beforeyoukillyourcomputer.com

CDBurnerXP is a free application to burn CDs and DVDs, including Blu-Ray and HD-DVDs. It also includes the feature to burn and create ISOs, as well as a multilanguage interface. Everyone, even companies, can use it for free. It does not include adware or similar malicious components..

Key Features

• burn all kinds of discs
• audio-CDs with or without gaps between tracks
• burn and create ISO files
• data verification after burning process
• create bootable discs
• multi-language interface
• bin/nrg → ISO converter, simple cover printing and much more!
• Operating Systems: Windows 2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista/2008/Win7 (x86 / x64)

CDBurnerXP Pro 4.3.7.2356 Changelist

+ Files in the compilation are now sorted using the same method as WinXP (and later) uses, considering numeric file name parts
+ Now supports “Open with” command for ISO images
+ Support for NRA playlists
* More user friendly error messages when renaming files incorrectly
! Fixed: Do not warn about unreadable data near the end of the disc when grabbing (where unreadable data is to be expected)

+ New Feature, * Changed/Improved Feature, ! Fixed Bug, – Removed Feature (possibly because of because of many bugs)

Full List of Features, Compatible Drives List, Full Changelist
Download CDBurnerXP Pro 4.3.7.2356

CDBurnerXP is a free application to burn CDs and DVDs, including Blu-Ray and HD-DVDs. It also includes the feature to burn and create ISOs, as well as a multilanguage interface. Everyone, even companies, can use it for free. It does not include adware or similar malicious components.

Key Features

• burn all kinds of discs
• audio-CDs with or without gaps between tracks
• burn and create ISO files
• data verification after burning process
• create bootable discs
• multi-language interface
• bin/nrg → ISO converter, simple cover printing and much more!
• Operating Systems: Windows 2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista

CDBurnerXP Pro 4.3.5.2256 Changelist

+ Disc spanning: Data compilations can now be spead on multiple discs
+ New option “-changefiledates” for the command line version
! Fixed: Incorrect error “There is not enough free space on the disc.” when burning audio discs
! Fixed: Audio pause length is twice as long as intended
! Fixed: Burn speed is disregarded when burning audio discs
! Fixed some progress bars not being displayed in the task bar (Win7)
! Adjusted incorrect “File” count in command line version
! Fixed: Command line -folder[\X]:\A -folder[\X]:\B does not work
! Fixed: Incorrect log message when extracting CD image to file

Full List of Features, Compatible Drives List, Full Changelist
Download CDBurnerXP Pro 4.3.5.2256

CDBurnerXP is a free application to burn CDs and DVDs, including Blu-Ray and HD-DVDs. It also includes the feature to burn and create ISOs, as well as a multilanguage interface. Everyone, even companies, can use it for free. It does not include adware or similar malicious components.

Key Features

* burn all kinds of discs
* audio-CDs with or without gaps between tracks
* burn and create ISO files
* data verification after burning process
* create bootable discs
* multi-language interface
* bin/nrg → ISO converter, simple cover printing and much more!
* Operating Systems: Windows 2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista

Download CDBurnerXP Pro 4.2.1

Full List of Features

CDBurnerXP Pro 4.2.1 Changelist:

Version Version 4.2.1.919 – 2008-08-23 22:54:26

* + Added Bahasa Melayu translation
* + Added eject option for burning audio discs
* + Localised installer
* * Command line version accepts drive letters as well
* * Removed ISO creating dialog (too complex appearance and not necessary)
* ! Corrected error handling for copying data discs a bit
* ! Fixed “remove” context menu item being disabled when multiple files are selected
* ! Hopefully fixed a rare EntryPointNotFoundException on Vista
* ! Fixed an InvalidOperationException in the disc info dialog
* ! Fixed a NullReferenceException when converting BIN to ISO
* ! Small file sizes were not displayed
* ! Disc-at-once burning is changed to track-at-once when burning a second audio disc
* ! Fixed (or rather, added a workaround) for VBR MP3 files
* ! Fixed burning OGG Vorbis files
* ! Fixed an ArgumentOutOfRangeException when trying to show invalid Win32 file dates (.NET bug)
* ! Fixed an ArgumentOutOfRangeException in the audio player
* ! Fixed IOExceptions caused by insufficient disk space

Full Changelist for all CDBurnerXP Pro versions

Compatible Drives List

Download CDBurnerXP Pro 4.2.1

CDBurnerXP is a free application to burn CDs and DVDs, including Blu-Ray and HD-DVDs. It also includes the feature to burn and create ISOs, as well as a multilanguage interface. Everyone, even companies, can use it for free. It does not include adware or similar malicious components.

