Apex is please to include data transfer from the Zeiss Visupac 5.25" Magneto Optical Disks to Hard Drive or DVDs.

A solution to transfer data and files from 9.1GB 8.6GB or 5.2GB Magneto Optical Disks to CD, DVD or Hard Drive is now available from Apex Technology. This includes disks by Sony, HP, Verbatim, and others. These disks were typically written using Sony Magneto Optical drives such as the SMO-F561 drive which are no longer manufactured. Disks can be format using DOS, Apple Mac OS-9 OS-X OS-8, Windows, FAT as well as other file systems.

Hitachi, the inventor of the DVD camcorder, launches 2 new DVD models - the DZ-GX5020E (which replaces the Hitachi DZ-BX35E DVD cam corder) and DZ-GX5100E (replaces DZ-GX3100E DVD cam). They feature a 1 second quickstart, and improved optical zooms. They include recording and playback with Hitachi’s DVD Multiformat+ drive.

DVD video copy protection AACS used on both HD-DVD and Blu-ray video titles has apparently been cracked allowing a certain number of titles to be copied. But the AACS Licensing Authority has said the breach is limited. The hacker was apparently upset and motivated to crack the DVD after the DVD video he had bought would not play on his monitor because it did not have the compliant connector demanded by the movie industry.

Warner Bros have proposed a DVD disc that includes Blu-ray on one side and HD-DVD on the other. It will be known as Total HD disc. This is in contrast to LG who have a player that can read Blu-ray and HD-DVD discs, while Toshiba announced it has developed a 51GB triple-layer HD DVD.

DVD Blu-Ray & HD-DVD format are still seen to be at loggerheads during the Consumer Electronics show in Las Vegas. Blu-Ray has the backing of more film studios as well as video player makers, although HD-DVD has sold equally well so far according to BBC report.

LG have produced a dual-format DVD player which will play the Sony backed Blu-ray discs and the rival Toshiba-led HD DVD discs. A welcome solution to a public confused by HD DVD or the rival Blu-ray format.

The next generation encryption system for high-definition DVDs are looking into a hacker's claim that he has cracked the code protecting the new discs from piracy.

A hacker known as Muslix64 posted on the Internet details of how he unlocked the encryption, known as the Advanced Access Content System (AACS), which prevents high-definition discs from illegal copying by restricting which devices can play them.

Toshiba electronics wants consumers to use their HD-E1 DVD system rather than the rival Blu-Ray format. Blu-Ray is being backed by electronics firms Sony, Samsung and Panasonic as well as a number of film studios.

At least 75 pages of highly classified information about human traffickers from the Dutch Royal Marechaussee - a service of the Dutch armed forces that is responsible for guarding the Dutch borders - have been leaked to the controversial weblog Geen Stijl (No Style). The documents, whicn contain phone numbers and tapped conversations, were found unencrypted on a P2P site - possibly Kazaa according to Dutch newspaper reports. The likeliest explanation for their appearance is that a member of the Dutch Royal Marechaussee worked on the documents from home and unintentionally shared his entire hard drive with the rest of the world.