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          | Date | News |   
          | 6/30 | Auto 
              GK 1.44 now has working preview for transport streams, supports 
              transport streams with two audio streams, fixes audio finding problems 
              with TS sources and supports two new options via hidden files. Mpeg2Schnitt 0.6l can cut audio only sources, the chapterlist can 
              display the 3 allowed formats simultaneously, the cut list also 
              supports different input formats, open dialogues will automatically 
              access the next higher directory if a subdirectory is no longer 
              available, and cutting problems with sources that only have one 
              sequence header have been fixed. ProgDVB 4.40 
              supports the USB module for the Nova cards again and fixes some 
              small bugs. I've previously mentioned the ongoing debate in Canada about changes 
              in copyright law that would benefit copyright holders. So if you 
              live in Canada, you might want to the CIPPIC's 
              page on the 2004 election where you can find how candidates 
              think about copyright law. There are also two more organizations 
              that are trying to make 
              copyright law an election issue. Last but not least, can we expect the same crap on our DVDs as 
              consumers in Europe have to suffer through with audio CDs: incompatibilities, 
              software that installs without your consent, playback restrictions, 
              etc. SunnComm, makers of the infamous audio CD copy protection that 
              you can circumvent by holding the shift key when you insert a CD, 
              has promised to make our DVDs incompatible once they release their 
              MadiaMaxDVD copy protection system to movie studios. While the company 
              claims that MediaMaxDVD "provides consumer-friendly and unique 
              value-added functions and features", I'm betting right now 
              that this is yet another technology the world could do just fine 
              without.  |   
          | 6/29 | The 
            Core Media Player 4.01 fixes a couple of bugs, has an MPC decoder 
            that works in 16 bit color depth environments now and the APE decoder 
            is based on the latest SDK build. |   
          | 6/28 | PgcEdit 
              0.2.1 integrates the find GUI into the main window, supports 
              region code changes and fixes some bugs. DVD 
              Rebuilder 0.54 fixes a few bugs and should work better with 
              button over video content. Wilbert and CO have done a complete overhaul of the analogue 
              capture guide. There's a new introductory section about analogue 
              video, there are sections on how to determine the active capture 
              window and use that for resizing, the VirtualDub postprocessing 
              section has been completed, instructions to remove clicks and cracks 
              have been added and there's much more. bb has also been busy extending his DV 
              guide, which now contains a section on how to transfer video 
              from your DV cam to your PC. Last but not least, a while back I ran a story on AMD's NX flag 
              being used for DRM. As it turned out, my source was wrong and NX 
              flags actually have nothing to do with DRM. If you care to know 
              more about NX, check 
              this HardwareCentral article. |   
          | 6/27 | The Pirate 
            Act has taken the first hurdle: The US Senate, with an overwhelming 
            majority, approved 
            the RIAA/MPAA sponsored Pirate Act, which forces the Department 
            of Justice to file lawsuits against alleged copyright infringers. 
            I wonder if the DOJ will still have time to prosecute the real criminals 
            should this pass the House. After all, there are tens of millions 
            of potential legal procedures to be opened. In fact, I once again 
            have to challenge the RIAAs focus on lawsuits as the only means to 
            combat piracy. What they're trying to do is just combat the effects 
            of people not being willing to buy every piece of music they'll ever 
            listen to. When will they realized that they need to look at the root 
            cause for piracy as well? You can't cut down a tree by cutting off 
            a couple of branches, you need to unroot it, and that means dig deep. |   
          | 6/26 | Yesterday I've raised the issue of politicians being paid off, 
              and one reader has been nice enough to point me to the right direction:opensecrets.org 
              is a site dedicated to campaign contributions. But he did better 
              than that: Here are all 
              the Induce Act sponsors and how much they got from the entertainment 
              industry, all on the same page. I really ought to get into politics 
              myself, looking at those numbers I'm definitely not making enough 
              money. On the DMCRA, news.com has an older interview 
              with its main sponsor, Rick Boucher. Last but not least, there's a good editorial on bit-tech.net on 
              DRM. The author ended up having 
              files on his HD deactivated via the DRM system that protects 
              them against unauthorized access, because the contract between studio 
              and retailer ran out. Now imagine your OS license had run out ;) |   
          | 6/25 | AutoGK 
              1.42 has keyboard shortcuts for all buttons, has a rearranged 
              GUI, processes audio files that do not have the delay in the filename, 
              and uses the sharp matrix for output sized < 700 MB more frequently. Gordian 
              Knot 0.31 alpha now allows resolutions up to 1920x, always crops 
              before deinterlacing and fixes a few bugs. PgcEdit 
              0.2.0 can append VTS's from another DVD, can set video aspect 
              ratio and language codes, can modify PGC menu types, contains some 
              usability improvements and fixes some bugs. Now that's an interesting (or weird?) development in HD-DVD: Apple 
              has issued a press release saying H.264 was adapted for HD-DVD. 
