Originally published January 22 2006
Pioneer plans Blu-ray disc drive for PCs
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Pioneer plans to offer the BDR-101A drive directly to Japanese PC makers for desktop computers that will later expand to other countries. The drive is scheduled to be available in the U.S. in early 2006.
Pioneer plans to unveil at the International Consumer Electronics Show its first Blu-ray Disc format optical disc drive for personal computers, it said this week.
The drive will go on sale in Japan at the end of January pending the completion of two licensing issues, the company says.
The BDR-101A drive is compatible with non-cartridge single-layer recordable BD-R and rewritable BD-RW discs and single and dual-layer read-only BD-ROM discs, the company says.
It is also compatible with a wide range of DVD-based media and can write DVD-R and DVD-RW discs, says Pioneer.
Pioneer plans to initially offer it direct to Japanese PC makers for inclusion in their desktop computers and systems and will later expand sales to other countries, says Akira Muneto, a spokesperson for Pioneer in Tokyo.
It's scheduled to be available in the U.S. during the first quarter of 2006.
This schedule means that PCs on the market boasting Blu-ray Disc support could appear in the first half of 2006.
Pioneer's drive is the first announcement of a shipping date from any optical disc drive maker although its January schedule may be derailed by a delay in licensing of the content management system or Blu-ray Disc logo, it says.
The inability of the companies behind the AACS (Advanced Access Content System) content management system to complete their work has already caused Toshiba to put launch plans for its HD-DVD player on hold.
AACS is made up of a number of companies from the electronics and content industries.
The group's founders include IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Matsushita Electric Industrial (Panasonic), Sony, Toshiba, Walt Disney, and Warner Bros.
The group has declined several requests for comment or interview regarding when the first version of its format will be completed.
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