory for the good guys, as far as I'm concerned, since Nintendo
tend to stick to their principles and do things the right way.

Links:
* Game Consoles - October 2007 NPD Sales Figure Analysis
http://www.digital-digest.com/blog/DVDGuy/2007/11/17/game-consoles-october-2007-\
npd-sales-figure-analysis/
* DivX on PS3, Free Xbox 360 Stuff and Fall Update
http://www.digital-digest.com/blog/DVDGuy/2007/11/16/divx-on-ps3-free-xbox-360-s\
tuff-and-fall-update/

-- DVDGuy


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2. Weekly News Roundup

"Roundup time, I say, it's roundup time."

I tried really hard to come up with a smart intro for this week, but
the above was all I could come up with. I know it doesn't even make
any sense, but I haven't been getting much sleep lately and so my
brain is kind of fried. And who says this entry needs an intro at
all?

It's been a pretty quiet week in any case.

In copyright news, the MPAA is at it again (1) by lobbying
Washington to introduce tougher anti-piracy measures. Senate
Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Senator John
Cornyn (R-Texas) introduced legislation that would help the MPAA's
cause. There's only a couple of good guys left in the US Congress
that will actually defend their constituent's basic fair use rights.
It's a shame that US politics is so influenced by money, and this
will never change as long as Hollywood as money to throw at
the "problem".

In HD news, you can now take your expensive PS3, destroy it, and
turn it into a cheap toy. That's right, take out the Blu-ray (2)
laser in the PS3 and make your own Blu-ray phaser (3). People who
earlier purchased the Star Trek TOS HD DVD (4) and a Toshiba HD DVD
player got their own Star Trek style phaser, and even though it
wasn't self-made. I would say that if you have plans to destroy your
PS3, you might as well give it to me since I'm sure I can find some
uses for it. Meanwhile, in the battle of the top-of-the-line Blu-ray
and HD DVD players, the result is … a draw! Reviews (5) of the
Pioneer's DBP-94HD and Toshiba's HD-XA2 have earned a high 91% for
both players. I would really like to have the XA2 due to it's
fantastic DVD upscaling, which instantly extends the life of my DVD
collection. If it drops to half of it's current price, I'll get one
for sure.

DivX Inc has acquired MainConcept, no doubt for their H.264 (6)
technology related products - H.264 really is taking over the world
(7), it seems. DivX HD using H.264 coming soon? Speaking of DivX,
guess which video format is coming to the PS3? That's right, DivX on
the PS3 (8) means the PS3 might just become the world's most popular
pirated movie viewer. Xbox 360's DivX support (9) might not be too
far behind either.

In gaming news, analysts have predicted (10) game developer THQ will
now shift focus towards 360 and Nintendo development, with less
focus on the PS3. Another case of money talks (in this case, the
number of Nintendo/360 consoles sold - see October's US NPD figures
(11)), and something-something walks. Does having excessive dust
void your PS3 warranty (12)? Apparently, somebody was told that this
was the case by Sony tech support. How would you define excessive
anyway? PS3s are finally starting to sell, as the cheaper 40 GB
model becomes available. Will it finally overtake the 360 in the
monthly US NPD figures? We'll find out in another month. The 360 is
celebrating the five year birthday of its Live service (13). Those
that were lucky (or at least read this blog), would have scored
themselves a free Live Arcade game (Carcassonne) on the 15th or
16th. The Fall Update, most likely coming on the 4th of December,
will add downloadable Xbox 1 games (no achievement points though).
Hopefully it will add some other goodies such as DivX playback to
make the media extender functionalities of the 360 something of a
must-have for Windows Media Center users.

Christmas is nearly here, and regardless of your religion, it's a
time to celebrate due to all the sales that will be doing the
rounds. Black Friday sales in the US should see some top bargains
pop up for both HD and gaming, and I'll try to highlight some of the
good ones right here on this blog.

See you all next week.