Key Features
* burn all kinds of discs
* audio-CDs with or without gaps between tracks
* burn and create ISO files
* data verification after burning process
* create bootable discs
* multi-language interface
* bin/nrg → ISO converter, simple cover printing and much more!
* Operating Systems: Windows 2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista

Download CDBurnerXP Pro 4.1.1.660

Full List of Features

CDBurnerXP Pro 4.0.015 Changelist:

Version 4.1.1.660 – 2008-06-21 16:31:15
* ! Fixed problem with X64 OSes

Version 4.1.1.659 – 2008-06-21 12:26:23
* + Option to remember last used project type
* + Command line version
* + LightScribe integration
* + Allow burning mixed mode discs
* + Audio player can play multiple tracks in a row
* + Support for ReplayGain
* + Added support for audio cue sheets
* + Added possibility to start CDBurnerXP with multiple files as parameters, to add them automatically to a new data compilation layout
* + Added picasa button plugin
* + Added possibility to expand playlist files for data discs
* + Added option to associate CDBXP with ISO files
* + Speed selection for disc copy
* + Added a new checkbox to associate .iso files with CDBurnerXP in the installer
* * Remember last setup dir
* * Accept single command line argument
* * Both vertical and horizontal tiling is done properly now
* * New dialog for adding audio files
* * Remember last used ISO path
* * New consistent icon set
* * New startup dialog, offering more options immediately
* * It’s now possible to get device information from read-only devices as well
* * File drops are no longer sorted when compiling an audio disc
* ! Fixed ArgumentException in Ripper
* ! Rewritten cover printing. Now centers covers correctly for letter size as well.
* ! Automatically converts to the correct sample rate
* ! Fixed nmsaccessu service descroption

Full Changelist for all CDBurnerXP Pro versions

Compatible Drives List

Download CDBurnerXP Pro 4.1.1.660

Anyone surprised about this at all? Measure, counter-measure, new measure, new counter-measure, etc,. There is a lot of money spent in what may never be obtainable and plenty of nuisance for consumers who simply want to back up their movies. In the 80s I used to purchase a new album, purchase a blank tape, play the album once and back it to tape then only play the tape until it wore out, broke, got lost, or… got melted on (or to) the car’s dashboard. Then a second playing of the pristine condition album was performed to make another backup for use while the original was safely tucked away.

If you are a parent of a child or teen that you have graciously allowed to have a DVD player in their room you may wish to allow said child or teen to play one of your well cared-for DVDs only to see it returned in a condition much reminiscent of something that was dragged down a dusty rocky road in the old West. A backup would come in handy in this situation. Your DVD player could one day break down and spin your DVD in a strange way that makes it unplayable. The door could accidentally close on your DVD. Of course those that make money on you buying the DVD in the first place want you to buy the same movie over and over and over.

/rant over : )

The press release basically had Slysoft thumbing its nose at Richard Doherty of the Envisioneering Group, who wrote in July 2007 that: “BD+, unlike AACS which suffered a partial hack last year, won’t likely be breached for 10 years.”

Couldn’t the BD+ protection scheme be tightened up with new encryption keys? That might be so, but van Heuen is not worried. He told Ars that “cracking updates will take significantly less time than the basic work we did the last 3 months (which was figuring out how BD+ works, since it is not documented in public).”

If you were holding back on buying Blue-ray titles due to worries that you wouldn’t be able to make your own backups, I suppose your concerns are no longer valid.

Source

Last week, Steve Ballmer claimed that Microsoft was in talks with Sony about Blu-Ray support. But now Aaron Greenberg is stating that there are no plans for the Xbox 360 to support Blu-Ray.

Greenberg spoke with Reuters saying, “Xbox is not currently in talks with Sony or the Blu-Ray Association to integrate Blu-Ray into the Xbox experience.”

Sounds like a negative to me, but there is a lot of talk about a new Xbox 360 sku that may be coming out with a larger hard drive and integrated Blu-Ray. But that is all rumor. The only thing we know is that Microsoft will make the announcement when they are ready to. It’s hard to believe that they won’t support Blu-Ray at all, but when speaking at the Microsoft Blogger Breakfast at GDC, they made it clear that the Xbox 360 is a ‘gaming machine’.

