Wednesday, September 24th 2008
Sony Debuts 8x Blu-Ray Disc Writer Drive
In yet another PR posted yesterday Sony debuted its third generation internal Blu-ray Disc (BD) writer for the computer aftermarket, which at about $400 achieves a new level of affordability for BD enthusiasts. The new BWU-300S model burns single and dual layer BD-R media at up to 8X speed, recording a full 25GB disc in about 15 minutes and a full 50GB disc in about 30 minutes. The 8X recording speed is achieved using 6X compatible BD-R media. The drive also records DVDs at up to 16X, CDs up to 48X, and supports DVD-RAM recording. The internal BWU-300S features a Serial ATA (SATA) interface and standard 5.25-inch form-factor for easy installation inside a desktop PC with Microsoft Windows XP or Windows Vista operating systems. It comes bundled with a "Men in Black" Blu-ray Disc from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Also included with the drive is CyberLink's software suite for capturing, authoring, editing, burning and viewing high-definition personal content. The BWU-300S drive will be available through select retailers, resellers and directly at Sony Style starting next month. Pre-orders are now being accepted by Sony on the website.
Source:
Sony
8 Comments on Sony Debuts 8x Blu-Ray Disc Writer Drive
I have an LG GGW-H20L combo Blu-Ray Burner (and HD DVD ROM drive) that does BD-R 6X and BD-RE 2X. The LG GGW-H20L typically retails for ~$249.99 but there is an OEM LG GGW-H20LK that goes for less. The retail software package for the LG GGW-H20L includes PowerDVD Ultra 7 OEM within “CyberLink Hi-Def Suite”. I’d like to see an OEM version of PowerDVD Ultra 8 start to ship.
Blu-Ray ROM drivers usually hover around ~$139 USD or so and also come with player software which is more often then not Cyberlink PowerDVD Ultra 7 OEM.
I don’t know if there is a noteworthy difference in record speeds going from 6X to 8X but I’m guessing its not worth jumping from ~$250 to ~$400 to get it.