HD DVD might have an advantage in the HD format battle after all: Warner, Paramount, Universal and New Line are committed to releasing the first batch of HD DVD discs for Christmas 2005. Toshiba has also announced that both HD DVD players and recorders would be available from the start - unlike DVD where recording only became possible years after the format was launched. While we'll see dual layer HD DVD-ROM discs from the start, HD DVD-R will only be available in the single layer 15 GB version. HD DVD-RW will offer up to 20 GB, whereas a dual layer HD DVD-ROM will offer twice the amount of a single layer disc: 30 GB. The Blu-Ray camp has Sony, MGM (also part of Sony), and Fox on board, but the first movies will only be launched in 2006.

IfoEdit 0.971 fixes another NTSC authoring problem, programs in PGCs can be added even if there is no program defined yet, empty PGCs can be added to VTS_PGCITI, and the remove angle option in VOB extras is no longer grayed out on WinXP.

VobBlanker 1.5.1.0 offers shell integration, adds program and chapter numbers to the title cell list, the maximum number of PGCs, Menu PGCs and IfoSize has been increased and a couple of bugs have been fixed.

Cuttermaran 1.62 beta 1 has an extended CLI interface, MRU items in the menu, cut parameters are shown on a special dialog page before the actual cutting process and a couple of bugs have been fixed as well.

DVD Identifier 3.5.1 has an updated manufacturer database, improved detection of DVD±R/W recording speeds and contains some bugfixes.

They've failed in the US (for now at least), now they're trying it again down under: the RIAA will sue the maker of P2P network Kazaa.

So IfoEdit isn't dead after all: v0.97 fixes NTSC authoring problems, automatically refreshes the screen after values have been edited, frame stepping during playback is possible, and some other bugs have been fixed.

And for those using Cuttermaran, this might come in handy: CuttyEnc is a free MPEG-2 encoder that can be used for Cuttermaran's frame accurate editing feature, instead of the commercial TMPG.

I've previously reported on pricing of online music and how record labels are reaping more benefits with an inferior product than with CDs. But, there's an even bigger rip-off going on with cellphones: I have yet to find any numbers on the distribution of money, but polyphonic and "real" ringtones for cellphones can be way more expensive than what iTunes, Napster2 and Co. charge. And then you have to add GPRS download charges, and all you get is often a lousy midi file. You're way better of buying and ripping a CD and transfer the music to your cellphone, but obviously the music industry wouldn't want you to do that.

DivX Plasma build 1408 AKA Coreburn contains numerous GUI and functionality fixes and comes with a new DirectShow decoder featuring better performance and quality enhancements.

PgcEdit 0.4.3.1 can select the current button and stop run mode in trace mode, in the menubutton viewer, selecting a button and closing the viewer has been made easier and two bugs have been fixed as well.

BeLight 0.18 can load and save your own settings and detect the presence of the Nero AAC encoder DLLs in BeLight's folder.

We know the music industry is always complaining, but here's yet another set of numbers showing that they're doing better and that despite increased P2P usage.

Last but not least, television chains now get into line to do their own complaining about piracy and despite shoving the consumer screwing broadcast flag down our throats, they're already considering lawsuits. Personally, I don't think you can compare TV shows with movies insofar that as long as we're talking about non-encrypted TV, everybody can get it (in some countries you have to pay a small fee to be allowed to receive a TV signal but that's that). So why should it be criminal to share something with your whole neighborhood or country if instead of downloading you can record it on your own? After all, the concept of having a 3rd party making a copy of a copyrighted work for your personal use, is well known in copyright law in many countries. And if we look across borders, is it so surprising that people are fed up that shows are being broadcast in their country with 1 or 2 years of delay? I have a bunch of series on DVD that have not even aired on local TV, and I think it's natural that people are not quite willing to stick to TV station schedules if they can get the latest episode of their favorite show, in its original form right now, rather than having to wait 2 years for a lower quality, panned & scanned and dubbed version?

PgcEdit 0.4.3 now has a full blown preview and fixes two bugs.

