Recently, a member of our staff from Taiwan went to Japan to assist promote our products at the DSE trade show. This is a brief account of her journey.

Due to an overlap in the the timing of the DSE trade show in Japan and the Svyaz Expocomm trade show in Moscow, Russia, our staff was spread thin and I had to attend the DSE trade show on my own along with our distributor Soho. This was quite challenging to me since the last time I was in Japan was over 10 years ago. Yet, I felt very fortunate to be able to represent Vinpower Digital. Plus, I was in a better situation than many other company representatives because I merely had to assist our local distributor. It was still quite a challenge being the only representative from Vinpower to conduct meetings with both our distributor Soho and major drive manufacture and our ODM customer, Plextor Corporation. Though it was quite a task, I was proud to be trusted with such an important responsibility. Even though I was worried about the results of the show, the immense size of the convention center made me feel less tense. Seeing so many booths made me feel as though I was not alone and that there were many other people feeling like me.

The DSE show was only 5 minute walking distance from our hotel, so it was easy to get to. It was nice to be able to take in all of the beautiful images of Japan. Tokyo is an amazing city and is very clean and the people are very polite and friendly.

The show is focused on data storage products and companies. Of all the attendees, 90% were Japanese. So the focus on the show was on the Japanese market. From this you can tell how much emphasis the Japanese put on system management being done by computers. Most all systems were controlled by some automated or computer programmed interface.

Even though there were additional duplication controllers on display, our own controller was strongly represented. From the software in our controller board to the design of our casing, which are developed exclusively by Vinpower, our exceptional functionality and quality was very well received. In addition, many were impressed by our cooperation with the Plextor Corporation as they are a very respected company within the industry.

This was a very good experience for me and a successful exhibit for Soho and Vinpower Digital, I hope to come back again next year.

Mandy and Soho @ Vinpower Booth at DSE

Mandy posing with TITAN PRO at DSE

Mandy posing with the Statue of Liberty in JAPAN!

As further proof of the gaining momentum of the High Definition format, it was reported by distributor Warner Home Video that the Oscar winning movie “The Departed” directed by Martin Scorsese, is the first release to sell a quantitative 100,000 copies. The movie is being offered in both the Blu-ray and HD DVD formats. Considering the significant price gap between the HD DVD/Blu-ray versions and the standard DVD versions, this is a very good sign that the Hi-Def format carries a lot of pull with the consumer. This just further proves the gaining momentum of the format and that the future of optical media lies in the larger hi-def format.

Being one of the rising BRIC countries, Russia is a fast growing market with huge demands for electronic products. We had the pleasure to witness this country’s stunning culture and flourishing economy as we participated in this year’s Svyaz Expocomm trade show. May weather in Moscow is incredibly comfortable and hospitable. The red square was dazzling and beaming under the cyan canopy. This old time big brother is eager to stand up again and recapture the power and influence around the world. They say Moscow doesn’t believe in tears, and with our technology and all the positive feedbacks we received, we have faith that working with the Russian market will definitely bring big smiles to our faces.

At Vinpower Digital, we are known for our OEM/ODM labeled standalone duplication products that are sold by the biggest companies in the optical media duplication field. A lesser known fact is that we work with many of the biggest manufactures of optical media discs and recordable drives. Because of our expertise in the field, many of these companies use us as their primary BETA tester. In addition, they also come to us when they want to develop a new product to get our input or to adopt our products into their designs.

Case in point is the new Plextor PX-DM300 compact 3 drive CD/DVD standalone duplicator recently on display at the DSE trade show in Tokyo, Japan from May 16 – 18, 2007. In a joint venture project with Plextor (one of the leading manufactures of optical media recordable drives), Vinpower Digital helped create this new compact slot drive system certain to make a global impact in theduplication market. We were chosen to work on this project because of our strong engineering background and the fact that we currently have the most reliable and functional standalone duplication controller on the market. Plus Plextor knew that we could meet their lengthy list of stringent requirements essential in order to brand this unit with the Plextor name.

The new Plextor PX-DM300 – a joint venture project between Plextor Corporation & Vinpower Digital	Our booth at the DSE trade show in Japan showing the PX-DM300

For more information on this new innovation, please click on the following link:

http://www.plextalk.com/jp/dw_data/ETC/copier_catalog.pdf

Look for more joint projects between Vinpower Digital and major Fortune 500 companies in the near future.

The battle between Blu-ray and HD DVD is still on-going with no signs of a clear leader. Blu-ray has the edge in that they have what appears to be a larger selection of supporters amongst the movie, game, software, and drive market. In fact, HD DVD does not even have a recordable drive on the market and Blu-ray is well into their second generation of recordable drives. The key advantages HD DVD seems to have right now is that the players are cheaper and it’s considerably less expensive for the replication plants to switch their lines to HD DVD as apposed to Blu-ray.

