Meet the DMR-XP200 and XE100, two new DVD and HDD recorders from Panasonic., Both have similar specs and look the same design-wise.

The Panasonic XE100 has a 320GB HDD and a digital TV tuner, while the Panasonic XP200 features a 500GB HDD, a digital and analog TV tuner, and a BS/110 CD digital tuner. The XP200 can also record 1Seg TV programs and save recorded video on an SD card.

The problem with netbooks is that they lack optical drives. I learned that the hard way when I used my netbook at CES earlier this year and everyone was handing me CDs with information on them to check out.

Addonics has a new external optical Blu-ray drive that has both eSATA and USB connectivity. The Blu-ray drive can play Blu-ray movies and burn CDs and DVDs. The drive is also available in a DVD only version that can burn and play DVDs or CDs.

If you are like me, you have probably been rocking the HDTV for several years now. Many consumers still haven’t moved to the HD world. I feel like I am walking into the 60’s when I go to my in-laws and see their massive 27-inch CRT TV sitting on the entertainment center.

According to a new report from CTAM, HDTVs have gained significantly in reach in American homes. The report claims that 53% of America homes now have HDTVs in use. That number is up 18% over 2008. The report also says that of that 53% owning HDTVs, 59% own sets with screens 32-inches or larger.

Back in the heyday of AOL it seemed like there was a CD or DVD in the mail each time I went to the box. Thankfully, I rarely get optical discs in the mail anymore. I wonder if some of the reason you don’t see optical discs being mailed today has to do with the cost of sending them.

A company called CD Digital Card has announced a new type of DVD called the Flex DVD. The Flex DVD is the same diameter as a traditional DVD, but about half as thick at 0.6mm. The Flex DVD can store 4.7GB of video or DVD-ROM content and weight 8 grams.

Looks like Toshiba is serious about the HDD and DVD recorder market in Japan. They’ve just released the 1TB Regza RD-E1004K and the 320GB Regza RD-304K.

Both HDD and DVD recorders can record HD video in Blu-ray format or in a standard format (MPEG-4 AVC/H.264). The 1TB RD-E1004K retails for 65,000 Yen (or $677). No word on pricing for the 320GB model.

It seems counterproductive to be buying a portable DVD player, what with Blu-Ray and all of the other options available to you, but if you are eyeing a new DVD player, check this out. The most interesting feature of the DCP951/37 from Philips is the retractable iPod dock.

Its compatible with the iPod Touch, iPod Nano and the iPod Classic. The DCP951/37 will give you only a 640×220 resolution, but on the other hand it can play almost all standard video discs and also has an SD card slot. You’ll also get MP3 support, 2 x 3.5mm stereo headphone jacks and a built-in battery that will give you almost 3 hours of playback.

There is more than a little truth to the fact that when money is tight and the economy sucks, people want to spend what little money they do have on things that take their mind off how bad the economy sucks. Thanks to that fact entertainment industries tend to weather recessions pretty well.

Netflix is among the companies that are still doing well despite the weak economy. Netflix has announced its Q4 2008 financials for its year ending on December 31, 2008. The mail-order movie rental service finished the quarter with 9,390,000 subscribers for a 26% growth compared to the same quarter of 2007.

It took long enough didn’t it? But it has arrived. The same benefits of HD DVD have finally made it over to Blu-ray. A Blu-ray/DVD hybrid disc. It features a single-layer of Blu-ray on one side and a standard DVD on the very same side (You won’t have to flip it).

As you are used to hearing, it’s appearing first in Japan, with something called Code Blue emergency helicopter doctor Blu-ray BOX as the first hybrid title. It’s a shame we have to miss that one. No word yet on when or if we will see this technology in the states, but a little backwards compatibility never hurt anybody.

Optical drives are changing with constantly evolving speeds and features. Blu-ray drives for PCs are coming down in price and gaining features as well. One of the things that is important to computer users, especially those using notebooks is power consumption. Plextor has announced a new line of optical drives with internal and external USB models that uses new control software giving control over power use and more.

The line of drives includes the PX-601U, PX-B310SA, PX-B310U, PX-850SA, and PX-850A. The 610U is a small external DVD super multi drive that draws all of its power from the USB port. The B310SA is an internal SATA Blu-ray combo drive that reads Blu-ray discs and burns CD/DVD media. The B310U is the USB external version of the drive.

Sensitive and confidential information printed from our computers and stored on out portable hard drives and flash drives gets lots of attention. We shred paper, and can encrypt electronic data on portable storage. What many overlook though is security for data stored on CDs.

When it comes time to toss that CD or DVD out that has your company’s financial info on it, you don’t want to simply throw it in the trash can where anyone who finds it can pop it into a computer can see the info. You need to destroy the CD and Aleratec has a new CD/DVD Shredder that will do just that.

Open letter to George Lucas: Please get a new hobby. Indy is just recovering from your brutal raping of him as you prepare to do it again in Indy V. You raped a Sarlacc Pitt sized hole in the Star Wars universe with Jar-Jar alone. And the merchandise that you approve gets crappier by the day. This Star Wars TV/DVD with Lightsaber Remote is a cheap plastic piece of turd that makes me feel sad. Even the lightsaber remote doesn’t help it. Please George, take up poker or backgammon, maybe bowling. We have suffered enough.

Just look at that robot face on the Brionvega RR226. Who wouldn’t be charmed by that retro 60s ‘design? Both the RR226 and its 1965 counterpart, the Radiofonografo RR126, earned the nickname “musical component robots” due to that face, with it’s dials and speakers.

But it isn’t all about looks. Brionvega is known for creating superior decks with quality components. This one is no exception, combining a phonograph, radio, record player and a CD/DVD drive. In fact, the new model looks like a copy of the original, aside from the inclusion of the CD and DVD drive. No word on price yet, but we probably can’t afford it anyway.

Earlier in the year, Netflix announced their plan to increase Blu-ray titles and even hinted the possibility of raising fees on monthly subscribers with the Blu-ray renting option. They’ve done it. Users are receiving e-mails confirming the fee. The company notified its customers of a fee increase of $1 plus tax per month for subscribers with unlimited Blu-ray movies. While the increase sucks at even $1, I don’t see those wanting BD content going back to DVD. Of course in this economy a dollar is worth hanging onto. Netflix e-mail below.

Not so long ago my mom moved from the old school Polaroid that spits out the pictures that develop in front of you to a digital camera. This was not so fun for me because she couldn’t understand how to save pictures to the computer and print them out. She also couldn’t figure out how to put pictures on a DVD.

Verbatim has announced new DVD media called PhotoSave that is perfect for all the parents and grandparents out there driving their family crazy trying to figure out how to save images to DVD. The PhotoSave DVD has integrated software that launches automatically when the disk is inserted into a DVD-R drive.

Hackers will get a machine to do all kinds of things that it should do, but doesn’t. Correcting the oversights of those damn lazy companies. We want things the way we want them. That’s why some Wii coders have made it so the Wii can have DVD playback.

It’s done by installing a hidden channel on the console, which gives it a DVD access library so you can watch all your favorite dvds with the MPlayer application, an open source media player. The install file works on both modded and unmodded Wiis. They are apparently experimenting with playing media from SD cards as well. Now you’ll be able to watch any DVD you want one last time before Blu-Ray creeps into your life.