While still pretty much being the standard disc type today, 4x DVD blanks might soon become hard to find. Due to competition, Taiwanese disc manufacturers are now selling 4x blanks below the production price and many have begun to abandon the 4x production lines.

Owners of the Lite-On SOHW 1633S can rejoice: The latest firmware upgrade for that drive adds 4x DVD+R DL writing and 12x DVD-R writing, where previously only 2.4x and 8x writing speed was supported. Of course, to get the 16x DVD-R, 6x DVD-RW and 8x DVD+RW you'll still have to buy an upcoming Lite-On burner ;)

DVBPortal 1.3 supports mouse wheels, adds LiveTV to Windows Media Players, contains some fixes in the AC3 department, uses the latest version of SkyAVC and the TransEdit tool now supports DVB-T.

And here goes another copyright act: the US Senate has passed the "Family Entertainment and Copyright Act" last Saturday. The law groups together a few proposals made earlier, and includes issues as the previously passed Artist Rights and Theft Prevention Act - banning the use of video equipment in movie theaters -, the Family Movie Act - exemption movie censorship (bleeping out foul language, cutting out violent or erotic scenes, etc.) from copyright infringement, and other, minor acts.

Auto Gordian Knot 1.80 supports external subtitle files (they'll be encoded in the final AVI) and has an improved detection of changed parameters after first pass readjustments.

BeLight 0.17 offers access to many more Lame settings, support 5.1 Dolby Digital WAV output, supports more languages and fixes a bunch of errors.

In the light of ever more popular DVD players and recorders, how long is VHS going to last? Not so long according to Dixons - one of the UK's largest consumer electronics chains - they've just pulled VCR recorders from their shelves. Well, I haven't watched a single VHS tape since I got my first DVD player so I most certainly won't miss that piece of antiquated technology.

What do the entertainment industry's lapdogs in WIPO - World Intellectual Property Organization (think RIAA, MPAA and Co. on a global scale - do when non governmental organizations try to look after our rights? Bully tactics and outright breaking of established WIPO procedures seem to be the standard, rather than the exception. Who cares about lousy organizations who are not in the pockets of media moguls anyway?

The EU patent reform hasn't quite ended yet. Now, the creator of Linux, MySQL and PHP have issued an appeal against software patents - something which certain EU ministers that may or may not be directly on the BSA's payroll - are heavily in favor of. Certain governments have since come around, but when we're talking about an industry that's not above buying off politicians, you should be rightfully concerned. Since the debate isn't quite over yet, you still have a chance to get in touch with your elected EU representatives.

PgcEdit 0.4.2 fixes three bugs: a VTS_PTT_SRPTI table rebuild error that would occur with multiangle titles, the menubutton viewer now displays the proper frame and crashes in the menu button viewer should be fixed.

This has been an issue before: go to jail for skipping trailers or ads? I'm sure it sounds ridiculous to you, but the entertainment industry is trying to achieve just that - and a lot of other nasty things - with the Intellectual Property Protection Act. And being the devil's advocate, I have to raise the question of intellectual property is not already protected by existing copyright and patent legislation. Because if it is, why is new legislation needed to get the same things done as with the old legislation - which isn't going to be replaced.

If BeSweet GUI is too colorful, or complex to handle for you, check out BeLight - a simplified BeSweet GUI using standard Windows look & feel (good for design conservatives like I am ;)

HDTVtoMPEG2 1.11 beta supports PID stripping, MPEG-2 audio in the TS to MPEG-2 conversion, has an option to create sequential clip files and fixes a couple of bugs.

And as if their current network sniffing wasn't enough, the MPAA now wants access to the Internet 2 - a high speed educational network - so that they can snoop around some more.

PgcEdit 0.4.1 allows limited preview in the menu buttons viewer, the import clip macros now allow to use the next chapter button to skip to the end of the imported clip and two bugs have been fixed.

While there are already some DVD burners that can handle DVD+R DL discs at 4x speeds, we'll see a new generation of burners that (with the format makers' blessing I hope) support that burning speed, as well as write the yet to be released DVD-R DL discs at the same speed. In other words, prepare for 4x DVD-R DL in early 2005.

