Just three months ago, Blu-ray writers finally launched in the US market with the Pioneer BDR-101A Blu-ray writer, however it did not take long after that for a few others to announce Blu-ray writers also, with Panasonic's Blu-ray appearing in stores just recently. Well, even though the prices of Blu-ray media and drives have yet make any significant drop, Sony has just announced that they are now shipping 50GB dual-layer Blu-ray disc media in the US.
The 50GB Blu-ray disc features Sony's AccuCORE technology for scratch protection and protecting data integrity and has a capacity of four hours of HD video at 24Mbps. This media will be compatible with Sony's Blu-ray disc writer and its VAIO desktop and laptop computers that feature its Blu-ray drive. As pretty much expected, this media will not come cheap either, with a suggested retail price of around $48 or between double and triple the price of a single layer 25GB BD-R disc. It is unclear at this time when the media will become available at retail stores or what its compatbility will be like with Blu-ray players or other Blu-ray writers.
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The company also confirmed that it plans to start shipping 50GB dual layer rewritable BD media later this year. 'The arrival of 50GB Blu-ray Disc media is an important milestone in the evolution of this new format," said Mike Lucas, director of marketing for Sony Electronics' Media and Application Solutions Division. 'The capacity represents more than four hours of HD quality video, at a 24 Mbps transfer rate, allowing users to take full advantage of Sony's Blu-ray Disc burners and VAIO desktop and notebook computers." Lucas said that Sony's AccuCORE technology has been re-engineered for Blu-ray Disc media, with its major benefits including scratch guard, archival reliability to prevent data/image corruption and deterioration, stable writing that reduces fluctuation as the disc spins, and temperature durability to prevent warping during severe changes in temperature and humidity. Sony's 50GB dual layer recordable disc has a suggested retail price of around $48. Further info can be found at Sony's press release here. |
With the very high cost of Blu-ray disc media at this time, unless someone urgently needs to cram as much data as they can on a single disc, it would be much more cost effective to stick with single or even double layer DVD media. For example, for price Sony has placed on a single dual-layer Blu-ray disc, one can just about purchase two packs of 100 DVD recordable spindles! Anyway, time will tell what will happen with the price of Blu-ray drives and media, but for now, I would suggest sticking with recordable DVDs or buying USB hard drives instead, since for the price of 5 blank dual-layer Blu-ray discs (to make up 250GB), one can easily buy a 250GB USB hard drive, not to mention with plenty of change to spare. 😉