Source

There are more stories every other day about this HD DVD war and “who will win?” I loved 300 but… I knew who was winning and who wasn’t. Reality has to settle in at some point as this stand is nowhere near as sexy or meaningful. OK. OK. I know the Giants recently defied great odds and beat the Patriots (I picked them to win by 3 btw : ) ) but this format “war” is ridiculous at this point, IMHO. Today, there are a couple more giants jumping to Blu-ray over HD-DVD: Best Buy and Netflix. The momentum has been growing for a while now and looks to be too fast to stop.

Best Buy, the largest U.S. consumer electronics chain, said on Monday it will recommend that consumers choose Sony Corp’s Blu-ray high-definition video format.

The decision gives Sony yet another victory in the battle with Toshiba Corp’s HD DVD to be the high-definition DVD format of choice.

Earlier on Monday, online video rental company Netflix Inc (NFLX.O: Quote, Profile, Research) said it would exclusively stock Blu-ray DVDs after some of the world’s biggest movie studios decided in favor of that format.

Best Buy said it believes consumers will benefit from the choice of one HD DVD format.

“Because we believe that Blu-ray is fast emerging as that single format, we have decided to focus on Blu-ray products,” Brian Dunn, Best Buy’s president and chief operating officer, said in a statement.

Source

One of the many assertions that readers found objectionable, was the idea that any standard for high-definition discs is better than a format war. HD DVD’s defenders listed that format’s many advantages, such as the requirement that players include an Internet connection. This enables interactive features as well as updates to the player software.

The readers are right. It was silly of Sony not to put an Ethernet jack on the back of every Blu-ray player. It was perfectly clear when the specification was being finalized that we are in a connected world, where nearly every experience can be made better by a network connection. The most common Blu-ray player, Sony’s PlayStation 3 console, does have an Ethernet jack, of course.

But technologies evolve. Smart engineers hate limits, and they create ways to overcome them. Indeed, today Ars Technica has a long analysis about the Blu-ray 2.0 specification. Guess what? The next generation of Blu-ray players will have network connections, as well as more memory and processing power so they can match some of the tricks of HD DVD.

Of course, the 500,000 people who have bought stand alone Blu-ray players won’t have access to these features. But that is the price of being an early adopter.

Source and Full Story

Sony is certainly hoping many people believe that it’s now a good less-risky decision for not only gamers to purchase the Sony Playstation 3 but also home DVD movie watchers who may or may not also be casual gamers. If Blu-Ray has won the new movie format war, or is winning, or likely to either win or permanently share the spotlight then maybe plopping down $550 or so for a Playstation 3 starter bundle that also plays the high-quality next-generation DVD format may be worthwhile since the Blu-Ray players, alone, already cost as much as the Playstation 3 starter bundle, if not more. If one is strongly considering moving to a newer format player then, with much of the recent news, it’s hard to find a reason to not consider a Playstation 3 since you get the player as well as a pretty powerful gaming system.

Warner announced on Jan. 4 that it would release only high-definition Blu-ray movies starting July, ending its support for the rival HD DVD format. Winning Warner’s backing was a coup for the Blu-ray camp, which counts Sony, Samsung Electronics, Matsushita Electric Industrial (MC), and dozens of other consumer-electronics makers among its members. Warner has the industry’s most extensive offering of movies and consistently churns out blockbusters. With five out of seven major studios now on-board, Blu-ray has the upper hand—perhaps decisively—in the struggle over the next-generation DVD standard.

Nikko Citigroup’s Kota Ezawa estimates the games division will lose $1.4 billion this fiscal year, following last year’s $2.1 billion loss. And while he doesn’t expect the business to be prosperous until late 2009, Ezawa applauds Sony’s efforts to shrink the PS3′s chips and tweak its design. Already such changes have cut the cost per machine to around $400 now, from above $800 just before it went on sale in November, 2006, he says. (The PS3 with an 80-gigabyte hard-disk drive retails in the U.S. or about $499.) “We think the biggest factor here is that simplification has become possible through a reduction in the parts count, leading to a reduction in costs,” Ezawa wrote in a Dec. 27 report.

That, of course, will be good both for Sony as well as the consumer.

Source