Tired of scratched DVDs? Well, you could consider the Doom9 approach: handle your discs with care (the author can vouch for scratchfree discs that have left the factory some 10 years ago ;). Or, there's the TDK approach: TDK's latest disc coating should survive even screwdriver attacks and your kids' teeth.

ZoomPlayer 4.10 beta 2 has improved support for MPEG-2 transport streams, can automatically load external DVD subtitles and has an improved GUI.

Auto Gordian Knot 1.79 improves the handling of DTS and PCM audio tracks and respects minimum and maximum width settings during adjustments after the first pass.

mkvtoolnix 1.0 can read DTS audio from AVI and Matroska files and fixes a bunch of bugs.

In preparation for widespread use of blue laser technology (be it in Blu-Ray or HD DVD), Sony and Nichia have just announced a new laser coupler, that serves as a replacement for the regular optical pickups and diodes used in today's Blu-Ray and DVD devices. The new coupler comes as a single component but can handle everything a dual blue/red laser pickup would. Or to put it simply: once this thing goes into mass production, we can expect cheaper and smaller devices that can handle both DVD and Blu-Ray/HD DVD.

Sticking to the blue laser format Sony prefers - Blu-Ray - PC maker HP has just announced to equip their desktop PCs with Blu-Ray drives by late 2005.

In the meantime, the MPAA has made good on their threats and filed more than 200 lawsuits against filesharers. Will they be more successful than the RIAA has been? But the MPAA's strategy is multi-layered: they'll release a software to spot infringing material on PCs, to "help concerned parents find questionable material", and the other way round. Perhaps the software will also automatically delete material deemed problematic.. I can't wait for the first lawsuits to be filed because the wrong files were deleted ;) And if you think that can't happen, the BSA sent C&D letters to people who had Open Office - an open source office software that's perfectly legit and free of charge - on their HDs.

VLC 0.81 has a TLS/SSL API to support encrypted streaming and remote management via HTTP, the portaudio output plugin has been improved, subpictures are properly scaled in function of the aspect-ratio (if that info is available), and a bunch of bugs have been fixed.

This might just be yet another 16x DVD burner, but the Plextor PX-716SA is special. It is the first 16x burner with a Serial ATA interface. With upcoming chipset and board designs sometimes only including 1 IDE port, SATA mass storage devices will become more and more useful. As an additional bonus, the drive writes DVD+R DL discs at 4x and DVD+RW at 8x (though the specs for those speeds have not quite been finalized yet).

And here's another try: RIAA and MPAA lobbyists are pushing the US Senate to a vote on the Intellectual Property Protection Act - a combination of Hr.4077 AKA the Piracy Deterrence and Education Act - and other pending copyright bills like the Pirate Act. Is this a last attempt to get things done while our favorite Orrin Hatch is still the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee? Either way, he'll be out of that committee by the end of the year, and some hope that his successor isn't so much in the RIAA/MPAA's pockets as Mr. Hatch is.

I may or may not have been ranting about restrictions in portable MP3 players, and apparently, not every maker of portable music player is fully into the clutches of the RIAA. GoVideo's "MP3 Player Bill of Rights", may be tailored specifically for their Rave.MP line of products, but at least points one and two should definitely be taken more seriously by player manufacturers. Speaking of which, I got a new cellphone today that has a MMC slot (well, it's not so much a slot than a space behind the battery so engineering wise it cannot get any worse - you have to take out the battery to swap the card), and plays MP3 and AAC from internal storage or the MMC card. And you can actually copy music to and from that MMC card using Windows Explorer. Now I just have to figure out if it's possible to load music over the Bluetooth interface (imagine the possibilities and the horror in the eyes of the RIAA execs).

AVI-Mux GUI 1.16.9 can mux video streams from an MKV to an AVI, resolves Vorbis laces, reads VobSub subtitle files from Matroska files, supports multiple chapter strings in the chapter editor and fixes a couple of bugs.

PowerDVD 6 supports 7.1 audio, HD video (MPEG-2 & WMV9), DivX, stretches the movie content in function of the available display and features some improvements in the deinterlacer.

