News written by Jari Ketola (July, 1999)

ATI Technologies Inc. today announced the XPERT 2000(TM), with 32 MB of memory, 32-bit true color acceleration and full hardware DVD acceleration for only $99.

The XPERT 2000 is ideal for system builders and resellers looking to differentiate their low cost PCs. Traditionally, low cost PCs come with just 8 MB of graphics memory, poor 2D and 3D and no DVD. For just $99 (ESP) system builders can now add strong 2D and 3D, 32-bit true acceleration, hardware DVD and 4 times the amount of graphics memory. For system builders 32 MB of graphics memory will be the standard.

``The XPERT 2000 will change the image of the low cost PC and smash the perception that they are featureless and unable to handle today's latest games and popular applications'', said Ed Grondahl, vice president of marketing, ATI. ``The XPERT 2000 transforms the featureless low end PC into a 3D, DVD multimedia powerhouse.''

The XPERT 2000 will make 32 MB of graphics memory a standard with system builders. Having 32 MB of memory boosts the performance and visual quality of graphics intense games and also secures the user's investment. As games become more complex, the 32MB will continue to provide the necessary bandwidth for high frame rate, texture intense game play for future games. The XPERT 2000 is fully optimized to operate in 32-bit true color to provide optimal visual quality graphics. And it does so with minimal performance degradation, providing true color with a performance level equal to that of a card that supports only 16-bit color.

Congratulations Petteri & Aretta from the whole After Dawn staff!!

Sigma Designs, Inc., the well known manufacturer of hardware DVD decoders, announced today that Itautec, a leading PC company in Brazil, has selected the REALmagic Ventura Plus DVD playback card using Sigma's EM8220 REALmagic DVD decoder chip to probide DVD playback as an option for its personal computer product line.

The DVD models were initially launched earlier this year as an option for Itautec's top-of-the-line systems. With DVD's emergence as one of the most explosive new home entertainment technologies of all time, Itautec has now decided to provide REALmagic DVD capability as an option for all of its shipping PCs.
``Our customers require reliable and superior computer performance,'' said Gabriel Antonio Marao, Itautec vice president. ``Sigma's award-winning reputation has given us that reliability. For this reason, Itautec is working together with Sigma to market a set-top box in Brazil based on Sigma's reference design, the STB-2000, in the near future. This unique convergence appliance will provide our customers with a single TV-centric product for browsing the Internet, sending/receiving e-mail, playing DVD and CD discs, and more.''
``We are delighted to work with Itautec to open up a new marketing channel in Brazil. Itautec is our first OEM customer to adopt both Ventura Plus and our set-top box reference design based on our EM8220 silicon as a hardware DVD feature in PCs as well as set-top boxes,'' stated William K. Wong, Sigma's vice president of marketing. ``The fact that Itautec selected our DVD decoder chip confirms our belief that hardware DVD solutions meet customer requirements for seamless DVD playback in a multitasking, interactive environment. The current set-top box application enables consumers to plug into their TV for web surfing, e-mail, e-commerce, and DVD playback. With the appropriate hardware and software configuration, the set-top box will be able to support video on demand and digital VCR time-shifting capabilities in the year 2000.''

MGM has finally unveiled the first batch of the upcoming James Bond DVD releases. The seven movies released first will all have 16x9 transfers, and new packaging. All discs also contain trailesr, TV spots and music videos (apart from Goldfinger, Live and Let Die and Thunderball). Detailed booklets will also be included for each movie.

Retail price is $34.95 and street date 19th of October.

Details for each movie are:

· GoldenEye: 3 Documentaries: Short Promotion Featurette, Documentary "The World Of 007", and "The Making Of GoldenEye", and commentary by director Martin Campbell, producer Michael Wilson and writer Bruce Fierstein

· Goldfinger: 3 Documentaries: "The Making Of Goldfinger", "The Goldfinger Phenomenon" and a featurette with screen tests; Still Gallery with over 1,000(!) images, additional ABC promo and audio interviews with Sean Connery, and a commentary track by Director Guy Hamilton and members of the crew

· License To Kill: All-new Documentary "Inside Licence To Kill" plus an additional production featurette; Still Gallery with over 300 images; and 2 commentaries with Director John Glen and and members of the cast, plus second track with Producer Michael Wilson and Vic Armstrong and members of the crew

MSDN, Microsoft Developer Network, announced that beginning in January 2000, all MSDN subscribers can choose to receive their MSDN Subscription on DVD-ROM media. Initially the DVD-ROMs will be in DVD-5 format that are capable of storing the content of about 6 regular CDs. Other formats, like DVD-9 are a possibility in the future.

This move is a clear sign of the increasing popularity of the DVD-ROM format. Only good things can come out of that.

Read the full announcement here.

Here are some juicy highlights of the upcoming Columbia TriStar DVDs during the last quarter of 1999.

September

7th: The Buddy Holly Story, Fright Night, Sleepless in Seattle: Special Edition, The Tingler, and Monty Python and the Holy Grail

14th: Alvarez Kelly and Tommy

21st: The City of Lost Children, The Dark Crystal, Heavy, Someone to Watch Over Me, The Thirteenth Floor, and This is My Father

28th: Night of the Living Dead (1990), Immortal Beloved, and Inferno

October

5th: The Blue Lagoon, Labyrynth and Hard Eight

12th: Easy Rider, Hideous Kinky, and S.L.C. Punk!

19th: Beverly Hills Ninja, The Last Hurrah, The Nuttiest Nutcracker, and Persuasion

26th: Arlington Road, and The Taming of the Shrew

November

2nd: Heavy Metal: Special Edition, Pal Joey, and The Mask of Zorro: Deluxe Edition

DVD Profiler - the wonderful free DVD database software from InterVocative software - has gone into open beta phase. You can download the software from InterVocative Software's homepage.

You also need to register to obtain an activation key. The registration is free for the version with advertisements and low resolution cover scans.