Recently both the HD DVD and Blu-ray camps have announced price reductions for various products. It’s clear that Toshiba (for HD DVD) is focused on trying to lure the video market by lower the price of their entry-level HD-A2 model players to $299.99 with in store rebate. This is approx. $300 lower than most Blu-ray players hoping to grab more consumers leading to a higher demand in HD DVD content.

Blu-ray is taking another approach by reaching out to a wider audience. Recently Pioneer announced that the BDC-2202 Blu-ray drive can be added to their PC systems for $300. The device also includes software that can record video from camcorders directly to DVD or Blu-ray discs. In trying to reach out to the growing consumer and business markets which are creating their own content, Blu-ray is attempting to reach a broader audience. Millions of drives are installed in PC’s every year as a standard accessory and Blu-ray looks to be preparing themselves to take over that market.

In the end, there are more players looking to offer dual capabilities so that you can play both the Blu-ray and HD DVD discs, as no one wants to have an obsolete player because the format they chose lost and went the way of the dinosaurs. Currently, only Blu-ray looks to be capitalizing on the recordable market and that could be the factor that swings success in their favor. We will see.

I read an interesting article recently on the mecca of information, www.cnn.com. It spoke of a new technology making the rounds for the optical disc industry to help the retail market prevent theft. The new technology is a microchip placed inside an optical media disc (i.e. CD, DVD, Blu-ray, etc.) that if not activated will render the entire disc useless. It’s a remarkable new technology that prevents critical information on a disc from being read by a DVD player, video game console, etc so that it’s completely inoperable. When this chip is activated, by sending and electronic pulse through the disc to turn the chip from a solid color to clear, the disc is playable.

This opens up a lot more options for retail outlets to carry these products without the fear of high theft rates. Due to the small size of optical discs, even in their packaging, they are an easy target for theft. It’s estimated that theft of electronic products including optical discs accounts for $400 million in loss revenue for retailers every year according to Entertainment Merchants Associations. With this new chip, retailers can display these items again with far less fear of loss due to theft. With more retailers willing to carry these products like movies, video games, etc., and fewer losses due to theft, sales for these items are certain to explode even more than the current levels.

This is a good time to start selling product on optical media or producing content and be ahead of the game.

On April 5^th, 2007, I wrote how LG was the first to announce the new combo Blu-ray/HD DVD drive. According to articles published on both PC World and PC Magazines online sites, Hewlett Packard (HP) will add these new drives to their line of retail personal computers. I see this as the first step toward moving a higher percentage of the consumer market toward the next generation hi-def video and larger storage capacity of the Blu-ray and HD DVD formats.

In this case, equipment suppliers such as HP are covering their bet by offering both formats so that if one format should win out over the other, their product will not become obsolete. No one wants to pay an extra $800 ~ $1,200 to include a next generation drive that may become an afterthought within a year. At this time, it’s impossible to determine who will win the format war to “replace” DVD and both formats may find a large enough customer base to co-exist, so HP, LG and I’m certain many to follow are going to gamble on the option with the lowest risk involved.

Personally, I’d wait and get the cheaper DVD writer instead. Customers are better off purchasing a single or multiple drive Blu-ray or HD DVD duplicator with a USB connection like the SharkBlu from Vinpower Digital. Why get a single drive tied to your computer like a tether, when the customer can get a multipurpose SharkBlu able to work as an external Blu-ray or HD DVD burner and portable duplicator. The price difference is negligible and the opportunities are far broader. If you’re going to step into the next generation of media, make sure you’re using the right equipment to produce and make copies of your master disc.

As I watch the basketball playoffs, it seems as though the players are getting younger and more talented every year. In fact young athletes are being groomed beginning in elementary school for a future in professional basketball. Throughout the country, there are basketball tournaments taking place where scouts from high schools, colleges and the pros are watching and critiquing these athletes to bring in the best for their programs. Since basketball is such a visual experience where video of an athlete can tell far more than their stats, there is always at least 1 videographer filming the games. These videographers create DVD’s showcasing not only the game itself, but also the individual athletes of interest. To disseminate these DVD’s the videographer typically has a mobile production studio with them including a standalone duplicator.

Videographers are making a lucrative living filming and distributing the DVD’s of various athletic events and athletes. With the prices of duplicators and blank media continuously falling, the cost of entry is lower and lower which means the return on investment often take place from the first event. I’m seeing more and more part time videographers leave their standard 9 to 5 so that they can focus on their new found career choice. Now when people think about having a career in sports, maybe they should think about life behind the camera instead of on the court.