The Core Media Player 4.02 IRIS2 edition now supports commandline options,FoxyTunes, has an option to enable/disable windows explorer shell integration and 40 more changes and fixes.

PgcEdit 0.4.0 now has a trace mode that allows you to trace the action going on behind the scenes when you play a movie and thus for instance allows identification of content parts you want to eliminate. The PGC Editor can now be used to edit the programs map by clicking on the prog buttons, the PGC editor also has a chapter table editor and there are a few more changes and bugfixes.

And then there were three: the Versatile MultiLayer Disc, based on red laser technology, sets out to be another contestant in the HD DVD race. Drives and discs that can hold anywhere from 15 GB to 30 GB should be available in fall 2005. Although, with only one company backing the technology, I'm having my doubts if VMD is really going to matter much.

DVD Identifier 3.5 can display a disc's book type, has a new manufacturer database and contains many smaller changes and bugfixes.

GPAC 0.2.2 - an MPEG4 toolkit - supports OGG, Vorbis, Theora and Shoutcast streams, has better 3D support, shows decoding and network statistics in all GUIs and can remove tracks from an MP4 file.

NuEnc 0.0.1 is a small frontend for the modified libavcodec library (used in programs like QuEnc).

Auto Gordian Knot 1.76 fixes a couple of bugs that prevented resizing to resolutions greater than 608x and adjustments after the first pass.

CloneDVD 2.5.3.3 can remove unreferenced material (video material that you never get to see as it's not linked via any menu), has a new screen layout, supports writing at 16x, has a new transcoder that is more corruption resistant, the burning engine no longer requires to reserve track, the memory usage when writing files to harddisk has been improved and a couple of bugs have been fixed.

Since DivX3.11 isn't so far away from the real MPEG-4 standard, how about converting files from one to the other? What has been discussed before, and what a former forum moderator was even working on at one time before disappearing, is now available: a DivX3.11 to MPEG-4 converter.

Is Sony giving up on DVD drives? DigiTimes reports that Sony plans to phase out their own brand of DVD drives, concentrating on Blu-Ray drives instead.

Speaking of Blu-Ray, Sharp has just announced a new recorder for the Japanese market. The BD-HD100 has both a DVD and a Blu-Ray drive, and a 160GB HD as well. The drive also has a HDMI output (that's basically DVI with copy protection). Sharp especially points out that this is the first recorder that enables dubbing DVDs to Blu-Ray discs, and I wonder where CSS comes into play... The until will be available starting December 9th but only 3000 units will be produced per month.

ProjectX 0.81.9.00 can create a chapter file including all mode changes of audio and video, supports subtitle streams in VDR/PES format, supports the special Humax file format, the pre-scan of ../mpg/PES files now shows multiple audio/video/subtitle streams (if available), cutpoints now also apply to stream to stream conversions, the TS parser has better PID detection and a couple of bugs have been fixed.

There's a new DivX alpha release for you to try out: DivX Plasma offers improved compression over DivX 5.2.1, supports 4MV, Rate distortion optimization, the motion estimation has been sped up, there's a new deblocking mechanism in the decoder and the GUI has been a changed a bit.

VobBlanker 1.5.0.8 can integrate into Windows explorer, supports multiple line selection in PGC and cell lists, includes LPCM and MPEG audio bitrate management and a couple of bugs have been fixed as well.

Auto Gordian Knot 1.75 fixes a bug that put the program into a loop after the first pass.

Another software, completely unrelated to DVD but definitely worth a mention is Mozilla Firefox 1.0. I've been using earlier versions for a long time now almost exclusively (Windowsupdate still requires IE), and I consider that browser superior to IE in many ways (though there's still a few itches left to scratch ;) If you're sick and tired of having to update your browser every week due to security holes, prefer to have a better featured browser, simply do not want to use yet another MS product, check out Firefox.

As you might know, Blu-Ray devices are already on sale in Japan. PC World has a first impression on some of the devices. The results are mixed..

