Pioneer Shipping $250 8X BDR-2203 Blu-ray Writer

Just a few weeks back, Lite-On introduced its very own 8X Blu-ray Disc reader; today, Pioneer is one-upping that with its 8X Blu-ray Disc burner. The BDR-2203 picks up where the others have left off by adding in 8X BD writing (the fastest currently available for the format) as well as the traditional CD-R and DVD-R burning capabilities.

Aimed at professional authoring gurus and choosy HTPC owners, this new internal optical drive provides users with a solid brand name, top-notch burn support and the ability to play back 1080p films -- all for less than a standalone deck, in some cases. With the drive, users can burn up to 50GB of information onto a single BD-R or BD-RE disc -- assuming they can afford such pricey media, of course. Pioneer is also bundling a specialized CyberLink software package that provides all the goods necessary to burn BD-Rs. Speaking of which, it's estimated that 25GB of data can be written in around 15 minutes (on a single-layer BD-R), while 50GB of data will naturally take around a half hour (on a dual-layer 50GB disc).

The drive is expected to ship later this month for the reasonable asking price of $249.99.

BDR-2203 Specifications Table

Disc Media		Write Speed		Read Speed
BD-R		8X		8X
BD-R DL		8X		6X
BD-RE		2X		8X
BD-RE DL		2X		6X
BD-ROM		-		8X
BD-ROM DL		-		8X
DVD-R/+R SL		16X		16X
DVD-R/+R DL		8X		12X
DVD±RW SL		8X		12X
DVD-ROM SL		-		16X
DVD-ROM DL		-		12X
DVD-RAM		5X		5X
CD-R		32X		32X
CD-RW		24X		24X
CD-ROM		-		40X
Interface
Serial-ATA (SATA)