              Be it definitive or provisional or whatnot (you might remember the 
              DVD forum's resolution that wasn't quite so clear) was left out, 
              but the press release also mentions that an upcoming 
              version of Apple's Quicktime software will include a H.264 codec. 
              Let's hope it'll be better than Apple's current MPEG-4 implementation. An updated on the coalition in support of the DMCRA. It is called 
              Personal Technology Freedom Coalition and Mi2N has a list 
              of their principles: Freedom, Fairness, Innovation and CyberSecurity. 
              The Consumer Electronics Association has also joined 
              the battle on the side of the users. The MPAA seems to have 
              woken up to this already, and sent their henchmen into battle: Leaders 
              of the Judiciary committee have issued a statement in 
              strong opposition of the DMCRA. Does anyone know how much money 
              they are getting from the entertainment industry? The HRRC has also woken 
              up to the threat of the Induce act. It looks like we have a 
              hot summer ahead of us, if not outside, at least in lawmaking circles. |   
          | 6/24 | DVD 
              Identifier 3.4 build3 is a minor maintenance release (but still 
              a new version ;) Finally some serious support for the DMCRA (a law that would clearly 
              exclude fair use backups from the clutches of the DMCA): A coalition 
              lead by Intel, Sun, Verizon, SBC, Qwest, Gateway and BellSouth are 
              lobbying 
              congress to pass the DMCA amendment, as the DMCA not only harms 
              fair use rights, but also endangers vital computer research (finally 
              somebody got it). Until then, Congress has decided to lend 
              support to DVD censorship. The US Senate has attached a decency 
              proposal to its annual defense bill, which would enable filters 
              to remove offensive material (nudity, violence, profanity, etc.). 
              I wonder how well that flies with freedom of speech... And if there weren't enough attacking already, a class action suit 
              has started against the heavyweights that hold DVD licenses. The 
              suit alleges that DVD 
              license holders have engaged in a conspiracy to monopolize the DVD 
              player market. Last but not least, you might catch some unexpected bug or feature 
              if you try to play some of the latest CDs. The latest Beasty Boys 
              Album seems to automatically 
              install a software that prevents you from making a backup copy 
              as soon as your drive first accesses the disc. The protection seems 
              to work for both Windows and Mac. Not that it's particularly hard 
              to circumvent this (hold shift, insert the CD and wait until the 
              disc has been accessed then let go of the shift button - that's 
              the standard technique to disable autorun applications on CDs and 
              DVDs). However, automatically installing software that I can't help 
              but consider destructive, without the user's consent, that almost 
              amounts to unauthorized access to a computing system, which is a 
              federal crime. |   
          | 6/23 | DVD 
              Rebuilder 0.53a no longer "forgets" to copy unchanged 
              files to the destination directory. The Home Recording Rights Coalition (write down that name, that's 
              a 4 letter organization that actually cares about your rights) has 
              an answer to RIAAs request to the FCC to severely restrict the recording 
              of digital radio. They see "no 
              basis whatsoever for the FCC to impair, impede or impose any technical 
              or legal restraint" on digital radio. P2P Network operators, grouped together in the Distributed Computing 
              Industry Association (DCIA), are asking the MPAA to give 
              up their boycott of P2P networks (I wasn't aware they did, they 
              just exaggerate and twist the facts and drag P2P technology through 
              the mud whenever they can) and embrace the commercial possibilities 
              such networks can offer. It reminds me what Napster could've become 
              if they re-released it 3 months after it was shutdown, costing a 
              monthly fee in the area of $20 - $30 as it was considered. I'm pretty 
              much convinced, alternative P2P networks would've never made the 
              huge inroads to our homes they have today. But of course, RIAA and 
              CO are still clinging to their "pay for every song" mantra 