While EVD sales numbers are somewhat lacking, the recent price cut in prerecorded media might help to change that. Imagine getting a higher than DVD quality movie for less than 1 USD. (And as a sidenote, with those prices piracy definitely don't pay)

Last but not least, despite the RIAA firing lawsuits left and right, P2P usage is still increasing, and the lawsuits do not seem to scare people away. Perhaps it's time to get to the good old "make people wanna buy stuff" tactic rather than "scare people into buying stuff".

Cuttermaran 1.61 - the DVB/MPEG-2 cutting tool ;) - uses an XML based info file now, can generate the info file during the cut process, DVB streams can be made DVD compliant by re-encoding, all the frames in the quickjump dialog can be saved, and every cutlist entry can be cut separately. In addition there are a bunch of bugfixes.

PgcEdit 0.3.8 has a function to add selected commands directly to the scrapbook, the PGC editor can now edit the PG Playback mode, commands can be pasted in full text format, hex codes can be included in info / command dumps and a bunch of bugs have been fixed as well.

Auto Gordian Knot 1.74 is able to switch matrices when the resolution is increased, comes with an updated version of KernelDeInt, no longer ships with the SSE2 version of RemoveGrain, the autoscrolling of the log has improved and a bug where AutoGK would increase the video width about the maximum set has been eliminated.

How about 500 GB on a DVD sized disc? While we're still waiting for blue lasers, Pioneer's R&D department is one step ahead and working on violet lasers that will permit to store up to 500 GB on a single disc. I guess sooner or later we're gonna get that Ultra HDTV that'll need that kind of space.

Back to blue lasers, DTS rejoices as their audio format DTS has been made mandatory for both Blu-ray and HD-DVD.

The Economist has a long and very interesting article on the music industry that's definitely worth a read. What I found particularly interesting is an internal study by one of the four majors that points out that 2/3rds to 3/4ers of the drop in sales in the US had nothing to do with online piracy.

Last but not least, it appears that Microsoft is now trying to patent down the Internet. Microsoft is offering a license for 130 protocols, many of them being IETF standards (and if you can read this that means at this very moment you're using software that incorporates a bunch of them), amongst them such crucial ones as TCP/IP. Of course you might ask, is that the same Microsoft that up and beyond Windows 95 claimed that the Internet didn't matter and that heavily invested into their proprietary MSN online service? Doesn't that make it unlikely that MS has any patents covering these protocols? Anyway, it seems Bill and his men are once again up to their old dirty tricks.

At least some people in the entertainment industry are getting it: At the recently concluded Billboard Digital Entertainment conference, broadcast.com co-founder and owner of the HDTV station HDNet Marc Cuban has gone on record citing price and timely availability as the two main reason for movie piracy. If potential consumers have to wait for months until they can get a movie on DVD, they might start looking for alternatives. And that's even more true for those of us not living in the US and having to wait even longer (some time it can no only take weeks or a few months but years). Now if only that wisdom would make it into the management offices of the MPAA members..

DVD Rebuilder 0.66a has been out for a bit, but is now finally available outside the VIP circle. The changes since v0.64a are: skin based GUI, support for multiangle and seamless branching movies, individual subtitle stream selection and bugfixes.

This one is even older but I've only just stumbled upon it yesterday: Moonlight has released some DirectShow filters that can demux .MP4 files, decode MPEG-4 and H.264 video.

MyTheatre 3.20.01 fixes the non-working commandline support and prevents switching to a channel without audio track.

I guess I'll have to update my DVB documentation shortly: The DVB steering board has just approved a new revision of the DVB implementation guidelines. They now mandate H.264 and HE-AAC support in DVB receivers.

How about downloading full DVDs? What sounds like the MPAA's worst nightmare will soon become a reality in Japan. Obviously, the movies aren't free of charge and heavily DRM'ed, but the trials of the service called "Hikari de DVD" will start next month in Japan, and offer full DVD downloads directly to a DVD recorder via fiber cables.

DVD-RAM in notebooks? According to DigiTimes, the current generation of 8x DVD±R/W drives might be replaced by Super Multi drives capable of writing all three formats. Though it remains to be seen whether these drives actually make it to Europe and the Americas (where DVD-RAM is only a niche market).

