Posted by Allan on 01/03/06 13:45

http://lifestyle.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=4238


Pioneer USA is promising a Q1 2006 launch for its first PC Blu-ray
Disc writer, the BDR-101A, though without giving a firm date or
announcing any price.

Key features include the ability to write to conventional DVD blanks
(+/- write-once and rewritable) as well as their Blu-ray equivalents
BD-R (write-once) and BD-RE (rewritable).

Significantly, the half-height ATAPI unit is also said to be able to
read BD-ROM discs of the sort that will carry commercial movies in
High-Def format, as well as read current DVD Video discs.

What Pioneer has not yet done, though, is give a specific date for the
launch or comment on how problems with the AACS (Advanced Access
Content System) digital rights management system are affecting the
product's arrival.

Panasonic, another maker of Blu-ray Disc hardware, is reckoned to have
delayed the planned January launch of its own ATAPI Blu-ray drive
because of issues with AACS and the same reason is behind Toshiba's
delayed launch of rival HD DVD hardware.

As with HD DVD, Blu-ray Disc uses blue lasers working with shorter
wavelengths than the red lasers in today's DVD hardware. This
increases the amount of data that can be crammed onto a 12cm disc -
currently restricted to under 4.7GB on single-layer discs and under
8.55GB even on dual-layer. In the case of the BDR-101A, Pioneer says
this allows up to 25GB of information to be stored on a single-layer
Blu-ray Disc.

Pioneer Launches One of Industry's First PC-Based Blu-ray Disc Drives

Revolutionary Technology Results in Five-fold Increase of Storage
Capacity

December 27, 2005 - Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. today announced one
of the industry’s first Blu-ray Disc computer drives, expected to
revolutionize digital and high-definition media storage. The new
Pioneer BDR-101A will utilize shorter wavelength blue lasers in order
to store up to 25 gigabytes of information on a single layer Blu-ray
Disc. It is expected to begin shipping in the first quarter of 2006.

This first generation product will be targeted primarily to
professional users and serious enthusiasts, generally the first to
adopt new technology. In particular, content creators will depend on
Blu-ray Disc writers to test and evaluate high definition consumer
Blu-ray Disc titles during the authoring process before replication.
The drive will come equipped with a data recording application to
transfer digital files to Blu-ray Discs.

As the market for high definition video camcorders grows, users will
increasingly rely on the Blu-ray Disc drive to store massive amounts
of HD video. Likewise, a person with a television tuner on his or her
personal computer could use the drive to record high definition
television shows for later viewing. The drive also will be able to
play consumer Blu-ray Disc movie titles on BD-ROM discs and will play
and record standard DVD media.

As one of the first products to utilize Blu-ray Disc technology, the
drive significantly increases storage capacity, while reducing the
number of discs currently needed to back up computer hard drives,
digital files and applications.

“Storage capacity in a stable medium is critical,” said Andy Parsons,
senior vice president at Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. “A few years
ago, no one could imagine needing more storage than available on a
CD-R. Yet today, we need multiple DVDs just to back up the numerous
photo and video files on our computers. Blu-ray Disc technology
fulfills the rapidly growing need for more storage space and Pioneer
is proud to be one of the first companies bringing it to market.”

The half height BDR-101A Blu-ray Disc/DVD writer will read
BD-ROM/R/RE, DVD-ROM/DVD-R/DVD-RW and +R/+RW discs. It offers the
following write speeds:

BD-R/RE (2X)
DVD-R/+R (8X)
DVD-RW/+RW (4X)






"Arguing with anonymous strangers on the Internet is a sucker's game
because they almost always turn out to be -- or to be indistinguishable from
-- self-righteous sixteen-year-olds possessing infinite amounts of free time."
- Neil Stephenson, _Cryptonomicon_

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