Total Media New GSA Opportunity

Total Media, staying true to its' name, is now offering new GSA schedule to help our customers find the IT supplies they need. Satisfy SDVOSB goals at a one stop shop for anything (ANYTHING) related to media. Come take a look.. http://www.totalmediainc.com/gsa.html

New Primera Anti-RIP DVD

Primera’s new “PTProtect” software is applied to the DVD image just before burning. When content is burned, it is encapsulated to prevent common ripping programs from having access to it. The full press release follows…
PLYMOUTH, MN, USA (September 18, 2008) — Primera Technology, Inc., the world’s leading developer and manufacturer of CD, DVD, and Blu-ray Disc(TM) duplication and printing equipment, today announced its new PTProtect(TM) Software. PTProtect is seamlessly integrated into Primera’s PTPublisher(TM) v1.3.0 (or greater) duplication software. It provides a reliable yet effective anti-rip solution for protecting DVD video without adding extra steps to existing workflow processes.PTProtect software is applied to the DVD image just before burning. When content is burned to a disc it is encapsulated to prevent common ripping programs from having access to it. The content on the DVD is not modified in any way. Copy control encapsulation resides in areas of the discs not read by DVD players, so the play-back quality remains unaffected.
PTProtect copy controlled discs have full playability designed to match the same playability levels in DVD players as unprotected DVDs. In essence, PTProtected discs are designed to provide effective “speed-bump” protection to combat unauthorized casual copying.
“Primera is proud to offer PTProtect as an efficient and cost-effective solution for virtually anyone who produces original content DVDs,” said Mark D. Strobel, Primera’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “Video production studios, wedding and event videographers and training video authors will all benefit from having reliable protection for their copyrighted materials – at a price they can afford.”
PTProtect is an effortless way to produce protected DVDs since it does not need to load any new software onto the PC for the protection to work. Protection is applied on a “click-charge” basis for each disc burned. Blocks of protection keys can be conveniently purchased through Primera on pre-loaded USB dongles.
PTProtect software, built into PTPublisher v1.3.0, is available immediately at www.primera.com. It is provided at no extra charge to registered users and includes three free protected DVD video burns. Subsequent burns are priced in blocks as follows:
100 burns: $225.001000 burns: $1000.005000 burns: $3750.00

New TMI Site

About to roll-out Total Media 2.0 over at http://www.totalmediainc.com
Hundreds of new products, online RFQ's and more.. stay tuned kids.
As for now: Go Vote!

What's a record? My Band Needs a USB Deal.

From Billboard -

"When the Mars Volta put out its latest album, "The Bedlam in Goliath," in January, the act gave its hardcore fans an option that is becoming increasingly popular -- and creative. Instead of a CD or digital version of the Universal album, fans could buy a $30 USB drive designed like a Ouija board planchette. The device comes with a digital-rights-management-free version of the album and the promise of more bonus materials in coming months. Users simply plug it into their computer's USB drive and then listen to the album or download it into their music library. The Mars Volta joins a growing number of recording artists who have experimented with USB releases in recent months, among them Jennifer Lopez, Ringo Starr and Matchbox Twenty. More are expected in coming months. Austin-based All Access, the company behind USB releases from Matchbox Twenty and Starr, has signed deals with EMI, Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group to make USB bracelets for other artists. "

...Right right right.. Well here's a shot of that bracelet..

ROOM FOR EXTRAS
"USB is going to be the future," Lippman said. You don't have to download it on a computer, you put it in and it comes up, (and) there's plenty of room to add additional material." Some indie bands have turned to USB drives for releases because they can order fewer units and spend less money than they would for an order of 1,000 CDs, said Ed Donnelly, president of Los Angeles-based Aderra, which makes drives for Barenaked Ladies, Jars of Clay and indie bands like Los Angeles' Killola. Acts can place orders for as few as 100 USB drives preloaded with their album and other goodies. "

"Along with the songs from the album, Matchbox Twenty included its first video, behind-the-scenes footage, pictures and an Internet link to the band's site. Based on the success of its album sales on USB, the band is selling bracelets of its live show at concerts during its current tour. All Access replicates the bracelets after a concert in minutes. The bracelets are quickly sent to the merchandising booths, where fans can buy a recording of the show they just saw as they leave. Each bracelet costs the same as one of the band's concert T-shirts."

CD sales are at their lowest since early development, while with ear-buds stuck in every high-schoolers head music consumption is actually up. Bands have got to do something, whether it be bracelets or Lego's it seems like USB is here and will only grow. Total Media has officially begun USB manufacturing for all customers both short and large runs. Contact me directly (Dan) for more details. 888-456-DISK.

