For the BRD-AM2B/U's software bundle, I-O DATA has turned to Ulead and InterVideo. The CD that comes with the drive contains DVD MovieFactory 4.7 SE, BD DiscRecorder 2.5, Burn.Now 3.0, WinDVD 5 and WinDVD BD.
Ulead DVD MovieFactory 4.7 SE - With Ulead's DVD MovieFactory you can create your own CD's, DVD's and BD's quickly and easily. Right from the start, MovieFactory gives you a number of options. From here you can create a new compilation, copy or edit an existing disc, or record video directly to CD, DVD or BD.
Adding movie clips to your current project is as easy as drag and drop. MovieFactory lets you take any MPEG-1, MPEG-2, AVI, VOB or QuickTime video clip and add it to your project. After that you can add your own custom menus, backgrounds, fonts and music or use one of the included templates.
Ulead BD DiscRecorder 2.5 - Using Ulead's BD DiscRecorder, you can transfer high-definition video from HDV camcorders directly to Blu-ray Disc. The program also lets you capture video to your hard drive for further editing. From there, you have the ability to trim, extract and combine your video clips. Once done, your movie can be burned to disc.
Ulead Burn.Now 3.0 - Burn.Now is Ulead's CD/DVD/BD mastering program. This easy to use software lets you do a number of different tasks. From the main menu, you can choose to create, edit or copy a disc. Burn.Now's disc tools will let you erase or UDF formatrewritable media.
InterVideo WinDVD 5 - InterVideo's WinDVD is one of the more popular software DVD players on the market right now. Along with support for DVD's, it can be used to play back VCD's and SVCD's as well as other multimedia formats including MPEG, AVI and DivX.
Unfortunately, the version of WinDVD bundled with the BRD-AM2B/U only supports 2 speaker output. If you want to take advantage of DVD's encoded with DTS or use Dolby Pro Logic II, you'll need to upgrade to the Platinum or Gold version of WinDVD.
InterVideo WinDVD BD - Last but not least you have Ulead's BD playback software, WinDVD BD. This new program allows you to play back AACS-protected or non-protected recordable and rewritable BD discs. With its support for the BD-J specification, WinDVD also lets you to take advantage of features like subtitles, play modes, angles and direct Internet connectivity for content updates.
It should be pretty clear that I-O DATA's new Blu-ray Disc writer isn't lacking in the features department. Like the Panasonic drive its based on, the BRD-AM2B/U can read and write to single and dual layer BD media at 2x. On top of that, it supports all major CD and DVD formats, including DVD-RAM. I-O DATA's new drive also includes features like an 8MB buffer, support for some sort of buffer underrun protection and a software bundle from Ulead and InterVideo. Unfortunately, it lacks bitsetting support for DVD+RW media. Even then, the I-O DATA BRD-AM2B/U scores a solid 8 out of 10 for its features.
