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Pioneer unveils world's smallest and lightest external Blu-ray burner
When describing the current fleet of BD burners on the market, one word that certainly doesn't come to mind -- sleek. Pioneer is aiming to change all that, though, with the BDR-XD04. What it lacks in a catchy name it makes up for with a slim and light clamshell design that doesn't make too many sacrifices in the features department. At just under 8.5oz and 0.55 inches thick, it puts most of its competitors to shame. Now, it settles for just a 6x write speed and skips USB 3.0 in favor of the more common (and slower) 2.0, but it is capable of drawing power entirely from your machines peripheral ports. (Though, you'll have the option of hooking up an AC adapter if you wish.) And don't worry about format support -- the BDR-XD04 will handle everything from quad-layer 128GB BD-Rs to old-school CDs with aplomb. The slim new burner will start shipping in the middle of this month for $150. Full PR is after the break.
Panasonic's first rewriteable 100GB BD-RE XL discs launch later this month
For those stuck between the flexibility of HDD storage and the archiving ease of BDXLs Panasonic is finally ready to bridge the gap with its new triple layer BD-RE XL discs, set to arrive April 15th in Japan. Being the first rewriteable BDXL is the LM-BE100J's claim to fame, which works out since the 10,000 yen ($118 US) asking price means buying two is probably out of the question. The latest burners from Pioneer and Buffalo already support the new discs, owners of other hardware may want to double check their spec sheets before ordering.
Pioneer and Buffalo announce first 128GB BDXL optical disc burners for PCs
The dream of burning 128GB of PC data onto a single optical disc just took a step closer to reality with the announcement of this BDXL burner (model BDR-206MBK) from Pioneer. Buffalo will ship it as both an external USB 2.0 model (BRXL-6U2) and internal SATA model (BRXL-6FBS-BK). The drive handles new 4-layer (128GB) and 3-layer (100GB) BD-R XL at 4x speeds in addition to 3-layer BD-RE XL and older BD-R/BD-R DL and BD-RE/BD-RE DL Blu-ray disc media. Pioneer will begin shipping the drive in November for an undisclosed price -- no word on pricing from Buffalo or when it'll have its act together to ship product.
Cheaper Blu-ray? Sony, Panasonic, and Philips say it's coming, honestly
Look, we don't really "get" people who aren't willing to buy the latest and greatest thing regardless of the price and / or current economic state, but evidently there's a rather large sector still clinging to their antiquated DVD format. Blu-ray proponents Panasonic, Philips, and Sony are looking to change all that by knocking down the tab a few notches. The trio has revealed plans to form a single licensing firm for Blu-ray, which they anticipate will lower the cost of the license -- and therefore the retail price -- by "at least" 40 percent. They expect it'll amount to $9.50 for read-only BD player, $14 for a burner, 11 cents for read-only discs, 12 cents for BD-Rs, and 15 cents for BD-RE rewritable discs. In its current form, hopeful BD makers have to seek out each company individually. The group also hopes a single licensing entity will help them spot unauthorized BD devices, so watch out, suspicious mom and pop Blu-ray stores.
Ridata bringing 6x BD-R media to United States
Anyone who has even looked into recording content onto a BD-R knows just how immensely expensive a single disc is. Thankfully, you'll have one more option (and thus, one more competitor to push prices downward) starting next year. Advanced Media, the parent company of Ridata, will be debuting 6x recordable Blu-ray Disc media at CES 2009, with availability in the US slated for Q2 '09. As of now, the only discs planned for release here are 25GB single-layer units, but we don't suspect the dual-layer variants will be too far behind.
DVD neXt COPY Ultimate burns ten DVDs to one Blu-ray Disc
Not quite sure what happened to DVD neXt COPY's shift key while filling out those incorporation documents, but whatever the case, the outfit's latest piece of software is quite interesting. The bizarrely titled DVD neXt COPY Ultimate can not only transfer your DVD movies to portable devices while stripping it of unwanted material like the sizable DTS audio stream, but it also toasts those films back to a BD-R. In fact, it promises to squeeze ten whole DVDs onto a single blank Blu-ray Disc, though we're unsure how great (or terrible) it is at busting through all of those encryption schemes it's sure to run into. Those willing to take the risk can pick up a copy right now for $69.99.
