With Blu-ray Disc (BD) writers being too expensive for most consumers,
companies like Pioneer have started to offer BD combo drives. According to DigiTimes, Lite-On will begin production of their own BD combo
drives in the fourth quarter of this year.
With Pioneer unveiling its first Blu-ray Disc (BD) Combo drive (BDC-S02) in May
for sale at a recommended retail price of US$299, Lite-On IT plans to start production of its BD Combo drives in the fourth quarter of
this year, according to industry sources in Taiwan.
The sources cited Lite-On IT's relationship with Royal Philips Electronics as
the rational for entering the business. The two companies are partners in a joint venture for producing optical drives (Philips & Lite-On
Digital Solutions) and Philips is a charter member of the BD Association.
The only BD combo drive I have heard of is the
DH-2E1S which, according to some sources at Lite-On, is already available. I guess we'll have to wait and see. If you'd like to read
more, head on over to DigiTimes.
