Pioneer's BDR-205 may not be hitting shelves in retail form until early next year, but those who desperately need a Blu-ray burner that outpaces the optical media currently available still have an option. OWC has today updated its long-standing Mercury Pro external BD drive -- which boasts FireWire 800, FireWire 400, USB 2.0 and eSATA connection options -- with Pioneer's latest, giving it the ability to toast BD-Rs at up to 12x. Of course, you'll need lady luck on your side to actually find any media that'll support said rate, but hey, there's always the future. It's available today for $349.99, or $449.99 if you want Roxio Toast Titanium PRO bundled in.

[Via Macworld]

Slowly but surely, these internal Blu-ray drive prices are sinking down to levels we'd consider to be "halfway reasonable." For instance, have a look at Pioneer's latest, the BDR-2203. An 8x BD writer that's totally capable of toasting DVDs and CDs when the BD-R spindle runs dry and very eager to play back Blu-ray Discs on your newfangled HTPC. It's all set to ship this month for a very manageable $249.99, and don't be shocked to see it moving for even less on the streets. Just be careful out there, cool?

By and large, one Blu-ray recorder is just the same as the another. Not so with Sony's latest duo, which both come ready to toast material to blank BD-R media and tap into the wide world of internet video. Both the BDZ-A750 (320GB) and the BDZ-A950 (500GB) are able to stream and download video from Tsutaya TV and acTVila VOD services in Japan, and moreover, they can forward that material to a PSP or other compatible DAP via USB. In case that's not enough, the duo is also DLNA compatible, and the HDMI output ensures crisp, clean 1080p output. So, ready to change your mind on that whole "would you buy a Blu-ray recorder?" question?

[Via Akihabara News]

Blu-ray burners that do their thang at 8x aren't entirely new, but Pioneer is just now deciding to follow those other guys with an 8x BD writer of its own. The BDR-203BK is fully compatible with Blu-ray, DVD-+R/RW, DVD-RAM and CD media, and can toast BD-REs at 2x, DVD-R/+R at 16x, DVD-R DL/+R D at 8x and CD-Rs at 32x. It's available now on an OEM basis across Europe for €250 ($314), but there's no word on when us Yanks can expect a release here on US soil.

[Via CDRInfo]

So much for staying atop the pile, eh? Just four months after OWC introduced the world's first external Blu-ray drive with a quad interface, the company has already outed the next iteration. Spec-for-spec, it's exactly the same as the prior version save for the drive speed, as this one will toast BD-Rs at 8x, blank DVDs at 16x and writable CDs at up to 32x. You'll still find USB 2.0, FireWire 400, FireWire 800 and eSATA ports 'round back, and if you're certain you won't be angry when the 16x model ships by Fall (just a hunch, really), you can hand over your $399.99 right now.

Look, we don't really "get" people who aren't willing to buy the latest and greatest thing regardless of the price and / or current economic state, but evidently there's a rather large sector still clinging to their antiquated DVD format. Blu-ray proponents Panasonic, Philips, and Sony are looking to change all that by knocking down the tab a few notches. The trio has revealed plans to form a single licensing firm for Blu-ray, which they anticipate will lower the cost of the license -- and therefore the retail price -- by "at least" 40 percent. They expect it'll amount to $9.50 for read-only BD player, $14 for a burner, 11 cents for read-only discs, 12 cents for BD-Rs, and 15 cents for BD-RE rewritable discs. In its current form, hopeful BD makers have to seek out each company individually. The group also hopes a single licensing entity will help them spot unauthorized BD devices, so watch out, suspicious mom and pop Blu-ray stores.

Not interested in Qflix, huh? No worries, as Plextor has four others for your consideration. Up first is the PX-610U 8x slim external USB Super Multi Drive for both Mac and PC, which requires no AC adapter and comes bundled with Roxio burn software. Next are the 6x PX-B310SA (internal SATA) and PX-B310U (external USB) drives, both of which read Blu-ray Discs at 6x and burn blank DVDs at an undisclosed (but undoubtedly zippy) rate. Batting cleanup are the 22x PX-850SA (internal SATA) and PX-850A (internal PATA) Super Multi drives, which forgo the whole BD-compatible thing and stick strictly to DVD. Each of the units should be available now, though pricing remains a mystery. Nothing like a little anticipation, right?

