Optiarc Europe will be distributing Sony branded BD-ROM retail package

Sony NEC Optiarc Europe debuts sub €200 BD-ROM drive for Blu-ray movie playback on the PC

Ismaning, Germany, January 2008 – Sony NEC Optiarc Europe GmbH (Optiarc) today announced an internal BD-ROM drive that can upgrade an existing desktop computer into a Blu-ray Disc™ player as well as a DVD and CD player. This drive will be distributed under the Sony brand.

The new BDU-X10S BD-ROM drive comes with CyberLink’s PowerDVD BD Edition software for playback of commercial movie titles, recorded Blu-ray Disc home videos, DVD-ROMs and CD-ROMs.
“The BD-ROM drive’s sub-€200 price tag offers consumers a very viable option to discover and enjoy a wide range of Blu-ray Disc movies released to date,” said Thomas Nedder, Managing Director of Optiarc.

“PC-based DVD-ROM drives helped accelerate mass DVD adoption, primarily because they were the least costly way to experience the technology,” said Wolfgang Schlichting, research director, removable storage at IDC. “Similarly, we expect sub-$200 PC-based BD-ROM drives to be a driver for cost-conscious consumers to experience Blu-ray Disc high-definition video technology.”
The BDU-X10S drive features a Serial ATA (SATA) interface and standard 5.25-inch form-factor for easy installation inside contemporary desktop PCs running the Microsoft® Windows Vista™ or Windows XP operating system.
The included CyberLink PowerDVD BD Edition software also supports playback of recorded Blu-ray Discs in MPEG-2 or H.264 format, standard DVD-Video discs or recorded DVDs encoded with MPEG-2 or AVCHD formats.

The BDU-X10S is available from February onwards. Optiarc offers a 24-month warranty on the drive.