Have You Heard About the ALS Bike Trek MN?

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Drew

The ALS Bike Trek Minnesota is a 14, 34, or 52-mile fully supported one-day ride perfect for the entire family! We’re looking for people of all ages to join in this extraordinary event – we need YOU, your friends, your co-workers & neighbors! Don’t want to ride? Volunteer, cheer and attend the BBQ at the finish line! Our goal is to raise ALS awareness and funds to fuel research. All proceeds from this event benefit the ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI), MDA’s Augie’s Quest and the MDA’s MN Chapter. Visit www.alsbiketrekmn.com

Panasonic Joins The Party

Posted on April 4, 2011 by Kevin

Looks like Panasonic has jumped into the BDXL party with an offering of its own.

With thousands of HD video cameras flooding the market, and digital content exploding all around us – the 100GB storage capacity of these discs is sure to be fully exploited.

To read more about this disc please visit Panasonic (Japanese)

-hat tip to Engadget

Taiyo Yuden CD and DVD Production Update

Posted on April 1, 2011 by Kevin

Supplies of the only Japanese-made CD-r and DVD-r have been temporarily disrupted by the magnitude 9.0 earthquake, tsunami and subsequent high radiation levels in Japan.

JVC-Taiyo Yuden branded discs from Victor Advanced Media, a subsidiary of JVC and Taiyo Yuden, are manufactured in northern Japan. The plant sustained some damage in the events of March 11, 2011.

Some CD manufacturing has resumed, and DVD production will follow shortly. While news has been very positive generally, some supply irregularities are anticipated on certain products like Watershield CD-r and DVD-r media as well as white prism thermal CD-r.

While media production lines had been temporarily disabled as the precision facilities were recalibrated and power was restored, Taiyo Yuden / JVC is quickly returning to full production. Production at some of the lines has already been restarted, and JVC and Taiyo Yuden are working quickly to ensure a stable supply of the highly sought-after optical media is restored.

Logistical issues are still a major concern as many roads and bridges were severely damaged and the main shipping port in northern Japan is near the dangerous radiation leaking nuclear power plant.

Please contact techwaredist.com with any Taiyo Yuden CD-r and DVD-r questions you may have.

Rimage Printers and Duplicators at NAB 2011 – Las Vegas

Posted on March 31, 2011 by Kevin

At the NAB show Rimage will demonstrate how to use disc publishing systems to save time and money, and gain a competitive edge. Collegiate organizations currently use Rimage’s automated disc publishing systems to archive practice and game footage as well as distribute video to coaches and players via DVD and Blu-ray Discs. The Rimage disc printers and duplicator solution plugs directly into any video editing platform allowing users to enhance existing work flow and tools instead of spending time and resources on adopting new procedures. When exporting game or practice footage, all the logged meta data carries over to the archive copy for future retrieval needs.

“Collegiate football teams are the tip of the iceberg when it comes to managing sports video”, says Chris Wells, VP of marketing and strategy at Rimage.

“We’re seeing strong interest in this solution from professional teams and many other sports organizations both in the US and in other countries.”

Rimage will showcase its Sports Video Archiving and Distribution Solution at NAB in Hall S1, Booth SL5920. Disc publishing experts will present Workflows that Deliver, a series of daily seminars, including a demonstration entitled Sports Video Distribution and Archiving.

The advent of digital video has transformed coaching and training methods. Standalone or portable hard drives do not always stand up to the growing video archive and distribution demands. Rimage’s Sports Video seminar will show how to easily implement automated optical disc publishing to safely and efficiently store and share digital content to players, coaches, and any external audience, all without disruption to your current video work flow.

Chris Luke, Director of Video Operations for football at the University of North Carolina, recently incorporated a Rimage Professional 5400N sports video solution. “We were just putting content on terabyte hard drives or standalone, portable hard drives,” says Luke. “Now I can export footage from my DVSport editing system directly to DVD or Blu-ray Disc, for shelf archive.”

As part of its Workflows that Deliver seminars, Rimage will be presenting disc publishing solutions that fulfill other aspects of video workflow, including video authoring, video on-demand and optical archiving, as well as product demonstrations. All seminars and demonstrations will be hosted daily in NAB Hall S1, Booth SL5920.

Techware Dist Profiles – Jessica

Posted on March 29, 2011 by Drew

When Jessica isn’t busy making sure that all of our customers are taken care of she helps out with local deliverys!

Thought we’d share this post to let you know that here in the great north, even though spring blossoms should be near – we still have snow on the ground. Ahhh the joys of Minnesota winters.

Taiyo Yuden CD, DVD, and BD Disc Production in Fukushima Remains Shutdown

Posted on March 22, 2011 by Kevin

As of March 18th 2011, the Taiyo Yuden recordable CD-r / DVD-r / BD-r disc production plant in Fukushima, Japan remains offline.

According to the published statement, the Fukushima manufacturing plant suffered building and equipment damage from the massive 9.0 earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on March 11, 2011. The ensuing power outages in the northern part of Japan continue to frustrate the company’s efforts to resume operations.

Please contact us at www.techwaredist.com about any Taiyo Yuden CD / DVD disc questions you may have.

Sony Corporation’s Magneto Optical Disk and Optical Media stock

Posted on March 21, 2011 by Kevin

Due to recent disruptions to our global supply chain, product availability on certain segments may be adversely affected. Please be advised that Sony Corporation’s Magneto Optical Disk and Optical Media stock may be diminished resulting in delays and pricing variability.

We are in communication with our suppliers and friends in Japan and will continue to apprise our customers as details become available. Please contact techware dist for up to date information regarding shipping time tables, product pricing and availability on all time critical purchases and shipments.

If you would like to help click on the Red Cross logo to visit their site.

Taking The First Step

Posted on March 14, 2011 by Drew

We’ve recently introduced a wellness plan at Techware Dist. It’s called the “10,000 Step Challenge”.

No rocket science involved in this one – the goal is to increase your walking/running/skipping till you reach 10,000 steps in a 24 hour period. We’ve even got nifty little pedometers to track our progress.

So the next time you stop into Techware Distribution we’d love it if you picked up the challenge with us. Just grab a free pedometer at the front desk, clip it on and update us via the comments here with your progress.

Here’s to happy healthy employees and customers!

Microboards PF-Pro Inkjet Printer Review – Part 2

Posted on March 4, 2011 by Kevin

Techwaredist.com first reviewed the Microboards PF-Pro Inkjet CD / DVD printer back in December of 2008. At that time the 4th generation Microboards disc printer was a relatively new to market. Overall we found this printer to be the best inkjet printer offering from Microboards to date and a good price value. In the 2 years since the initial review, we here at Techware would like to share some of the important improvements that have been made as well as a more in-depth review. To read our first published review simply search Google with the following phrase “techware pf-pro printer review”

A Skid of Beauty

Posted on March 2, 2011 by Drew

At Techware Distribution we strive to make sure that all our customers receive their goods from us on time and packaged neatly and securely. The man that makes sure that your goods are received in such excellent conditions is Nick our Logistics and Warehouse Manager. Nick has been in this business a long time and can sure stack one heckuva skid. He is equal parts shipping samurai and stacking engineer – in this picture we captured Nick reflecting on one of his many cardboard shrines. Word to the wise: Do not challenge Nick to a game of Jenga.

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