USB 3.0 Blu-ray Player from Lite-On up for Pre-Order

Even though one can't really say there is a shortage of optical disk drives on today's market, it appears that Lite-On still decided this was an opportune moment for releasing a new Blu-ray device.

While BDXL disks continue to be more or less irrelevant for all but a handful of consumers, so-called standard disks and units are getting progressively cheaper and widespread.

In fact, like pretty much every other form of consumer storage solution, not just standard, but even external and portable drives have been selling.

The newest product that Lite-On created belongs to the second category, since it doesn't have that much in terms of compactness but makes up for it in speed.

Normally, data wouldn't be possible to read and write on such a device, because of the limits of the USB 2.0 interface.

Fortunately, the newcomer does not use that standard, but the SuperSpeed USB 3.0, which has a theoretical maximum upper limit that is ten times higher than the USB 2.0 one.

The product has the name eHBU212 and can write Blu-ray disks at up to 12x (depending on format), DVDs at up to 12x and CDs at a maximum of 48x.

The outfit also offers support for the LightScribe technology (can label certain disks) and sells the newcomer in a bundle with the Cyberlink Blu-ray Suite, for disk backup, playback and burning.

“With the eHBU212, Lite-On is launching its first external Blu-ray writer to the market and with that is further extending its Blu-ray portfolio,” says Maarten Souren, marketing manager at Lite-On.

“The convenient external design enables end users to easily upgrade their laptops, desktops, or home theatre PCs to Blu-ray without buying a new computer,” he added.

Lite-On has unleashed the Blu-ray writer in Europe, where it has a recommended price of 165 Euro (£148).