              and come up with stuff like this: the europe4DRM 
              website is a lobby cooperation to make you think DRM is good, sponsored 
              by the BSA and the EICTA (European Information, Communications and 
              Consumer Electronics Industry Technology Association). Weird, I 
              thought most CE makers were not too convinced of DRM. It's the ability 
              to make (private) copies that drives many sales (or did.. thanks 
              to Universal, Sony and Co. for all the money they took for all my 
              Mini Discs and now screwing me over by making my MD recorder useless 
              as copy protected audio CDs have the SCMS flag set to no copy). 
              And if you're looking for a Europe against digital restriction management 
              (that's what DRM really stands for) site, I'm happy to serve as 
              a replacement until such a site comes along ;) Will "Invasion of the night vision goggles" be the next 
              movie you watch at the movie theater? It might just be, as the MPAA 
              now offers a $500 
              reward to movie theater employees to catch a guy taping a flick 
              (or was it touching a video camera? ;) |   
          | 6/21 | ProjectX 0.81.7int4 fixes mpa audio decoding problems, improves 
              .sup file creation and can extract packets / PIDs out of PVA, PS 
              or PES streams. DVD 
              Rebuilder 0.53 now sets uses the quantization characteristics 
              in CCE Basic 2.69, doesn't show warning messages in batch mode if 
              desired and fixes a couple of bugs. Sorensen has announced 
              version 4 of their video compression application suite called Squeeze 
              , which now supports H.264 output and HD WMV9 output. |   
          | 6/20 | ScenAid 
            RC3 v0.25 can correct audio delays even if there are files without 
            delay in the filename, uses the bitrate settings from the ccedata 
            file, ScenAid now runs idle when encoding, VOB/Cell detection even 
            works with broken IFOs, the CCE file creation routine has been improved 
            and a couple of bugs have been fixed as well. |   
          | 6/19 | I really wish I could report more about great new tools, but it 
              seems that developers have taken some time off. Instead, we have 
              lawmakers come up with more and more ridiculous proposals. I don't 
              know if it's that hot on Capitol Hill, or if they put controlled 
              substances in foods and drinks, but Senator Orin Hatch of Utah's 
              Induce act (labeled "Inducement Devolves into Unlawful Child 
              Exploitation Act of 2004", even though the law text has nothing 
              to do whatsoever with child exploitation so many suspect a cheap 
              trick to get more support for an incredibly stupid law) is the most 
              recent and most blatant attempt by MPAA and RIAA to get their way. 
              The Inducement 
              act, makes inducing of copyright infringement punishable by 
              the same terms as the actual infringer. In words that a reasonable 
              human being can understand: whatever technology or information could 
              be used for copyright infringement will be illegal. That means: 
              your PC, your video recorder, your tape recorder, etc. you have 
              to throw it all away or you're going away for life. Just imagine 
              how many copyrighted works you could potentially copy with those 
              devices.. Also, imagine a whole new area of lawsuits and threats 
              to webmasters who just want to help you make better use of what 
              you've paid for (obviously including this site). Then I came across an interesting 
              piece on DRM written by an EFF associate. It goes to great lengths 
              trying to show how DRM is bad for both consumers and producers and 
              why it'll never work. Also, it contains a lot of historical facts 
              on copyright law. I really liked the quote from the MPAA's Jack 
              Valenti. He told congress in 1982 that the "VCR was to the 
              American film industry as the Boston Strangler was to a woman home 
              alone". 22 years later, the movie industry is making more money 
              than ever. What went wrong? Last but not least, I've brought up patent law a few times in the 
              past. The EFF has now started a patent 
              busting project, aiming to rid the world of illegitimate and 
              economically harmful trivial patents. And in case you've missed it, Microsoft has released the 2nd release 
              candidate of their security upgrade for Windows XP (aka SP2). 
