Plextor LLC has finally revealed some details on its new Blu-ray combo drives. The internal PX-B310SA and external PX-B310U read single layer Blu-ray discs at 6x and are capable of 16x DVD±R, 8x DVD±R DL, 8x DVD+RW, 6x DVD-RW and 12x DVD-RAM writing speeds. The two drives also support Plextor's new PlexUTILITIES software as well as its PlexERASE and PlexREAD technologies.
No word yet on availability. However, if preorders are any indication, you can expect to pay about $240 for the PX-B310SA and $290 for the PX-B310U.
Here is some information on Plextor's PlexUTILITIES software as well as its PlexERASE and PlexREAD technologies:
PlexUTILITIES also features:
Viewing Basic and Advanced Drive Information which lists the drive’s hardware, including serial number, firmware version and jumper settings, and shows the capabilities of the drive. Concurrently, it reveals extensive information about the inserted disc— like format, sessions and tracks, manufacturer, and CD TEXT.
Permitting Drive Identification and Control which allows you to control different features of your Plextor drive.
Measure Disc Burning Quality which tests the quality of a written or pressed disc by counting the number of errors, measures the mechanical characteristics of blank media, shows the write quality by checking the jitter rate and the beta value of written media, and measures the quality of the written DVD media by checking the pits and lands for compliance with the DVD specifications.
Automatic software and firmware updates immediately notifies you of pending updates to your Plextor drive so that you always have the most current applications.
PlexERASE gives users the opportunity to remove confidential content permanently from thedisc. Data cannot be restored after it has been treated with PlexERASE, the original data is over written with random content.
PlexREAD skips certain video-data that may cause unsmooth or a mosaic effect on video playback on a damaged or scratched DVD-Video disc. Typically your drive will try to process the damaged data. With PlexREAD, your drive skips over such data that cannot be processed quickly and continues with the rest of the feature.
