Pioneer introduces PC Blu-Ray player for under $300
Pioneer Electronics has finally broken the price barrier with its new PC Blu-Ray Disc computer drive which will be available at an outstanding $299 beginning next month.
Pioneer’s new Blu-Ray drive, the BDC-2202, allows users to playback new HD Blu-Ray Discs and read/write content to a standard DVD and CD.
The drive is said to read BD-ROM/BD-R/BD-RE at up to 5X and can read BD-ROM (DL) and BD-R/-RE (DL) at up to 2X speed. To ensure compatibility with commercial Blu-Ray Disc movies, it comes bundled with software which also acts as a host for a variety of other tasks including CD and DVD authoring, slideshows, a file backup utility, and a Direct-to-Disc feature allowing real time recording to a DVD from a digital camcorder or other media input device.
“With the BDC-2202, computer savvy consumers are now privy to what was previously only available to professional users. In addition to maintaining the same benefits of current optical disc drives, the included software means users can now enjoy their favorite Blu-ray Disc movies as well as their own personal disc creations,” said Andy Parsons, senior vice president at Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc.
With that aside, the largest feature of the BDC-2202 is surely the price. Blu-ray PC drives, as they only come in burners, will run a minimum of $500 for a generic, and closer to the $600 range for a brand name product.
Pioneer has, well, pioneered a new affordable option for Blu-Ray Disc playback. Score one for the Blu-Ray disc, but who’s keeping count?
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