              There are also rumors about MS starting to sell their own virus 
              scanner. They have bought a prominent maker of Linux virus scanners 
              last year, but have yet to release anything. Why not put a Virus 
              scanner with free lifetime upgrades into each version of Windows? 
              Considering that the large majority of viruses target Windows and 
              are spread by MS products (either their OS via security flaws, or 
              their mail program), that would make sense, would it not? |   
          | 6/18 | There's yet another ProgDVB 
              version without a changelog. It almost makes one wonder if changelog 
              doesn't translate into Russian (the programmer may forgive me, it's 
              a great tool but in order to write news, a changelog is essential 
              ;) 321 is due in court again: As if they didn't have enough dealing 
              with the MPAA, they've now managed to alienate the BSA, and specifically 
              game developers Electronic Arts and Vivendi Universal, who have 
              sued 
              321 for their Games X Copy utility. I was still under the impression 
              that making backup of software you legally own was okay, and I'm 
              still waiting for EA to replace my 2nd CD of C&C Red Alert2 
              which was packaged that badly that it had to get scratched beyond 
              reasonable use, but I guess I'm just an unreasonable customer to 
              expect that I get what I pay for and don't have to buy another game 
              if my media get scratched for reasons that are really not my fault. 
              This may well be the last straw for 321 as they seem to be close 
              to filing for bankruptcy, which would mark a rather sad ending for 
              one of the most controversial companies to touch our daily business. 
              321 was on the forefront to fight for fair use, yet they've manage 
              to alienate many people by selling a package of freeware and a guide 
              and not really informing prospective customers about the contents 
              of the package (basically you could get it on this very site for 
              the incredible price of $0.00). Last but not least, news.com reports that the MPAA 
              is stepping up their antipiracy campaign, also known as indoctrination 
              campaign. I'm not challenging that most countries copyright law 
              actually forbid the upload of copyrighted material to P2P networks 
              (and I don't think such laws are unreasonable), but a "code 
              of conduct" for college students? It hasn't been too long since 
              I've been at college and I honestly think colleges have better things 
              to do.. it should be about education, not indoctrination. I don't 
              think that rights and wrongs should be thought at college, that's 
              a job for your parents (though I guess the MPAA would argue mine 
              didn't do such a great job, a fact which my parents would surely 
              challenge violently and I tend to agree with my own flesh and blood). Last but not least, I seem to have committed a blunder in yesterdays 
              news by forgetting that in the US, prices often don't include sales 
              taxes, thus the price difference between iTunes in the US and Europe 
              is not that sizable. To my understanding, sales tax only applies 
              if you buy instate, thus only California residents seem to be eligible 
              to pay sales tax when shopping at Apple's e-shop, but if you have 
              a good resource about sales taxes in the US, and/or know how much 
              the actual price is for a song at iTunes (be it inside California 
              where Apple is located our outside), please let me know. |   
          | 6/17 | PgcEdit 
              is a PGC command editor that's supposed to make command editing 
              easier than IfoEdit. Here's yet another H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC codec: mpegable 
              AVC. A free version of the H.264 baseline profile encoder is 
              available for testing. You gotta hand it to him: He's the computer biz' leading DRM proponent: 
              Apple CEO Steve Jobs. Not only was he the first to get in bed with 
              the RIAA and create the DRM laden online music store iTunes that 
              just recently launched in Europe (though with a smaller selection 
              and considerably higher prices than in the US), now he's encouraging 
              the MPAA to delay the jump to HD DVD until they can be sure those 
              discs can never be copied. Perhaps Steve has a HD DVD DRM scheme 
              up his sleeves? That and Apple's strong-arming of the DRM removal 
              tool for iTunes should definitely put Apple right there in the evil 
              big league along with MS, SCO and our favorite 4 letter organizations. There have been a couple of ProgDVB 
              test versions now, but the changelog remains the same so I don't 
              know if there's really anything new.  |   
          | 6/16 | To all those who wouldn't believe that GKnot wasn't dead 
            yet, here's proof of life: Gordian 
            Knot 0.30 alpha supports OGM/MKV output and contains a long list 
            of bugfixes. |   
          | 6/15 | AutoGK 
              1.41 uses the latest DGMPGDec, autocrop parameters can be overridden 
              using yet another secret file, TS input can now contain spaces in 
              filenames and there's an explicit selector for DVD / file input. 
