Logitec LBD-A2FU2/WM: the first Blu-ray Disc drive for Macs

Ok Macheads, now you can get your Blu-ray on too with Logitec’s (no, not that Logitech) announced LBD-A2FU2/WM Blu-ray Disc drive. From the machine translation of the press release, it would appear that this is just a rebadged Panasonic burner (pictured) which brings the love for some 13 BD, DVD, and CD media formats. Logitec will deliver what they say will be an industry first Mac BD drive as an external unit connected by either USB or Firewire and bundled with Roxio Toast 7 Titanium. It's so new that they couldn't even muster-up a photo! Uh, yeah. Like its Panny cuz, expect these to drop for around $850 but a bit later in mid-July with more OEM'd Mac drives sure to follow.

[Via Akihabara News]

[JT @ Apr 24th 2006 7:22AM]

The only upside of the arrival of BR/HDDVD is the price of dual layer media that is expected to drop... other than that, I think that the format war is about to become obsolete with price of hard drives plummeting.

[Sea @ Apr 24th 2006 7:43AM]

Logitech build disc drive Oh it is really interesting.

[KanseiZM @ Apr 24th 2006 7:45AM]

Come on now, how haven't they gotten sued after naming their company "Logitec" and selling computer add-ons under that name??

I'm not even going to look at the product page for that, or ever look at that company. That sort of blatant ripping off of another company's name is ludicrous.

[smilespray @ Apr 24th 2006 9:46AM]

Any Blu-ray drive will hook up to a Mac just fine. So they had an "industry first" by bundling Toast. Big deal.

[Rob @ Apr 24th 2006 10:12AM]

Fresh via "Akiharaba News" is a release info on a Blu-ray drive from Logitec (not to be confused with Logitech). Is it April Fool's Day?

I'm not sure how format wars are related to bigger hard drives, since one of these formats will most likely become the DVD delivery format for watching movies (just as DVD became the new VHS).

[jon @ Apr 24th 2006 11:26AM]

$850??? Ouch!

So will Mac users be able to use these to Play movies on the HDTV sets?

Windows users can purchase Blu-Ray or HD-DVD drive only once for their PC and stream HD-DVD signal to TV via 360 or any Media Center Connector device. That means only paying once for these rediculously expensive drives.

[hmurchison @ Apr 24th 2006 12:11PM]

no computer will be able to play movies. That requires HDCP/HDMI ports and the necessary DRM support. Meaning you have a $850 drive that only records your content and plays back unprotected content of which no major studio is offering. This is strickly roll your own media right now until the other parts in the chain catchup.

[navstar @ Apr 24th 2006 6:58PM]

Remember that the 1st generation Pioneer 1X DVD-R went for $1000 just 5 or 6 years ago! Now, they are $150 at Best Buy.

Just give it time.

[KanseiZM @ Apr 25th 2006 9:18AM]

#8... then Best Buy is ripping you off, because they are like 50 on NewEgg.

[Captain Obvious @ Apr 26th 2006 11:38AM]

I think youre both being ripped off
1X? They make faster burners than that!
:)