Audio Video News

Pioneer says they'll begin shipping one of the industry's first Blu-ray disc computer drives during the first quarter of 2006. The new Pioneer BDR-101A will be able to store up to 25 GB of data on a single-layer Blu-ray disc.

Pioneer figures that this first-generation Blu-ray disc writer will be hawked primarily to professional users and "serious enthusiasts" - which typically means it's going to be pricey when it first comes out. (Well, that's certainly no shocker.) The company expects content creators will want to get their hands on the new drive in order to test and evaluate high-definition Blu-ray disc titles during the authoring process, thereby avoiding mistakes that would be both embarrassing and costly if discovered after the disc was commercially replicated. For those who simply want to store massive amounts of digital photos or two centuries worth of tax returns, Pioneer will ship the new drive with a data recording application to help transfer digital files to Blu-ray discs.

Pioneer is also banking on the growing number of high-definition camcorder owners who will want to store large amounts of home-grown high-definition video on Blu-ray discs.

Pioneer's half-height BDR-101A Blu-ray/DVD writer will read BD-ROM/R/RE, DVD-ROM/DVD-R/DVD-RW, and DVD+R/DVD+RW discs.

Expected pricing has not been announced.