Pioneer BDC-202 “combo” 5x Blu-ray drive

Pioneer announced the BDC-202 Blu-ray disc drive. The Pioneer BDC-202 can read
BD-ROM, BD-R and BD-RE at 5x and dual layer Blu-ray recordable at 2x. Though it can’t write Blu-ray discs, it can write DVDs and CDs. Expected to be available in second quarter, price is not yet anoounced.

Press Release

Next Generation Blu-ray Disc Combo Computer Drive from Pioneer Brings Improved Features for Emerging Technology
LAS VEGAS, CES Booth #9827 January 7, 2007

At the International Consumer Electronics Show today, Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. announced the new BDC-202 combination Blu-ray Disc® BD-ROM computer drive with enhanced DVD and CD writing and reading capabilities. The newly designed Pioneer drive offers playback of BD-ROM discs allowing users to view Blu-ray Disc high definition programs directly on a properly configured computer. The Pioneer BDC-202 can play multiple Blu-ray Disc formats, as well as provide high-speed reading and writing of DVD and CD formats.

With a focus on BD-ROM playback, the new Pioneer combination computer drive will be a significant contributor in the emergence of the Blu-ray Disc format for both professional and consumer use on computers. In addition to BD-ROM playback, the BDC-202 allows users to access and transfer A/V and data files rapidly to DVD and CD.

‘Pioneer believes in the continued growth of the Blu-ray Disc high definition video format, so the primary focus of the BDC-202 combo drive is to enable Blu-ray content playback on personal computers. With seven of the eight major Hollywood studios now supporting Blu-ray Disc, users should soon have hundreds of film titles to choose from, all in spectacular high definition,’ said Andy Parsons, senior vice president at Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc.

With up to 50GB of storage capacity, the Blu-ray Disc format allows for copious amounts of high definition video and audio content on a single disc, including advanced interactive features and extensive bonus materials. The BDC-202 drive allows computer system builders to provide a cost effective playback solution for advanced Blu-ray content as well as DVD and CD recording and playback.

The Pioneer BDC-202 combines fast DVD and CD recording speeds with enhanced BD-ROM playback to the delight of audio video enthusiasts who now have the capability to view recently released film titles directly on a computer for times when they are not in a home theater environment.

The internal BDC-202 combination Blu-ray Disc computer drive offers the following read and write speeds:

Read                 Write
BD-ROM                                            5x
BD-R/-RE                                         5x
BD-R DL/-RE DL                            2x
DVD-ROM                                       12x
DVD-RAM                                       5x                        5x
DVD-R/+R                                       12x                     12x
DVD-RW/+RW                              8x                         6x
DVD-RDL/+RDL                            8x                       4x
CD-ROM                                             32x
CD-R                                                  32x                     24x
CD-RW                                             24x                      24x

The BDC-202 is expected to begin shipping in the second quarter of 2007, and is targeted at computer OEMs and system builders.
Pioneer