CyberLink PowerDVD: now cleared for BD-RE 2.1 / BD-R 1.1 playback
Calm down people, everything's okay now. CyberLink has just revealed that its PowerDVD application is now certified to play back BD-RE 2.1 and BD-R 1.1 Blu-ray Disc media. Granted, it's only certified to handle HD H.264 content on those discs, but we're going out on a limb and suggesting that most anything else you put on there will work, too. Existing PowerDVD 8 owners can upgrade their application gratis as we speak.
Buffalo brings out internal / external MediaStation 8x Blu-ray burners
While Sharp's busying readying its 8x Blu-ray burners for a 2010 release, Buffalo's busy bringing its 8x Blu-ray burners to the US of A. The company is hauling both an internal and external 8x MediaStation BD writer to US soil, both of which will also toast CD-Rs and a host of other discs without any fuss. The external unit connects via USB 2.0 or eSATA and the internal drive connects up via SATA. As for speeds, they'll burn BD-REs at 2X, DVD-RAM at 5x, DVD±Rs at 16x, DVD-RW at 6x, DVD+RW at 8x, CD-R at 48x and CD-RW at 24x. Both units are set for release this month at $399.99 (external; BR-816SU2) / $349.99 (internal; BR-816FBS).
Imation brings first 6x Blu-ray recordable discs to US
We had a dream back in June that America would one day be able to buy 6x BD-Rs for these 6x Blu-ray burners without relying on a Japanese importer, and today, that dream has been realized. Imation is bringing TDK Life on Record media to US soil, marking the first time 6x Blu-ray recordable (BD-R) and Blu-ray recordable double layer (BD-R DL) media has been available here. Unfortunately, this stuff is still absurdly expensive -- expect to hand over $13.99 for a single BD-R in October, while a BD-R DL 1-pack will ring up at a staggering $32.99.
ILY Enterprise unveils "world's first" 6x SATA Blu-ray duplicator
ILY Enterprise is totally playing word games here with its "world's first" 6x SATA Blu-ray duplicator, but we suspect it actually is a tad quicker than Vinpower Digital's comparable unit. As the company states, this unit boasts a controller that is "specifically designed and built for a SATA connection to reduce the cost and work more reliably than IDE-converted-SATA units," though we can't say if you'll actually notice the difference in speed without a stopwatch. Whatever the case, those interested in firing up their own piracy farm movie production company can acquire one now (from 1 to 11 targets) for a presumably lofty price. Oh, and judging by those logos, we reckon these drives could be used to play back some of your old HD DVDs during off-hours -- talk about a nice perk.
MCE offers 6x Blu-ray burner for Mac Pro and Power Mac G5
MCE is at it again providing the wares that Apple simply won't. After offering up a 2x Blu-ray burner for the Mac Pro and Power Mac G5 last year, the company is keeping up with the industry by introducing a 6x variant for the very same machines. You'll also find compatibility with BD-RE (2x), DVD±R (16x), DVD±RW (6x - 8x), DVD±RW DL (4x), CD-R (40x) and CD-RW (24x). The drive itself is available as we speak for $499, while a bundle with Roxio Toast 9 Titanium goes for $599 and an external version runs $749.[Via The Mac Observer]
NEC ships samples of SoC for 8x Blu-ray recording
Yesterday, Panasonic announced that it would be bringing 6x BD-R media to Japan. Today, we've got NEC leap-frogging said announcement by trumpeting the shipment of its newest SoC (system on chip). Sure enough, samples of the SCOMBO/UM2A, a "SoC chip designed for use in Blu-ray Disc systems that support 8x recording and playback," have begun to ship out to undisclosed recipients. We're told that the chip is being aimed at the PC and AV markets (obviously), but there's no telling how long we'll have to wait until 8x Blu-ray burners (and 8x BD-R / BD-RE media, for that matter) hit the streets.
Corel's WinDVD nabs BD-R 1.1 and BD-RE 2.1 playback certification
Corel's not satisfied with simply snagging DTS-HD Master Audio certification for WinDVD 8; it's also trumpeting the ability of WinDVD to fully support BD-R 1.1 and BD-RE 2.1 recordable / re-recordable media. Reportedly, this certification proves that said application "has passed the stringent standards and guidelines set by the Blu-ray Disc Association to ensure the best possible user experience," but it's not like that spill really means anything to you. You can, however, now rest assured that WinDVD will be all BFF like with discs that use H.264 and VC-1 for encoding. Availability? OEMs can get it now, retail consumers will see it in early 2009.
