Andre Yoskowitz
4 May 2007 14:49
Pioneer has announced that will be releasing a Blu ray Disc drive for the PC with a suggested retail price of $299 USD. The player, the BDC-2202 will be available starting in June, and while it is not a standalone player, the new drive should help bring in consumers who were scared of Blu ray's otherwise very expensive price tag.
Here are some specs of the drive:
The BDC-2202 can read BD-ROM/BD-R/BD-RE at up to 5X and can read BD-ROM (DL) and BD-R/-RE (DL) at up to 2X speed. The drive can also read and write digital content to DVD and CD.
“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.
The next cheapest Blu ray player is the PlayStation 3 at double the price of the BDC-2202 and many consumers with home theater PCs should enjoy the cheaper alternative.
The competing format, HD DVD has a $199 add-on drive for the Xbox 360 and an entry level standalone player, the Toshiba HD-A2 for $399. Pioneer's new drive will close the gap in prices and could forseeably help Blu ray increase their small lead in movie sales.
Source:
Dailytech