Links:
(1) http://forum.digital-digest.com/showthread.php?t=84893
(2) http://wiki.digital-digest.com/index.php/Blu-ray
(3) http://forum.digital-digest.com/showthread.php?t=84855
(4) http://wiki.digital-digest.com/index.php/HD_DVD
(5) http://forum.digital-digest.com/showthread.php?t=84907
(6) http://www.h264info.com/
(7)
http://www.digital-digest.com/blog/DVDGuy/2007/10/26/h264-taking-over-the-world-\
one-codec-at-a-time/
(8) http://forum.digital-digest.com/showthread.php?t=84869
(9) http://forum.digital-digest.com/showthread.php?t=84868
(10) http://forum.digital-digest.com/showthread.php?t=84848
(11)
http://www.digital-digest.com/blog/DVDGuy/2007/11/17/game-consoles-october-2007-\
npd-sales-figure-analysis/
(12) http://forum.digital-digest.com/showthread.php?t=84818
(13) http://forum.digital-digest.com/showthread.php?t=84868


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3. Weekly Software Roundup

November 18, 2007 EAC3toGUI 1.40 (Freeware)
November 18, 2007 eac3to 2.0 (Freeware)
November 18, 2007 AutoMKV 0.91f (Freeware)
November 18, 2007 AVStoDVD 1.2.0 (Freeware)
November 18, 2007 Net Transport 2.51
November 18, 2007 x264 full rev. 689 (Freeware)
November 17, 2007 Toast 8.0.3
November 17, 2007 YamiPod 1.7 (Freeware)
November 17, 2007 Vista Codec Package 4.5.3 (Freeware)
November 17, 2007 ProgDVB 4.88 (Freeware)
November 17, 2007 ffdshow Rev. 1611 (Freeware)
November 17, 2007 SVCD2DVD 2.5.3500
November 17, 2007 Winclipdvb 2.9.5 (Freeware)
November 16, 2007 AVStoMPEG 10.2007.1114.0400 (Freeware)
November 16, 2007 pyTivo Build 208 (Freeware)
November 16, 2007 Plato DVD Creator 3.78
November 16, 2007 Plato Video To Zune 3.69
November 16, 2007 Plato Video To iPod PSP 3GP 3.69
November 16, 2007 EMDB 0.55 (Freeware)
November 16, 2007 VisualHub 1.29
November 16, 2007 MediaCoder 0.6.0 Build 3980 (Freeware)
November 16, 2007 MediaPortal 0.2.3.0 (Freeware)
November 16, 2007 GOTSent 0.23 beta 6 (Freeware)
November 16, 2007 MeGUI 0.2.6.1038 (Freeware)
November 16, 2007 Collectorz.com Movie Collector 5.3.1
November 15, 2007 WinMPG Video Convert 6.8.0.4
November 15, 2007 DVBcut 0.5.4 Rev. 101 (Freeware)
November 15, 2007 Photodex ProShow Producer 3.2.2040
November 15, 2007 Photodex ProShow Gold 3.2.2040
November 15, 2007 Photodex ProShow 3.2.2040
November 15, 2007 PowerDVD Ultra 7.3 Build 3319
November 14, 2007 Miro 1.0 (Freeware)
November 14, 2007 FinalBurner Pro 1.24.0.136
November 14, 2007 FinalBurner 1.24.0.115 (Freeware)
November 14, 2007 DVB Dream 1.4d (Freeware)
November 14, 2007 BluffTitler 7.15 (Freeware)
November 14, 2007 BSplayer Pro 2.25.955
November 14, 2007 BSplayer 2.25.955
November 13, 2007 QT Lite 2.0.0 (Freeware)
November 13, 2007 Kiss DajeVu Encoder 2008.R01.5 (Freeware)
November 13, 2007 TMPGEnc XPress 4.4.0.234
November 13, 2007 MP4Converter.net's Apple TV Video Converter 3.1.44.1109b
November 13, 2007 KMPlayer 2.9.3.1408 Beta (Freeware)
November 13, 2007 DGMPGDec 1.5.0 Beta 13 (Freeware)
November 13, 2007 HC 0.22 (Freeware)
November 13, 2007 VisualSubSync 0.9.12 (Freeware)
November 12, 2007 VDownloader 0.61 (Freeware)
November 12, 2007 TVersity 0.9.11.2a (Freeware)
November 12, 2007 Wondershare Flash SlideShow Builder 4.2.0
November 12, 2007 Wondershare Photo Story Platinum 2.6.0
November 12, 2007 AviDemux 2.4 Preview 3.1 (Freeware)
November 12, 2007 Kantaris Media Player 0.2.5 (Freeware)
November 12, 2007 AutoGK 2.48 Beta
November 11, 2007 InfraRecorder 0.44 (Freeware)
November 11, 2007 GB-PVR 1.1.5 (Freeware)
November 11, 2007 CodecInstaller 2.8.0
November 11, 2007 NeroLINUX 3.0.2.1

http://www.digital-digest.com/software/lastweeksoftware.php


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