QuEnc 0.56 supports audio encoding (MP2 and AC3) can mux and encode at the same time and thus create a (S)VCD or DVD directly from an AVS script, offers somewhat improved 2 pass quality and constant quantizer encoding and contains a bunch of bugfixes. More about the new release in the forum.

NuMenu4U RC3 build 1 can silence audio streams, contains a completely new Scenarist automation executable which features a visible log file, and there's a bunch of bugfixes as well. More in the forum..

The VideoLan VLC player 0.8.0 features improved transcoding, faster startup, vastly improved subtitles, OSD and DVD support, WMV3 support (only on Windows), multipart JPEG webcam support, an audio equalizer and a lot more.

VirtualDub 1.6.1 has a rewritten command line parser which supports new commandline flags, aborting a non previewed operation now has to be confirmed and a lot of bugs have been fixed. There's also a new AMD64 build.

Last but not least, the MPAA is about to join the RIAA on their suing spree. SiliconValley.com reports that Hollywood is about to launch their first wave of lawsuits against filesharer. Considering the nonsuccess the RIAA has been having, I wonder if that's really a smart move...

Auto Gordian Knot 1.73 checks for invalid input/output names that could cause problems with DGIndex, the sharpmatrix hidden option now affects >1 CD rips as well, the resolution is properly adjusted when redoing the first pass and a bug that would make AutoGK go into an infinite loop redoing the first pass has been fixed.

MyTheatre 3.20 allows you to prioritize AC3 audio over MP2, supports streaming video, transponders can be sorted by polarization/band during channel scanning, two Twinhan USB DVB receivers are supported and there are a lot more minor additions and bugfixes.

How about eating your BluRay discs? Okay, that's probably a bit far fetched, but Pioneer has come up with a way to make BluRay discs from corn.

Taiwanese DVD alternative FVD is about to enter the market. The first FVD players will be launched by the end of the month. The discs will have somewhat higher capacity than today's DVDs (up to 6GB for single layer discs and up to 11GB for dual layer discs) and use Microsoft's WMV9 video format and WMA9 for audio (or perhaps they end up calling it VC9 or VC1 ;). Players will cost about $120. Of course, without sufficient content, that format will probably not fare much better than EVD.

Normally a company should be all for 3rd party software that makes their product more attractive to customers. That is, unless your product has anything to do with the music industry. Most portable music players need special software to load music, rather than just making the drive a regular removable drive that you can use after plugging into a USB port. Apple is doing just the same for their no1 music player - the iPod. Popular software iPodDownload, a software that enables iPod owners to copy songs from the music player to an iTunes library, is no longer available as Apple send their goons after the creator of the software, had his site shut down until the software was removed. I'm sure I speak for many iPod owners when I say "thank you Apple".

Last but not least, we'll see even more equalized video encoding performance in 2005, as AMD will include intel's SSE3 instruction set into the next revision of the AMD64 processor. Thus, video encoding software that has been optimized for the SSE3 instruction set will not only offer improved performance on the Pentium4, but also on AMD's alternative.

I seem to have missed that last weekend: Sony BMG has joined forces with P2P operator Grokster. Details are still sketchy but for an industry that considers P2P to be the devil, it's quite a change of opinion.

Also a few days old is this press-release by RSA, one of the world's leading companies in the security business, to enter the DRM market. Actually this could be pretty bad news as RSA might pull off something more secure than some of the failed DRM schemes we've seen in the past.

PgcEdit 0.3.7's cell blanking now works on all platforms, ASCII entries are now possible for each numerical field, the return value for a menu PGC can now be resume, the return button can be programmed to resume to the title domain from any non-dummy menu PGC and there's even more enhancements for the advanced users and a handful of bugfixes.

PgcDemux 1.1.0.1 supports multiangle titles, menus, can create logfiles and extract the cell times and fixes two bugs.

NuMenu4U 1.0 RC2 build 7 supports multiple audio streams, corrects the shutdown procedure and sets the maximum bitrate in function of the audio bitrate(s).

Last month's news can be found here.