Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Subscribe
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Subscribe
    Home Latest News

      Sonic Introduces first Media Center PC DVD Authoring Tool

      Written by

      Lance Ulanoff
      Published January 8, 2003
      Share
      Facebook
      Twitter
      Linkedin

        eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.

        The nascent Media Center Edition PC is about to get some DVD-burning savvy. In an exclusive to PCMag.com, Sonic Solutions, Inc., has announced Sonic PrimeTime for Windows Media Center Edition PCs. The company will officially announce the software at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Jan 9.

        The maker of the DVD authoring applications MyDVD and DVDit! has built what it says is a DVD-burning solution for Microsofts “10-foot couch-to-television experience.” The idea behind the application (scheduled to launch in March) is simple. Media Center will already record and store your favorite shows on its hard drive. The $59 PrimeTime will, according to general manager Mark Ely, allow users to peruse the list of stored shows and select them to burn to DVD. It will not, however, maintain a catalog of all of the DVDs youve burned using PrimeTime.

        Built on the DVDit and MyDVD DVD-burning engine, PrimeTime will apparently create chapters for each show automatically and make sure you can fit the maximum number of shows on each DVD. Ely also stressed that the application will not reencode the video. Instead it will take the MPEG2 stream created by the Media Center Edition OS and convert it to DVD-ready format (only the audio will actually be reencoded).

        Since DVDs will be created in the OpenDVD format, they will be reeditable in any of Sonics DVD editing applications (not including PrimeTime which wont actually be an editing application). Ely said that users could even, conceivably, rewrite to DVD+RW discs, but he admitted that the resulting disc might not be playable on all standalone DVD players. Users should be able to edit the DVD and burn to a different, more universally playable, DVD-R or +R disk, though. (PrimeTime, like its MyDVD and DVDit counterparts will, according to Ely, be able to write to all DVD media formats.)

        Unlike ReplayTV (but like TiVo), Media Center PCs do not currently allow users to automatically skip commercials. PrimeTime will not remove ads either, but instead will archive shows with the commercials in tact. That said, Ely pointed out that theres nothing to prevent users from duplicating the relatively high-quality recorded DVDs PrimeTime generates. “Yes you could conceivable copy the DVD disk—not with our application—but with someone elses, you could.”

        He added, though, that recorded shows on the Media Center PCs have no DRM (Digital Rights Management) information associated with them. Sonic is currently investigating ways to block the recording of certain kinds of copyrighted material and even, possibly, to base some restrictions on ratings so that, for example, parents could stop children from recording R-rated movies to DVD.

        Sonic PrimeTime is expected to be ready for download from Sonics Web site in mid–March, and while the company says that it will likely ship with new Media Center PCs, no OEM agreements have been announced.

        Lance Ulanoff
        Lance Ulanoff
        Lance Ulanoff is Editor in Chief and VP of Content for PC Magazine Network, and brings with him over 20 years journalism experience, the last 16 of which he has spent in the computer technology publishing industry.He began his career as a weekly newspaper reporter before joining a national trade publication, traveling the country covering product distribution and data processing issues. In 1991 he joined PC Magazine where he spent five years writing and managing feature stories and reviews, covering a wide range of topics, including books and diverse technologies such as graphics hardware and software, office applications, operating systems and, tech news. He left as a senior associate editor in 1996 to enter the online arena as online editor at HomePC magazine, a popular consumer computing publication. While there, Ulanoff launched AskDrPC.com, and KidRaves.com and wrote about Web sites and Web-site building.In 1998 he joined Windows Magazine as the senior editor for online, spearheading the popular magazine's Web site, which drew some 6 million page views per month. He also wrote numerous product reviews and features covering all aspects of the computing world. During his tenure, Winmag.com won the Computer Press Association's prestigious runner-up prize for Best Overall Website.In August 1999, Ulanoff briefly left publishing to join Deja.com as producer for the Computing and Consumer Electronics channels and then was promoted to the site's senior director for content. He returned to PC Magazine in November 2000 and relaunched PCMag.com in July 2001. The new PCMag.com was named runner-up for Best Web Sites at the American Business Media's Annual Neal Awards in March 2002 and won a Best Web Site Award from the ASBPE in 2004. Under his direction, PCMag.com regularly generated more than 25 million page views a month and reached nearly 5 million monthly unique visitors in 2005.For the last year and a half, Ulanoff has served as Editor, Reviews, PC Magazine. In that role he has overseen all product and review coverage for PC Magazine and PCMag.com, as well as managed PC Labs. He also writes a popular weekly technology column for PCMag.com and his column also appears in PC Magazine.Recognized as an expert in the technology arena, Lance makes frequent appearances on local, national and international news programs including New York's Eyewitness News, NewsChannel 4, CNN, CNN HN, CNBC, MSNBC, Good Morning America Weekend Edition, and BBC, as well as being a regular guest on FoxNews' Studio B with Shepard Smith.

        Get the Free Newsletter!

        Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

        Get the Free Newsletter!

        Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

        MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

        Artificial Intelligence

        9 Best AI 3D Generators You Need...

        Sam Rinko - June 25, 2024 0
        AI 3D Generators are powerful tools for many different industries. Discover the best AI 3D Generators, and learn which is best for your specific use case.
        Read more
        Cloud

        RingCentral Expands Its Collaboration Platform

        Zeus Kerravala - November 22, 2023 0
        RingCentral adds AI-enabled contact center and hybrid event products to its suite of collaboration services.
        Read more
        Artificial Intelligence

        8 Best AI Data Analytics Software &...

        Aminu Abdullahi - January 18, 2024 0
        Learn the top AI data analytics software to use. Compare AI data analytics solutions & features to make the best choice for your business.
        Read more
        Latest News

        Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

        James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
        I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
        Read more
        Video

        Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

        James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
        I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
        Read more
        Logo

        eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

        Facebook
        Linkedin
        RSS
        Twitter
        Youtube

        Advertisers

        Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

        Advertise with Us

        Menu

        • About eWeek
        • Subscribe to our Newsletter
        • Latest News

        Our Brands

        • Privacy Policy
        • Terms
        • About
        • Contact
        • Advertise
        • Sitemap
        • California – Do Not Sell My Information

        Property of TechnologyAdvice.
        © 2024 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

        Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.