Pioneer's New Blu-ray Burner Hits 12x Before BD-Rs Do

Looks like we've got ourselves quite the conundrum. Today, Pioneer has unleashed the planet's first-ever 12x Blu-ray Disc writer. Problem is, all writable Blu-ray media available on U.S. shelves is still at 6x. In other words, you can now buy a writer that'll toast media twice as fast as the media that's currently available. Like we said, it's a strange problem indeed.

Still, for those with faith in the future (and optical media companies needing to catch up), Pioneer's BDR-205 Blu-ray Disc Computer Writer is an attractive piece. It's easily the industry's fastest BD writer, with all other rivals currently maxing out at 8x.

When utilized with a properly configured PC, the drive’s Low Vibration Mechanism Design improves overall writing accuracy, especially for those preserving copious amounts of critical data. Designed for maximum flexibility, Pioneer’s writer provides significant solutions for multiple user groups, including:

• System builders can confidently recommend the sophisticated BDR-205 to their clients, noting the drive’s unique design, robust build quality and high grade parts
• With 50Gbytes** of storage space on a dual-layer Blu-ray Disc, professional users can utilize the BDR-205 to rapidly test high definition feature films during the authoring process, as well as to back up large volumes of data with ease
• Besides up to 12x write speeds for Blu-ray Disc media, Pioneer’s new computer drive also provides read and write speed performance up to 16x for DVD and 40x for CD media

It'll ship later this month within select PCs (or so it seems), though the retail version (BDR-2205) won't hit shelves until Q1 2010 for $249.