Pioneer's BDR-205 Blu-ray Disc Writer Reaches Write Speeds of 12x

The Blu-ray optical drive is slowly becoming a standard solution for computer systems and home entertainment devices, as technology improvements enable lower prices consequently providing a more affordable solution for consumers. On that note, Pioneer Electronics, one of the world's leading vendors of consumer electronics and a member of the Blu-ray Disc Association, has just announced the debut of its new BDR-205 Blu-ray Disc computer writer. Designed to deliver speeds of up to 12x for write, the new Blu-ray writer is claimed to be the industry's first and fastest model to boast the aforementioned speed.

“The BDR-205 drive represents our ongoing efforts to combine Pioneer’s engineering expertise with advanced technologies, and our next generation Blu-ray Disc writer is a great example of our no-compromise approach to optical disc product development,” said Steve Cohn, director of optical disc sales for Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. “We are bringing to market the fastest Blu-ray Disc writer to date, and it is just one of the many ’firsts’ that have come to define Pioneer’s 30-year heritage in optical disc innovation and leadership.”

According to the specifications of Pioneer's new Blu-ray Disc writer, it can reach write speeds of up to 12x, using the Panasonic and Sony 6x BD-R media, for single-layer and dual-layer drives. This should enable data to be written faster on the high-capacity optical media, providing users with a faster way to store as much as 50GB of digital content. In addition, the new drive also comes with Pioneer's Low Vibration Mechanism Design, which needs to be properly configured on the user's desktop computer system.

The BDR-205 Blu-ray Disc writer is expected to begin shipping starting this October, while availability is scheduled for the first quarter of 2010, with an MSRP of US$249.