Sony Announces Next Generation Blu-ray Drives

Sony introduced the next generation of its internal Blu-ray Disc rewritable drives. The new drives are capable of writing single BD-R media at up to 12X and dual layer BD-R media at up to 8X speeds. Sony's BWU-500S model comes with CyberLink’s Media Suite 8 software and one 25GB Sony BD-R blank disc. In addition to recording to BD-R and BD-RE discs, the drives can record to DVD discs and CDs as well. The drives use a SATA interface and a standard 5.25-inch form-factor.

SONY OPTIARC AMERICA INTRODUCES NEXT-GENERATION BLU-RAY DISC REWRITABLE DRIVES

SAN JOSE, Calif., Nov. 4, 2010 – Sony Optiarc America today announced its next-generation half-height internal Blu-ray Disc® (BD) rewritable drives for the computer aftermarket.  

Available in a retail and OEM configuration, the new drives are an ideal replacement burner for a standard DVD drive while offering all the benefits of Blu-ray Disc technology, including Blu-ray 3D™ high-definition playback. 

The drives write single BD-R media at up to 12X and dual layer BD-R media at up to 8X speeds, recording a full 25GB disc in about 10 minutes.  The 12X recording speed is achieved using 6X compatible BD-R media. 

The BWU-500S retail branded model comes with CyberLink’s Media Suite 8 software for capturing, authoring, editing, backing up, viewing high-definition personal content and playing back Blu-ray Disc movies including 3D Blu-ray movies.  Also included in the retail box is one 25GB Sony BD-R blank disc. 

The new drives can record up to 50GB of data for random access storage and backup on BD-R (write once) or BD-RE (rewritable) discs, or up to 220 minutes of high-definition 24M bps MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 video on a BD-R/RE 50GB disc.

The drives also record standard 4.7GB DVD+/-R discs at up to 16X speeds, 8.5 GB DVD+/-R Double/Dual layer at up to 8X, DVD+RW at up to 8X, DVD-RW at up to 6X, CD-R at up to 48X, CD-RW at up to 24X, and support DVD-RAM recording at up to 12X speeds. 

The internal drives feature a Serial ATA (SATA) interface and standard 5.25-inch form-factor for easy installation inside a desktop PC.  They also incorporate intelligent monitoring for consistent recording, and adjusting read-speed technology which enhances smooth playback. 

Availability

The BWU-500S retail branded drive and the OEM BD-5300S drive are available this month through authorized distributors, resellers and select online sites. 

Tags:  Sony, Blu-ray, Disc, optical
Jennifer Johnson

Jennifer Johnson

Jennifer grew up around technology. From an early age, she was curious about all things related to computers. As a child, Jennifer remembers spending nights with her dad programming in BASIC and taking apart hard drives to see what was inside. In high school, she wrote her senior term paper on her experiences with building custom computers.

Jennifer graduated from the Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. After college, she began writing full-time for various PC and technology magazines. Later, she transitioned to the Web. In these roles, Jennifer has covered a variety of topics including laptops, desktops, smartphones, cameras, tablets, and various consumer electronics devices. When she's not playing with or writing about the latest gadget, Jennifer loves to spend time with her family, capture memories with her camera, and scrapbook.

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