Pioneer Electronics, one of the main forces behind the Blu-ray discs, announced today a new economic Blu-ray computer drive. The BDC-2202 will be capable of reading single layer BD-ROM/BD-R/BD-RE at up to 5X speeds and double layer BD-ROMs and BD-R/-RE at up to 2X. As one would expect, read/write backwards compatibility for DVDs and CDs has been included. It will also comes bundled with media software that ensures compatibility with commercially released Blu-ray Disc movies.
"With the BDC-2202, computer savvy consumers are now privy to what was previously only available to professional users. In addition to maintaining the same benefits of current optical disc drives, the included software means users can now enjoy their favorite Blu-ray Disc movies as well as their own personal disc creations," said Andy Parsons, senior vice president at Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc.
With a suggested retail price of $299, this drive will definitely catch the attention of many. You can expect Pioneer's new Blu-ray computer drive to hit the shelves next month.