Plextor's Blu-ray / HD DVD combo drives still on the way
Oh, how things have changed since Plextor originally announced its combo HD DVD / Blu-ray drives would ship in February. Probably due to the end of the format war, the PX-B920SA and PX-300SA slipped a bit but should hit store shelves by the end of this month. The cost of hanging on to HD DVD compatibility? The all-HD media playing, 4x BD-R / 2x BD-RE / 16x DVD±R burning PX-B920SA will cost $599, while the PX-B300SA (hold the BD-R/BD-RE, please, we're on a diet) is $499.
Mitsubishi ramps up Blu-ray recordable disc manufacturing
Add Mitsubishi Kagaku Media (Mitsubishi, Verbatim) to the list of manufacturers expanding Blu-ray support in the pending absence of HD DVD. The manufacturer, which has been releasing recordable media for both sides, is adding a Blu-ray production line to its Singapore plant that will expand companywide production from 200,000 to 700,000 units a month when it comes online in July or August, along with production outsourced to other manufacturers. Nothing is set in stone, but hopefully those of us recording movies and data 50GB at a time have more plentiful (and cheaper) discs to look forward to.
Verbatim introduces new lineup of Blu-ray media
We've already seen Verbatim crank out a few new pieces of HD DVD media, so it's only fair that red's rival gets a little updating, too. Among the newcomers are 4x BD-R, single-sided double-layer 2x BD-R / BD-RE, Mini BD-R / BD-RE and 1 - 2x BD-R LTH discs. Not a lot to say beyond that -- you know, considering the dearth of pricing information -- but you can expect 'em all to ship sometime during the first half of 2008.
Sony's BWU-200S Blu-ray burner reaches 4x speeds
We know, 4x still isn't all that speedy in the grand scheme of things, but the BWU-200S can still toast BD-R discs twice as fast as last year's BWU-100A. Aside from filling a 50GB BD-R in around 45 minutes, the new drive can also burn to BD-RE at 2x, DVD±R at 16x, dual-layer DVD±R at 8x, CD-R at 40x and CD-RW at 24x. Furthermore, the unit boasts a SATA interface and comes bundled with the CyberLink BD Solution software that "provides a comprehensive application for capturing, authoring, editing, burning and viewing high-definition personal content." If all this looks good to you, get set to pony up around $600 when it ships out next month.
Ritek gets green light for rewritable BD and HD DVD discs
In great news for torrent freaks worldwide, Taiwanese optical disc giant Ritek has announced its accreditation to manufacture rewritable versions of both HD DVD and Blu-ray discs, meaning that pricing on the still-rare media should begin to drop once production ramps up in the third quarter. According to a company spokesperson, archiving all those TV shows and movies onto 20GB HD DVD-RE and 25GB BD-RE discs will set you back around $10-per-platter, though you are getting either quadruple or quintuple the capacity, respectively, of a regular DVD-RW. No matter, we'll be tossing these things around like cheap CD's in no time anyway. [Via Gadget Lab]
Plextor's PX-B900A Blu-ray burner reviewed
We've seen the first wave of Blu-ray burners receive their appropriate testing, and while most were deemed satisfactory, all demanded a mighty (and most likely unworthy) pricetag for such sluggish write speeds. Plextor's PX-B900A sports the same ultraslow 2x write speeds for both single and dual-layer BD-R / BD-RE discs, but offered decent burning speeds for the "other formats." PC World was most impressed with this particular drive's ease of installation -- something other drives haven't exactly provided -- and the fleshed-out bundle of software that comes packed in. Reviewers were thoroughly pleased with the inclusion of Blu-ray movie playback software, as well as the video editing / authoring and packet writing programs. While they were none too pleased with the $999 price, they did feel that the cost was somewhat more justified thanks to the smattering of great software that came along with it, and crowned it "a solid value" if you just can't wait another day to pick up an internal Blu-ray burner.
Plextor announces PX-B900A Blu-ray PC drive, Blu-ray movie playback included
Plextor has officially announced their first Blu-ray drive, the PX-B900A, including 2x reading and recording speeds for BD-R and -RE discs, 8MB buffer, and compatibility with the assorted DVD and CD formats. The price is set at $999.99, which may seem a bit high compared to Sony's recently announced $750 Blu-ray PC drive, until you consider that unlike the BWU-100A Plextor plans to bundle this with Intervideo's WinDVD BD Blu-ray movie playback software. Other software included is Ulead's VideoStudio10 Plus for Blu-ray authoring, BD DiscRecorder for direct camcorder-to-Blu-ray recording and others for DVD playback and standard file management capabilities. No word on if HDCP support will be required to get Blu-ray playback at all, but we should know for sure in October when it is released. [Via Engadget]
