The pricing of PS3 has caused a lot of discussion, as some people feel that it is too pricey for a gaming machine. One of the price increasing factors is the Blu-ray drive, which is included as a default. Microsoft relied on legacy DVD technology for the Xbox 360 and is therefore able to offer the device with a reasonable price. But they were quick to release an external HD-DVD add-on device. But the HD-DVD drive is priced at $199 and is for movies only - does it make sense to buy separate components if you can get a PS3 with integrated Blu-ray for the same money?

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According to the Inquirer, Sony PS3 games will cost about $100 when the machine is finally released. Quite expensive wouldn’t you say? Sony has gone for a traditional business model where the price of the PS3 will be low, but it will make up its cash from software royalties.

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The high definition format war is picking up heat towards the Holidays. Samsung has just announced that they will be shipping Blu-ray players for the UK market in October. The player supports resolutions up to 1080p and comes with couple of Blu-ray titles as well. The timing is good as Sony promises to deliver some Blu-ray movie titles in mid October as well, and according to Soyn the prices will be in the “DVD cost range”.

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Philips yesterday announced Ritek has joined Veeza, its new licensing system for CD-R disc patents, with Ritek being the first Taiwan-based optical disc maker to sign on. Philips also announced a 41.7% reduction in its royalty charge for recordable DVD discs from US$0.06 to US$0.035. Optical discs makers in Taiwan had originally boycotted Veeza, so Ritek’s sudden reversal may offend its fellow makers.

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Sony finally gave people a chance to actually play with the upcoming PlayStation 3, and according to the report the people were impressed. The first hands on demonstration of PS3 offered playable versions of “Heavenly Sword” and “Resistance: The Fall of Man”. According to people’s first impressions, the PS3 might very well be worth all the waiting.

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According to DigiTimes, Philips has revoked CD-R disc patent licenses for CMC Magnetics and Ritek, as well as Prodisc Technology and Lead Data. Philips’ withdrawal of CD-R licensing was due to the Taiwan-based makers, except for Ritek, violating existing licensing contracts. Ritek lost licensing because its contract with Philips expired in May of this year.

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The consumer electronics giant Matsushita is entering the DVD recorder market with it’s Panasonic brand. They announced today that they will be selling two recorder models in November. So it looks like that the real HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray will start cooking up just in time for the Holidays.

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A US patent has been filed for the discs that could hold both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray versions of movies. Would this end the hi-def war? The design of the disc patented in the US would have three layers. One for a standard DVD version of a film and then one for each of the competing formats. The engineers behind the idea reportedly work for the Warner Brothers movie studio.

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Nero has just released a major upgrade to their recording suite. The version is bumbed to 7.5 and it seems to carry the “Reloaded” extra name as well. Nero has included the Sipp VoIP solution to the package, and HD-DVD/Blu-ray support is naturally there. Also the list of changes promises improved video authoring. As usual the Nero 7.5.1.1 is available straight from our official download mirror, so you can avoid the crowded and slow Nero servers by downloading from us.

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Traxdata has today announced the launch of its HD DVD-R media, the eagerly awaited successor to the current DVD. This is the only HD DVD-R that is available to buy online and in-stores today, heralding the start of a new era in optical storage media. It is set to revolutionize the quality and volume of data that users can store on one disc.

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