             RadLight 
              4 pre-beta 1 is out. It integrates the RadLight APE / OptimFROG 
              DirectShow filters, supports a bunch of subtitle formats and contains 
              some other minor changes. Are you waiting for dual layer DVD blanks? Verbatim and Ritek will 
              start 
              volume production of dual layer discs later this month. But 
              if you're dreaming about cheap 1:1 DVD copies, you'll keep on dreaming 
              for a while as Ritek expects the retail price to be around 7 - 10$, 
              and the top tier Japanese manufacturers will likely charge even 
              more (but they also tend to offer higher quality discs). Here's a good idea from down under: change 
              copyright law to allow fair use, and compensate artists for it via 
              levies on blank CD and DVD media (as it's being done in a number 
              of other countries already). Can you guess which organization is 
              absolutely opposed to this idea? |   
          | 6/14 | Zoom 
              Player 4.0 final has been released. Compared to RC3 it contains 
              some additional bugfixes. Digital 
              radio is next on the RIAA's target list: They have (interestingly 
              many years after digital satellite based radio broadcast systems 
              were first launched) discovered digital radio as the next "this'll 
              make us go bankrupt" thing and ask for drastic measures to 
              be taken: Forget about recording individual songs, editing what 
              you recorded or use software that would enable you to record a specific 
              song as soon as it is being broadcast. Are you interested in Ahead's next AAC encoder? Then you can download 
              a bunch of samples of the new 
              and improved AAC encoder that contains improved SBR and parametric 
              stereo encoding. |   
          | 6/13 | Zoom 
            Player 4.0 RC3 supports the VMR7 renderer, has extended TCP/IP 
            control and contains some bugfixes. |   
          | 6/12 | So the DVD Forum steering committee had its meeting but the 
              results are puzzling: HD DVD was approved, the use of HE-AAC 
              in the ROM zone of DVD-Audio has been approved, and a motion to 
              retain the provisional approval status of the 3 codecs (MPEG-2/H.264/VC-9 
              aka WMV9) has been denied. Until this point, there's no official 
              statement from the DVD Forum on what the denial means... Microsoft 
              claims this means their codec is approved, but the rest of the world 
              isn't so sure. You might remember my comments about US - countryX free trade negotiations 
              and IP (intellectual property) colonialism. Apparently I'm not the 
              only one to note this. The library of the Australian parliament 
              has publishes a research paper looking into the IP 
              provisions in the US - Australia free trade agreement. It finds 
              that strengthening IP law is actually goes against the idea of a 
              free trade agreement as it only benefits the US IP industry. The EU parliamentary elections are still open until tomorrow, so 
              if you haven't voted yet, I strongly suggest you do (a working democracy 
              requires as many participants as possible.. complaining about bad 
              decisions being made and then not going to vote for the people who 
              wouldn't make those mistakes again, is about the most stupid thing 
              you can possibly do in a democracy), and before you do, have a look 
              at a list 
              of candidates/parties and their attitudes on IP laws. Let's 
              give the politicians that sell our rights out to the highest bidder 
              the boot! The controversy about the new proposed WIPO treaty continues. More 
              and more organizations notice that this treaty could have devastating 
              effects, from making 
              PCs illegal, to copyrighting 
              material that is public domain (broadcast it and you have 50 
              years of copyright on it) and extend 
              the coverage of the broadcast flag. And as it turned out, the 
              WIPO 
              members are not unanimously for that new treaty, there's quite 
              some opposition. Last but not least, doubts 
              arise concerning the IFPI's claims that (music) piracy has gone 
              back considerably due to their legal actions in various countries. |   
          | 6/11 | DVD 
              Identifier 3.4 supports 16x DVD+R discs, can perform a CRC check 
              for downloaded manufacturer databases and contains some minor tweaks 
              as well. ScenAid 
              RC3 build 24 has improved CC support, names subtitle folders 
              more clearly, can scan raw MPEG-2 files that haven't been touched 
              and has an extended CLI interface. Who is going to make the race to be the official HD DVD format? 
