Tiny Pioneer Blu-ray Burner Set for CES Launch

Pioneer Japan has announced a new Blu-ray burner, named the BDR-XD04J, which will be coming to the US early next year, following a CES launch.  Pioneer calls the burner the 'world's smallest', and at 133mm square and with a depth of just 14.8mm, it's hard to argue with them!  But it's not just the size and 240 gram weight that makes the XD04J standout, it's the comprehensive spec sheet.

All the usual Blu-ray, CD and DVD discs can be burned, with a max-speed of 6x for Blu-ray and up to 8x for DVD but more exciting is the support for recordable BDXL discs of both 100GB and 128GB.  Sadly though, Pioneer hasn't seen fit to use a USB 3.0 connection, sticking to the tried-and-tested USB 2.0, but has given the player 4MB of buffer memory to help avoid errors.

The BDR-XD04J will set Japanese buyers back around 18,000 Yen, or approximately $230.  The burner is expected to make its international debut at CES in January, when we'll get details of the release date and the final retail price.

 

Burn Blu-ray Discs Without a PC Using the Sony VBD-MA1

Now this is a clever device!  The Sony VBD-MA1 is a standalone Blu-ray burner, meaning you don't have to connect it to a computer in order to record data onto a disc.  It's perfect for backing up videos and images from digital and video cameras, as it has both SD and Sony Memory Stick Duo slots, along with a USB port for directly connecting your device.

On the top of the burner is a 2.7" screen on which you can view the content before recording it to disc, which Sony say is done at the touch of a button.  Of course, if you want to connect it to a computer you can, but the beauty of the MA1 is its portability.

Sony say it's compatible with the majority of their HandyCam range of cameras, all the way up to their advanced amateur models, plus as it has composite video inputs you can even record from a VCR!  For many, the ability to digitally archive old VHS material will make the MA1 a must-have gadget.  You can even add chapters, menus and title screens to your new Blu-ray copies too.

The VBD-MA1 is listed on Sony's US website as available now for $299, and Japan should be seeing the same model very soon too, however it doesn't appear on Sony's European sites as yet.

Asus Launch Attractive BW-12D1S-U External BD Drive

Asus have taken the covers off a new USB external Blu-ray drive, and it's as good-looking and as versatile as they come.  It's designed specifically for use with a computer, as the only method of connection is a USB port; so there won't be any linking up by HDMI. 

The drive plays both DVD and Blu-ray, plus 3D Blu-rays too.  It upscales DVD and like some other laptop-based drives, the Asus also performs real-time 2D to 3D conversion; which combined with support for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD, makes it a formidable addition to any HTPC. 

According to the official documentation, the drive needs 1GB of RAM, a GeForce 7600GT/ATIX1600 graphics card and a Pentium processor to operate, and it comes with Cyberlink's PowerDVD software.  It's also quoted as being the fastest Blu-ray burner available at the moment, with speeds of 12x. 

The design is great, with a bright blue diamond-shaped power light and a stand for vertical or horizontal mounting.  The exact street date, region and price have yet to be confirmed.

Speedy New Plextor External Blu-ray Burner Coming to Europe

The Plextor PX-LB9850UE is the latest external Blu-ray drive to hit the European market, and it has been designed for anyone wanting to burn a lot of data in the quickest time possible.  To this end, the Plextor has the ability to write single-layer Blu-ray discs at 12x and dual-layers at 8x speeds.

Of course, it's all very well the drive having these high speeds, but what about getting the data into the drive itself?  Aside from an eSATA port, the Plextor supports USB 3.0 too, which although isn't that common right now, will be in the near future.  The USB port downgrades to USB 2.0 if your PC doesn't use the newest version.

The drive also uses LightScribe technology for creating professional looking images for your discs, plus CyberLink BD software is included in the box.  The Plextor's piano-black finish makes it relatively attractive for an external Blu-ray drive too!

Expect to find the PX-LB9850UE on the shelves later this month, when it will retail for £179.

(source: Gizmag)

Portable LaCie Slim Blu-ray Out Now

Backup and storage experts LaCie have launched their first portable Blu-ray drive, the LaCie Slim, which joins their existing portable DVD-R options.  Just how portable is it?  Well, it weighs 320 grams  - about three times the weight of a moden smartphone - and measures a mini 13 x 15 x 2.5cm, so fitting it into a decent sized laptop bag shouldn't be a problem.

It's powered via a USB 2.0 cable and will read and write most Blu-ray, DVD and CD discs including dual layer types, writing at speeds of 4x and 6x for BD-Rs.  It's compatible with both Windows and Mac operating systems and comes with Cyberlink Blu-ray Disc Suite software.

The LaCie Slim's square design won't be winning any beauty competitions, but its small size is a big bonus, as is its ability to read and write BD discs on the move - a relatively unusual feature.  The USB power makes all this possible, but LaCie do point out that USB transfer speeds may affect performance.

The LaCie Slim is available in the USA for $264.99, and the UK for £229.90, direct from LaCie themselves.

New Sony Blu-ray Drives Ready for Anything!

