Pioneer's latest Blu-ray drive caters to disc diehards

[Shawn Knight]

Remember when: Like floppy drives before them, optical disc drives (ODD) were once a mainstay of computer builds. Whether you were installing new software or games, ripping music to your hard drive, taking in a DVD or burning a custom mix CD, the ODD was the gateway to it all.

Virtually all media is now accessible digitally over the Internet, lessening our reliance on physical discs to the point that most new computer cases no longer accommodate 5.25-inch external drives.

Discs aren’t gone entirely, however, and Pioneer’s latest offering caters to the last remaining holdouts.

The new Pioneer BDR-213JBK is a versatile optical drive that’s compatible with a range of Blu-ray, DVD and CD formats and appears to have a nice brushed finish (at least on the tray). Highlights include up to 16x write speeds on BD-R single-layer discs, 14x on dual-layer BD-R discs and 6x on M-DISC (BD) three-layer discs.

Read speeds, meanwhile, top out at 48x for regular CDs and up to 12x for single-layer Blu-ray discs. Pioneer probably could have pushed read speeds even higher, but there’s no reason to risk it.

Also see: What happens if a CD spins too fast?

The Pioneer BDR-213JBK is already on sale in Japan according to Tom’s Hardware for the US equivalent of around $150. It’s probably not going to appeal to most, but Blu-ray aficionados, data archivists, HTPC builders, or retro gamers might want to have a look.

Image credit: Mati Mango

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/93615-pioneer-latest-drive-caters-disc-diehards.html

 

[QuantumPhysics]

The plethora of flash media storage and higher speed internet availability basically killed optical disks." Beyond needing them for media distribution it actually makes less sense to store info on them since HDD and cloud storage is so much cheaper and ubiquitous.

Then there's the TIME.

Anyone remember how much time it takes to burn a DVD?

 

[p51d007]

The plethora of flash media storage and higher speed internet availability basically killed optical disks." Beyond needing them for media distribution it actually makes less sense to store info on them since HDD and cloud storage is so much cheaper and ubiquitous.

Then there's the TIME.

Anyone remember how much time it takes to burn a DVD?

I remember the first cd I burned...using a SCSI burner. Once you clicked on the burn icon,
you didn't want to as much BREATHE on the computer, let alone touch the mouse. Just get
up, carefully walk away. Otherwise it would fail.
Now, I just run ISO's on a virtual disk, or stick everything on a flash drive.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

The plethora of flash media storage and higher speed internet availability basically killed optical disks." Beyond needing them for media distribution it actually makes less sense to store info on them since HDD and cloud storage is so much cheaper and ubiquitous.

Then there's the TIME.

Anyone remember how much time it takes to burn a DVD?

Blu ray makes way more sense for archival of media then a HDD does, and when it comes to purchasing media its either disks or low quality streaming options. I'll take disks I own every time.

Cloud storage is a privacy and availability nightmare. Anything backed up on the cloud isnt really backed up.

 

[Beerfloat]

I remember the first cd I burned...using a SCSI burner. Once you clicked on the burn icon,
you didn't want to as much BREATHE on the computer, let alone touch the mouse. Just get
up, carefully walk away. Otherwise it would fail.

Good old buffer underrun. Even if you didn't breathe you'd end up with plenty of beer coasters.

 

[BadThad]

The plethora of flash media storage and higher speed internet availability basically killed optical disks." Beyond needing them for media distribution it actually makes less sense to store info on them since HDD and cloud storage is so much cheaper and ubiquitous.

Then there's the TIME.

Anyone remember how much time it takes to burn a DVD?

I still burn DVD's on rare occasion. The burning process is quick, about 10 minutes after ripping.

 

[wiyosaya]

Blu ray makes way more sense for archival of media then a HDD does, and when it comes to purchasing media its either disks or low quality streaming options. I'll take disks I own every time.

Cloud storage is a privacy and availability nightmare. Anything backed up on the cloud isnt really backed up.

Agreed. I'd rather own/rent/borrow the media than stream something. Blu-ray simply cannot be matched in terms of video/optical quality.

Also, I will not rely on cloud storage for anything.

 

[koblongata]

Thinking about the menus and warnings I have to go through before watching a movie gives me headaches...

 

[Underdog]

You guys will be telling me to get rid of my vinyl record collection next.

 

[Squid Surprise]

Wish it was a UHD-Blu-Ray player / burner...

--> Edit: yes, UHD, not HD

 

[wiyosaya]

Wish it was an HD-Blu-Ray player / burner...

Perhaps you mean UHD-Blu-ray player/burner?

 

[Neatfeatguy]

I don't cloud storage anything. Lots of back ups on multiple HDDs and DVDs.