CES: Fraunhofer: HD-AAC codec 'makes CDs obsolete'

From Peter Cohen over at MacWorld, more bad news..

Jan 7, 2008

Fraunhofer IIS, inventor of the ubiquitous MP3 music format, on Monday made a
pitch to audio and computer makers to use its HD-AAC format. HD-AAC is a new digital music
encoding format that Fraunhofer says is actually better than audio CDs. What's
more, it's already iPod-compatible -- well, sort of.
HD-AAC is based on the
MPEG-4 SLS (Scalable to Lossless) standard, an extension to the MPEG-4 audio
standard jointly developed by Fraunhofer and Infocomm Research. The encoding
process HD-AAC preserves every bit of information in the uncompressed original
music track, providing lossless compression of 24-bit music content. That's
compared to the 16-bit, 44.1 kHz quality found on CDs -- hence, Fraunhofer's
"better than CD" claim.

Next Generation Aleratec Desktop LightScribe DVD/CD Publishing System Enables Faster Disc Labeling and Copying

Bad news for just about anybody reading this blog..

New 1:2 DVD/CD Copy Cruiser LS, High Speed Edition, Duplicates DVDs At 20x
CHATSWORTH, Calif., Oct. 29, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Aleratec Inc., leading developer and manufacturer of ``Prosumers' Choice'' solutions for the Blu-ray, DVD/CD, USB duplicating, and DVD/CD publishing markets, announces the next generation of its 1:2 Desktop LightScribe Publishing system, the innovative new Aleratec 1:2 DVD/CD Copy Cruiser LS, High Speed Edition. When connected to a PC via USB 2.0, the Aleratec 1:2 DVD/CD Copy Cruiser LS, High Speed Edition, is a 1:2 DVD/CD Duplicator that enables small and medium businesses to simply, conveniently and affordably burn or LightScribe label two CDs or DVDs at once. The new DVD/CD recorders are the fastest available, burning DVDs at up to 20x write speeds.

``Making high performance desktop DVD/CD disc publishing truly affordable and
simple for SMB and SOHO customers has always been a goal for Aleratec,'' said
Perry Solomon, President and CEO of Aleratec. ``The Aleratec 1:2 DVD/CD Copy
Cruiser LS, High Speed Edition with two LightScribe drives effectively cuts disc
copying time and disc labeling time in half compared to single recording drive
solutions, and it is 25% faster than its predecessor. All businesses can benefit
by having custom DVDs and CDs custom labeled with vivid silkscreen quality. With
the Aleratec 1:2 DVD/CD Copy Cruiser LS, High Speed Edition, businesses are
empowered with total control of the disc publishing process: from disc content
to custom labels to quantities and schedules.''

LightScribe Direct Disc Labeling is an integrated system that combines LightScribe enabled DVD/CD recorders with specially coated LightScribe media and the powerful Aleratec Disc Publishing Software Suite to produce precise, laser-etched, silkscreen quality labels with superior sharpness and clarity. LightScribe creates professional-looking CD and DVD labels right in the drive -- no messy markers or additional printing supplies required. Just burn your images or data onto the disc, flip the disc over, and burn a customized label. Small and medium businesses can burn a few discs or many, and label each with descriptive titles, content lists, graphics or company logos.

``Small businesses look for affordability, quality and convenience. LightScribe
delivers on all fronts,'' said Kent Henscheid, Marketing Manager for
LightScribe, a business unit of HP. ``The Aleratec LightScribe publishing system
enables businesses to create impressive and professional-looking CD and DVD
labels right in the office.''

The Aleratec 1:2 DVD/CD Copy Cruiser LS, High Speed Edition (Aleratec Part No. 260171) is proudly assembled in the U.S.A. from components sourced globally and it is the latest Aleratec LightScribe DVD/CD Desktop Publisher. The Aleratec 1:2 DVD/CD Copy Cruiser LS, High Speed Edition is a remarkable value with the estimated retail price of $329.

Shake it like a salt shaker..

From MF Digital (Formerly MediaFORM)

Industry Exclusive - Disc Shake
Typically you don't want a disc to shake, but when you have sticky media in automatic loaders - MF Digital has the solution. Disc Shake.

Feature: Disc Shake is a feature which shakes the media after being picked up. The shake causes any additional media to fall back onto the spindle while the picker holds the one disc.

Benefit: Disc Shake ELIMINATES multiple discs in drives and printers. Disc Shake is a feature which may be toggled On or Off.

Compare: Disc Shake is an MF Digital EXCLUSIVE technology and is available on all robotic models at no additional charge (except Baxter series).