Optiarc Europe announced today that it will be distributing the retail version of Sony's new 8x Blu-ray Disc writer. The BWU-300S offers 8x BD-R, 8x BD-R DL and 2x BD-RE writing speeds as well as a maximum BD-ROM read speed of 8x.
The new BWU-300S model burns single and dual layer BD-R media at up to 8X speed, recording a full 25GB disc in about 15 minutes and a full 50GB disc in about 30 minutes. The 8X recording speed is achieved using 6X compatible BD-R media. The drive also records DVDs at up to 16X, CDs up to 48X, and supports DVD-RAM recording, with an eye towards data backup, making it an excellent replacement burner for a standard DVD drive while offering all the benefits of Blu-ray Disc technology. Also included with the drive is CyberLink’s software suite for capturing, authoring, editing, burning, and viewing high-definition personal content.
“The BWU-300S provides consumers with the opportunity to experience high-definition movie playback and to output high-definition video on a Blu-ray Disc,” said Thomas Nedder, Managing Director of Optiarc. “The new Blu-ray Disc writer achieves a new level of performance and we are providing also the industry’s most complete software bundle to finish high-definition personal content.”
“Sony’s new 8X Blu-ray Disc writable drive significantly improves the BD recording speed, a key feature in the optical storage technology,” said Wolfgang Schlichting, research director for removable storage at IDC. “The explosion of digital media usage by consumers, whether it be high-definition video, music or data, continues to grow at exponential rates. Innovative products such as this next-generation drive from Sony will help fuel the acceleration of Blu-ray adoption in the years ahead with more than 100 million Blu-ray drives shipping worldwide by 2011.”
The BWU-300S drive 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 230 minutes of high-definition HDV 1080i video on a BD-R/RE 50GB disc. It also supports recording on standard single layer 4.7GB DVD+R/+RW/-RAM discs, 8.5GB DVD+R double/dual layer discs, and CDs.
The internal drive features a Serial ATA (SATA) interface and standard 5.25-inch form-factor for easy installation inside a desktop PC with Microsoft® Windows XP or Windows Vista® operating systems.
The BWU-300S is fully supported by Adobe® Encore® CS3 software, now included with Adobe Premiere® Pro CS3, and Sony’s Vegas Pro 8 and DVD Architect Pro 5 software, providing video production professionals with another option for outputting high-definition video on a Blu-ray Disc with MPEG-2 or H.264 compression.
The BWU-300S is available from October onwards. Sony NEC Optiarc Europe offers a 24-month warranty on the drive.
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