Love me my DVD burner and blu-ray drive.

 

[BadThad]

Thinking about the menus and warnings I have to go through before watching a movie gives me headaches...

Those all can be stripped with software. When I'm done burning only the movie is on the disk. When inserted they go right to the movie.

 

[Sausagemeat]

I actually used my DVD drive for the first time in years the other day. All this Russian invasion news made me want to play red alert 2. That game isn’t on any digital store I could find but I do still have my physical copy of “command and conquer the first decade” on DVD ROM and after entering in a long code for every game in the package it started installing.

It was so slow and annoyingly loud. I don’t miss discs!

 

[Squid Surprise]

I actually used my DVD drive for the first time in years the other day. All this Russian invasion news made me want to play red alert 2. That game isn’t on any digital store I could find but I do still have my physical copy of “command and conquer the first decade” on DVD ROM and after entering in a long code for every game in the package it started installing.

It was so slow and annoyingly loud. I don’t miss discs!

OMG... I LOVE that game. Still have my original CD for it too

But it IS available digitally - you'll have to do some creative searching though - DM me if you want a link

 

[kiwigraeme]

I remember stories about companies sourcing parts/machines to read old media.

I just really wonder about reliability - it always seem a dark art .
Yeah run verify disc - then find out later - only the actual burner was good at reading .
I mean 5tb portable drive is $99 on special - buy 2 and transfer every x years .
Fire in your house - best of luck grabbing optical media .
5Tb drives easy to store offsite , easy to put in fire proof safe

Not saying don't use it - but have another string to your bow

 

[envirovore]

I can't even install an optical drive in my case

 

[captaincranky]

Anyone remember how much time it takes to burn a DVD?

That's only a problem if you're dumb enough to sit there and watch it happen.

 

[Gezzer]

Sure Blu-ray or any burned media is no longer the necessity it might of been, but it's still useful for backing up data and installs. 3 systems and all have burned OS images and data backup on 25GB B-RE discs. And yes it take hours to do, but that's only the first time. Unless you don't do incremental backups, but why would you do that?

 

[Neatfeatguy]

I actually used my DVD drive for the first time in years the other day. All this Russian invasion news made me want to play red alert 2. That game isn’t on any digital store I could find but I do still have my physical copy of “command and conquer the first decade” on DVD ROM and after entering in a long code for every game in the package it started installing.

It was so slow and annoyingly loud. I don’t miss discs!

Years ago, when EA used to do free game giveaways on Origin, they had C&C Red Alert 2 on it. I got a copy of it.

Doesn't seem like they offer it for purchase anymore...just red alert 3.

 

[ZedRM]

I like this. Just found my new drive! And...

Optical media isn't dead quite yet

...really @Shawn Knight , optical media is not even close to being dead. Movies and data backups are still very much a thing.

 

[Raunchy]

Does this thing not handle UHD Blu-Rays?

 

[Raunchy]

Wish it was a UHD-Blu-Ray player / burner...

It IS a UHD player. Go to the product page and let Google translate it:

"Ultra HD Blu-ray movie playback compatible drive
※Ultra HD Blu-ray playback software is not included.

With compatible PCs, playback software and displays, you can enjoy immersive images with enhanced dynamic range and rich color gamut in addition to 4K images that are higher definition than full HD.
Of course, you can also play Blu-ray movies and DVD movies.
You can download the Ultra HD Blu-ray Advisor Tool on your PC for the PC environment."

 

[captaincranky]

The new Pioneer BDR-213JBK is a versatile optical drive that’s compatible with a range of Blu-ray, DVD and CD formats and appears to have a nice brushed finish (at least on the tray). Highlights include up to 16x write speeds on BD-R single-layer discs, 14x on dual-layer BD-R discs and 6x on M-DISC (BD) three-layer discs.

You didn't mention whether or not, this turd burns discs. If it doesn't, you're way better off buying a free standing 4K Blu-ray player, and hooking it up to the TV.

Those have internet connections so that streaming is available. And trust me on this, they'll remind you if it isn't connected, every stinking time you turn the damned thing on.

 

[Squid Surprise]

It IS a UHD player. Go to the product page and let Google translate it:

"Ultra HD Blu-ray movie playback compatible drive
※Ultra HD Blu-ray playback software is not included.

With compatible PCs, playback software and displays, you can enjoy immersive images with enhanced dynamic range and rich color gamut in addition to 4K images that are higher definition than full HD.
Of course, you can also play Blu-ray movies and DVD movies.
You can download the Ultra HD Blu-ray Advisor Tool on your PC for the PC environment."

Does it burn UHD-Blu-Rays too?