ASUS unleashes USB 2.0 Blu-ray drive -- government denies knowledge

[Via SlashGear]
Bluray posts





Blu-ray recorders have been on the scene for a while now, but now that the format war's over, it looks like more companies are starting to commit to BD-R devices -- like Pioneer, which announced today that it'll have a Blu-ray recorder out in Japan by the end of the year. The company didn't say what model it would be or what price point it was aiming for, but the tech is being jointly developed with Sharp, so hopefully it's have a family resemblance to units like the 1TB AQUOS BD-HDW20 in everything but the $2,611 pricetag.
Fans of high-def audio rejoice: The first Blu-ray recording has been released. Fans of anything other than Divertimento, hold your horses: The first release is from Thondheimsolistene, an orchestra from Norway. "Divertimenti", as it is called, will be released by the 2L label in full HD audio glory along with a SACD track for those not on the Blu-ray bandwagon just yet. Formats include 2.0 LPCM, 5.1 LPCM, 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio, 5.1 Dolby True HD, 5.1 Dolby Digital at 48KHz, and it has been confirmed to work just fine on the PS3.
Gateway is releasing two new desktops today, both sporting some features we've grown accustomed to, but also introducing some new hotness into the typically stale market. The new models -- the GM5664 and GT5662 -- share a slew of the same features, like the ATI Radeon HD 2400XT graphics card, 3GB of RAM, and 8-channel 7.1 audio, but they also have some notable differences. The GM5664 comes equipped with a Hybrid-SuperMulti optical drive, which gives you the ability to play Blu-ray or HD DVDs to your heart's content, while also handling typical DVD-RW functions. The system is also packed with a 2.3GHz AMD Phenom 9600 CPU, 1TB hard drive array, and an analog / digital TV tuner. The GT5662 includes a 2.2GHz AMD Phenom 9500 CPU, does away with the dual format drive, halves the storage space, and axes the TV tuner. Both are available now for $1,149.99 and $749.99, respectively.