Sony Optiarc are preparing two new Blu-ray drives, one for retail and the other for OEM use, which we can see finding a home in many a HTPC build.  The BWU-500S will be the model number to look out for if you're searching for one to buy, while the BD-5300S will be the code for the OEM model. 

The 500S will play Blu-ray and DVD, plus it will write to BD-R discs at a decent 12x speed, while dual-layer BD-R's will have to make do with an 8x speed.  The press release states that a 25GB disc will burn in about 10 minutes, which sounds fast to us!  The burner will also handle all types of recordable DVD and CD media too, so it's versatile little thing.

The reason we say the 500S may be good for HTPC use is becuase the drive will play 3D Blu-ray discs, plus it's a standard 5.25" drive with a SATA interface and comes bundled with Cyberlink's Media Suite 8 software too.  Sony will be releasing these two in the USA this month, but haven't provided information on a future international launch.  Pricing is also unknown at this point. 

 

Enjoy the Little Things with the Panasonic DIGA DMR-BF200

Looking for all the world like a Nintendo Wii, this is actually the latest Panasonic Blu-ray recorder to hit the Japanese market and despite its diminutive size, it packs in a considerable amount of features!  If you take a tape measure to the BF200, you'll find that at 65 x 210 x 194mm, it ranks as the smallest Blu-ray DVR in the world!

That's right, as well as the Blu-ray drive the BF200 has a built-in hard drive, in this case with a 320GB capacity.  With the added bonus of recording content in 1080p on to disc, this is a versatile little thing!  Other features include an SD card slot for tranferring media to and from the hard drive, an Ethernet port, a single HDMI and access to YouTube and other online video services.

The BF200 can sit horizontally, but the vertical stand comes in the box, and it looks really great when mounted this way.  Plus, if this sort of thing appeals, you can add Panasonic's 'dress-sheets' to the exterior, which appear to be sticky panels to pretty-up the sides of the player.

Panasonic will launch the BF200 on the 15th November in Japan, where it will cost the equivalent of $860/£550.  There has been no announcement on the subject of an international release, but if there is, we hope the price is adjusted to be a little more competitive.

(source: T3)

Sony Announce BDX-S500U Portable Blu-ray Drive

Here's a handy creation from Sony Optiarc, the BDX-S500U portable Blu-ray drive, designed to bring the convenience of BD disc storage and the beauty of HD video to your computer, without the need to open up a casing or replace the drive on a laptop. 

The drive will write on to a Blu-ray at 6x speeds for a BD-R, 4x for a BD-R DL and 2x for a BD-RE, and happily accepts dual-layer 50GB discs, while it also plays nicely with DVD, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD-RAM, CD, CD-R and CD-RW, all at speeds from 4x to 24x.  Sony say the burner will write a 25GB BD-R in 20 minutes.

Because the S500U uses USB 2.0 to connect to your computer, it should work well no matter what system you use - perhaps it could even bring Blu-ray to Apple Macs!  Included in the pack is Cyerlink's Media Suite 8 for Windows software.

Aside from its use for data backup, if you use a PC as part of your home cinema setup the S500U has 3D support built-in, so if you have the correct HDMI links to your 3D TV, this could be a great way to upgrade without the need for a bigger, standalone player. 

The BDX-S500U is due to go on sale in the USA this month, where it's reported to cost around $200; a decent price given the read/write options and 3D support.

April Sees Two New Blu-ray Drives for US and Europe.

Pioneer introduce the BDR-2203, their latest Blu-ray internal PC drive, in the USA today.  It's quite a piece of kit too, as it offers a write speed of 8X for your dual-layer Blu-ray disc!  Pioneer have run speed tests on the 2203 which indicate you can burn an entire 25GB of information to a single-layer Blu-ray in just 15 minutes, while burning 50GB to a dual-layer disc takes 30 minutes.  On the face of it, this doesn't sound that great, but when Pioneer remind you that level of storage is equivalent to 10 standard DVD's, it's quite a time and space saver!

In addition to burning Blu-ray, the writer also burns DVD and CD.  The PC-only BDR-2203 is set to ship during April at a retail price is $249, and interested parties can take a look at the full list of read/write speeds here.

Meanwhile, over in Europe, Lite-On are launching the iHES208, a reasonably priced Blu-ray combo drive.  The 208 happily plays back Blu-ray discs and will record both DVD and CD, plus it has LightScribe technology for the burning of disc artwork too.  April is again the month and the cost is just 169 Euro.

LaCie offers speed upgrade to d2 Blu-ray burner

LaCie, a developer of computer peripherals for PC, Apple and Linux users, is upgrading the speed of its d2 Blu-ray burner. This enhanced d2, now sporting 8x data writing speeds, prices for around $450.

The LaCie d2 can load up to 50GB of data on a single Blu-ray disc. It has both FireWire and USB 2.0 interfaces and also offers support for a dozen Blu-ray, DVD and CD formats, including BD-ROM, BD-ROM AACS, BD-R, BD-RE, DVD±R, CD-R and others.

Also upgraded with the d2 is the revised Easy Media Creator 10 and Toast 9 Titanium software. This software lets users put video video and audio files onto Blu-ray, DVD and CD discs. Users can work with MPEG2, AVC and VC-1 when creating Blu-ray content.