              As before DVD was finalized, we have two contenders: HD-DVD and 
              BluRay. The 
              DVD steering committee, which is currently in session, is supposed 
              to vote on the final read only specs for HD-DVD, which would 
              be a big step towards making the race. |   
          | 6/10 | Microsoft is getting serious on HD WMV9: They've just 
            signed a deal with STMicroelectronics to develop chips 
            that can handle HD resolution WMV9 playback. But there's no word 
            so far on what high resolution content means, and as you might recall, 
            Sigma Designs already has a chip that can handle WMV9 at HD resolutions 
            (up to 720p - HD can go up to 1080p). |   
          | 6/9 | XviD 1.0.1 is a small bugfix release. The list of changes can be 
              found here. 
              Most importantly, quality should be slightly improved when trellis 
              quantization and / or b-frames are used. ProjectX 0.81.7 int3 contains fixes for SUP export and MPEG ES 
              demuxing.  Gordian 
              Knot 0.29 alpha build 1811 has an improved persistent queuing 
              system, can create OGM and MKV files, has a new save AVS window 
              and now works with DGIndex (DGMPGDec). AutoGK 
              0.35 uses an up-to-date (well, almost) version of DGMPGDec, 
              supports 50/60fps sources, has preliminary support for transport 
              streams, contains an improved resolution selector and is bundled 
              with XviD 1.0.1 Looking to buy one of the upcoming 16x DVD burners? cdfreaks has 
              a first 
              review of a 16x unit. The results of the pre-production unit 
              they've tested are mixed.. Euro-Copyrights.org 
              is a new law site that aims to give you an overview over the different 
              EUCD (EU Copyright Directive - AKA the EU DMCA) implementation in 
              national law. We've already seen it happen in the US where copyright protection 
              was extended beyond any reasonable amount of time (do I even have 
              to tell you who sponsored that change in copyright law?), now the 
              WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization - the organization 
              that gave us the basis for the DMCA) plans to 
              extend copyright protection for broadcast signals from 20 to 50 
              years. IP Justice has a good take on this: "Unless broadcasting 
              companies plan on transmitting their signals to Jupiter, a 50-year 
              term makes even less sense because signals only exist for the short 
              time they take to travel through the air to reach their point of 
              reception". And while we're at it, I suggest you go to the 
              IP Justice site and sign their principles (I just did). I'm sure 
              if you come to this site, you'll wholeheartedly agree with those 
              principles (#3 is the right to fair use). |   
          | 6/8 | DVD 
              Rebuilder 0.52 fixes certain subtitle problems, has an improved 
              one pass algorithm and no longer permits accidental abortion of 
              the encoding phase. DGMPGDec 1.0.12 has buttons to set PIDs and fixes problems problems 
              at the end of MPEG streams. DVBPortal 1.0.9 
              integrates with myHTPC, supports scripting via VBA and other languages, 
              supports the VMR9 overlay mixer and comes with the latest SkyAVC 
              filter. ProgDVB 4.39 
              uses a new filter graph that should help a/v synch. How fast will we eventually be able to write on dual layer media? 
              At least 8x 
              speed seems to be possible according to the DVD+RW alliance. 
