A team at the University of Tokyo has found that using titanium oxide could mean that we gets discs with storage capacities more like hard drives. And guess what? The material is cheaper than the stuff used in Blu-ray discs.

Titanium oxide is ideal for disc manufacturing because of the way it reacts to light. At room temperature the material is capable of switching between metal and semiconductor states, which makes it “promising as a material for a next-generation optical storage device,” according to the eggheads.

There are a few basic things that people need for their home and office when it comes to technology. Things like cables, ink, recordable CDs and DVDs, and other things of that sort. The problem with massive stereos like Amazon is that it can be difficult to find these basic things and we all want them at a low price.

Amazon has introduced a new line of private branded AmazonBasics gear for consumers that are being sold all in one store to make it easy to find. The AmazonBasics line currently features video cables and blank CDs and such.

Toshiba, sent packing earlier this year in its battle against Blu-ray, is back again with what one might consider a low-budget HD competitor. The technology is called XDE and the first product out with it is the Toshiba XD-E500, a DVD player priced around $150.

XDE, also known as “eXtended Detail Enhancement,” is reportedly DVD upconversion on steroids. Toshiba says of it that “in addition to providing upconversion from 480i/p up to 1080p, XDE offers user selectable picture enhancement modes that allow for greater detail, more vivid colors and stronger contrast that bring standard DVD quality closer to the HD experience.” Three selectable picture mode settings – sharp, color, contrast – lets one bring closer to “true HD quality” their DVD viewing experience.

Have you ever wanted to have your adult DVD collection readily at hand but secure in a way that your children can’t access said naughty titles? Here’s a blurb about the Disc Manager 100, pictured above, which just came into our virtual news desk:

“Are you looking for a safe place to store your adult DVD collection? Disc Makers has you covered with the Disc Manager 100. The Disc Manager 100 allows users to store and password protect certain DVDs owners may prefer to keep private. The Disc Manager 100 and its bundled software makes it easy to locate any file and eject the appropriate disc in seconds. It also protects your CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray discs from damage caused by improper handling, exposure to dust, and UV light. Users can stack up to five Disc Managers 100s – allowing parents to manage a 500 disc library with just one USB connection.”

LG put out more detailed information today on some new home theater systems first shown off at CES earlier this year. These include, besides the LHT888, the new LHT874, LHT854, LFD850 and LFA840.

These systems are in the processing of appearing at retail locations such as Best Buy and Circuit City. LG describes them as featuring “distinctive designs” and “advanced technology. We detail the other items in this new line up after the jump.

Lionsgate said today it is working with Apple to make use of the latter’s Digital Copy for iTunes so select DVDs will also be available for digital viewing. The first Lionsgate film to get the iTunes treatment will be Rambo on May 27th.

Lionsgate said that by using Digital Copy for iTunes, those who purchase select DVDs or Blu-ray Discs will be able to insert the disc into a computer. The customer then enters a unique code into iTunes, and the movie is automatically copied to their iTunes library.