Sony Announces New Sub $200 BD-ROM Drive

[Ian]

SONY DEBUTS SUB $200 BD-ROM DRIVE FOR BLU-RAY MOVIE PLAYBACK ON THE PC

LAS VEGAS (CES Booth #14200), Jan. 6, 2008 – Sony Electronics today announced an internal BD-ROM drive that can upgrade an existing desktop computer into a high-definition Blu-ray Disc™ player, as well as a DVD and a CD player.

The new BDU-X10S BD-ROM drive comes with CyberLink’s PowerDVD BD Edition software for playback of commercial movie titles, recorded Blu-ray Disc home videos, DVD-ROMs and CD-ROMs.

“The BD-ROM drive’s sub-$200 price tag offers consumers a very viable option to discover and enjoy the nearly 500 high-definition Blu-ray Disc movies released to date,” said Bob DeMoulin, marketing manager for branded storage products in Sony Electronics’ IT Products Division.

“PC-based DVD-ROM drives helped accelerate mass DVD adoption, primarily because they were the least costly way to experience the technology,” said Wolfgang Schlichting, research director, removable storage at IDC. “Similarly, we expect sub-$200 PC-based BD-ROM drives to be a driver for cost-conscious consumers to experience Blu-ray Disc high-definition video technology.”

The BDU-X10S drive features a Serial ATA (SATA) interface and standard 5.25-inch form-factor for easy installation inside contemporary desktop PCs running the Microsoft® Windows Vista™ or Windows XP operating system.

The included CyberLink PowerDVD BD Edition software also supports playback of recorded Blu-ray Discs in MPEG-2 or H.264 format, standard DVD-Video discs or recorded DVDs encoded with MPEG-2 or AVCHD formats.

For high-definition viewing, an HD computer display connected to the PC with an HDMI™ cable is required.

The new BD-ROM drive will start shipping this month. Pre-orders are now being accepted at sonystyle.com.

[aviationwiz]

Actually, it's not sub-$200, at least according to Engadget. "...with a MSRP of $200 -- curiously not 199.99."

Just thought I'd point that out,

[Ian]

Sony hasn't stated its MSRP. They do have it listed for $199.99 on Sonystyle.com though.

[Dartman]

If I was going for a hd drive for my box I'd get the LG, can be had for 225 on sale and does both, supposedly very well. BUT thats starting to get there, seeing how they might win the battle...

[Ian]

Isn't the Sony a rebadged Lite-On DH-4O1S?

[JadedRaverLA]

Isn't the Sony a rebadged Lite-On DH-4O1S?

I've been wondering this, too.

I would have assumed so, except that Sony has been advertising their drive as a 2x reader while the Lite-on drive achieves 4.8x reading. So, it seems likely it's a different design.