              They held a symposium in Taipei on patent licensing and product 
              certification for 16 DVD+R, 8x DVD+RW and 8x DVD+R DL drives and 
              discs. They also introduced a new anti-piracy technology dubbed 
              as Vidi that should work hand in hand with the broadcast flag that 
              is soon to be introduced on US TV broadcasts. |   
          | 6/7 | DGMPGDec 1.0.11 fixes freezing when going to the last frame and 
              stepping back and only uses the first 113 MB for raw PID detection. mp4UI 1.0 RC1 can export MP2/MP3 audio files, can add encoder info 
              to MPEG-4 video tracks and fixes a couple of bugs. |   
          | 6/6 | AutoGK 
              1.30 no longer handles IFO files as many people would use unsupported 
              tools that would lead to problems down the road, it supports DGMPGDec 
              1.0.9, takes video type and aspect ratio directly from the .D2v 
              file, can open MPEG-2 files directly (VOB, PS and ES streams), can 
              process all subtitles (in external subtitle mode only) and there 
              are a couple of bugfixes as well (full changelog here) BatchUpdateIFO 
              0.0.0.7a now supports commandline flags. DGMPGDec 1.0.10 shows stream type in raw PID detection (audio, 
              video, subs, etc.), and the full PAT/PMT no longer has to be present 
              to demux AC3 audio. |   
          | 6/5 | Mpeg2Schnitt 0.6k has more ini options and has an extended cut 
              search. Here's the RIAA's latest spin: if they can't buy their ways into 
              laws, why not fire 
              enough people and via that pressure on the government get their 
              laws passed? Today when I picked up a spindle of CD-Rs and a couple 
              of audio CDs I was once again musing why people buy less CDs. I've 
              never in my life bought a single compilation or best of CD, despite 
              owning roughly a 100 audio CDs. Imagine what CD burners did to the 
              people that used to buy such CDs. Why do you need a compilation 
              or best of CD that contains no, or just one new song if you can 
              create your own compilation/best of CDs using the CDs you already 
              have? I'd really like to hear the RIAA's reaction to that. Ahead has managed to convince the first chipset maker to support 
              their NeroDigital codec suite. Upcoming Sigma 
              EM85xx chipsets will include NeroDigital support. However, the 
              85xx series isn't exactly Sigma's top of the line offering and players 
              based on their EM8620L chipset that can handle HDTV resolutions 
              in MPEG-2/4 and WMV9 will soon be available in the marketplace and 
              might set the new standard for "more than a simple DVD player" 
              devices.  |   
          | 6/4 | DVD 
              Rebuilder 0.51c allows you to add code to the AviSynth scripts 
              the program uses and fixes a problem that could lead to all subtitles 
              being removed. DVD Identifier 3.3 
              supports DVD+R DL & 16x DVD+R discs as well as DVD-RAM discs, 
              can look up additional information on discs online, has an improved 
              recording speed detect and can resolve 3 letter manufacturer codes 
              into full blown company names. And all email addresses are back online :) |   
          | 6/3 | DGMPGDec 1.0.9 fixes hanging at the end of input streams, transport 
              parsing can be used via the commandline interface, DGIndex can detect 
              raw PIDs and allows to set the frame resolution. Computex is an interesting exhibition if you're into recordable 
              DVDs. A lot of manufacturers are showing their dual 
              layer discs, and drives. Japanese site PC Watch has an interesting 
              article on both. The BenQ DW1650 sure looks interesting: SATA, 
              16x DVD±R, 8x DVD±RW and 4x DVD+R DL. Too bad it won't 
              be out until the 4th quarter of 2004. The music industry is at it again: their latest plot is to slap 
              DRM onto regular audio CDs and restrict 
              your copying rights similar to DRM'd online music purchases. 
              Let's hope SunnComm won't come up with anything more effective than 
              their current system that you can bypass by simply pressing the 
              Shift button at the appropriate time. It gets better though: VeriTouch's iVue player could be a possible 
              DRM future. Not only do you have to deal with digital restriction 
              management, but your files actually get codec biometrically so only 
              you can watch them. Wow, I most certainly want to have my thumbprint 
              taken each time I listen to a song. I suggest an alternative (patent 
              pending of course): the Doom9 BrainChip. Why bother with DRM? Every 
              human being is implanted a BrainChip, which through ubiquitous wireless 
              connection keeps track of each song you listen to, play on an instrument, 
              hum, think about, etc. Each time the chip records any of those actions, 
              your bank account will be debited. Similarly, the chip can be made 
              MPAA friendly and do the same thing for movies, and BSA friendly 
              for the software industry. How about that? Last but not least, Microsoft is previewing their latest 
              Media Player generation. Imho, it doesn't stand a chance against 
              MPC and looks just as bloated as every MS Media Player since v7.0. |   
          | 6/2 | DGMPGDec 1.0.7 contains error checking and graceful termination 
              code for incomplete last frames. It should no longer crash VirtualDub 
              on exit. And here's yet another self-destructing DVD system: DVD-D, 
              just like EZ-D, self destructs after a few hours once you've opened 
              the shrink wrap. For now they're selling discs that become unreadable 
              after 8 hours. Well, I guess that still leaves you enough time to 
              rip the disc, does it not? But EZ-D has not exactly been a success 
              and the whole ideas is quite environmentally unfriendly. At Computex, BenQ has officially announced the first 16x DVD burner. 
              The DW1600 writes DVD+R/W at 16x/4x, DVD+R DL at 2.4x and DVD-R/W 
              at 8x/4x. The drive will start shipping in the middle of June. Computex was also an interesting day for other computer hardware: 
              AMD launched their socket 
              939 Athlon 64's, finally catching up to Intel in the "outrageous 
              pricing" department, NVIDIA 
              and ATI 
              are promoting their PCI Express offerings (with the proper chipsets 
              and mainboard just being weeks away), and a lot of manufacturers 
              are showing Intels upcoming chipset generation that features PCI 
              Express, and high definition 7.1 audio besides the usual USB2, SATA 
              RAID and Gigabit Ethernet. I guess PCs will be HD audio capable 
              before standalone players after all. For a good overview of what's 
              going on at Computex, check Anandtech's 
              early bird coverage. And before you wonder when I'm gonna change the name of this site 
              to Doom9's PC hardware place, don't worry. But you'll need fast 
              CPUs and chipset to backup DVDs, process digital TV streams and 
              your holiday videos, and fast graphics card to play Doom3 (don't 
              tell me you come here and don't like Doom ;) Last but not least, the US government has been busy exporting the 
              DMCA to central America: The signing of the US - Central American 
              Free Trade Agreement marks THE low point in the history of copyright 
              law in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. 
              Welcome to a brave new world.. P.S. an update on the mail situation: the usual publicly known 
              email addresses should be functional again as long as you stick 
              to the addresses mentioned in the contact page (not the ones you 
              got an answer from!). But for now there's only incoming email, not 
              outgoing.  |   
          | 6/1 | ZoomPlayer 
              4.0 RC2 can play DRM protected WMV files (requires the ZoomPlayer 
              WMV Professional version), automatically selects audio and subtitle 
              streams by country code and text names, supports the VMR7 renderer, 
              has improved support for external audio tracks and a better customized 
              media mode. You can find the full changelog here. MPEG2Schnitt 0.6j supports commandline parameters, supports drag 
              and drop operations, can automatically be shut down after cutting, 
              supports setting a fixed bitrate header, supports more chapter file 
              formats and it can create DVD2AVI project files. ScenAid RC3 
              now includes Scenarist automation, integrates with BatchCCEWS, can 
              fix audio assets so that they match the length of the video, and 
              ScenAid can now graphically display the layout of IFO files. DVD 
              Rebuilder 0.51b fixes a couple of errors in CCE's one pass mode 
              and now uses the proper maximum bitrate even for interlaced PAL 
              content.  |   
          | 5/31 | Last month's news can be found here. |  |