Lookie, lookie -- yet another 8x Blu-ray burner to choose from. In Japan, of course. The BDR-S03J SATA drive is able to write to single- and dual-layer BD-R media at 8x, and that rate doubles when toasting to blank DVDs. It also features 4MB of cache and can burn CD-Rs at 32x and CD-RWs at 24x, but it'll only ship in the Land of the Rising Sun (at least initially) this January for ¥38,000 ($399).

[Via Impress]

It's debatable whether or not Apple is losing its touch with FireWire, but you can rest assured that OWC hasn't. Said outfit has just announced the industry's first Blu-ray external drive with a quad interface, meaning you can link it up to your PC or Mac via FireWire 400, FireWire 800, USB 2.0 or eSATA. The Mercury Pro SW-5583 arrives with the capability to toast BD-Rs at a rate of 4x and includes a pair of 25GB BD-R discs for $499.99; the closely related Mercury Pro SW-5583T throws in a full retail version of Roxio Toast 9 Titanium (OS X) and sells for $579.99. Now, if only we could convince Steve that Blu-ray and Macs could indeed get along together, we'd really be satisfied. Full release after the break.

While Sony and others compete with Blu-ray burners of a paltry 8x, Sanyo's looking ahead with a new laser that could enable write speeds of up to 12x. More impressively, the 450 milliwatt diode (twice that of current burners) could read and write through four 25GB layers. If you're not so good at math (it's okay, we had to break out the calculator) that means discs of up to 100GB burned in 10 minutes or less! But don't go running down to your local Blu-ray emporium looking for double-digit speed drives just yet; new standards will be needed for discs that big and drives that fast, which could mean a year or two before production begins. If speculation of Blu-ray's impending demise is to be believed, that may be cutting things a bit close.

What is this, the week of the 8x BD writer or something? Just days after Buffalo announced two such units for the American market (and Delkin failed epically with an alternative half as quick yet more expensive), in runs Sony with an 8x Blu-ray writer of its own. The October-bound BWU-300S can cook an entire single-layer (25GB) BD-R in around 15 minutes, and it'll also burn CDs at up to 48x and DVD-RAMs at an undisclosed rate. In an effort to push the Blu-ray playing aspects, the drive comes bundled with the BD version of Men in Black, and if all that's worth $399.99 to you, you can get your pre-order in this very moment.

With Buffalo just announcing an external 8x Blu-ray burner for a manageable $399.99, we're left to wonder who in their right mind will even give this heap a second glance. Delkin has proudly revealed a BD writer that's half as quick and more expensive, with its latest toasting BD-Rs at just 4x and putting a $549.99 hole in your wallet. A real head-scratcher, huh?

While Sharp's busying readying its 8x Blu-ray burners for a 2010 release, Buffalo's busy bringing its 8x Blu-ray burners to the US of A. The company is hauling both an internal and external 8x MediaStation BD writer to US soil, both of which will also toast CD-Rs and a host of other discs without any fuss. The external unit connects via USB 2.0 or eSATA and the internal drive connects up via SATA. As for speeds, they'll burn BD-REs at 2X, DVD-RAM at 5x, DVD±Rs at 16x, DVD-RW at 6x, DVD+RW at 8x, CD-R at 48x and CD-RW at 24x. Both units are set for release this month at $399.99 (external; BR-816SU2) / $349.99 (internal; BR-816FBS).

Given that Sharp will obviously be needing a few high-power laser diodes to go into its forthcoming 8x Blu-ray burners, it's good to see Mitsubishi Chemical hopping in the fabrication game in order to lower costs and keep consumers smiling. A new report asserts that the previously mentioned company will be dedicating at least some of its efforts to producing high-power (200 to 300mW) laser diodes, which are currently in short supply and used in the pick-up heads of BD writers. As it stands, just Sony, Nichia and Sharp are producing these things in volume, though a fourth wheel will certainly be welcome. There's no word on when exactly Mitsu Chemical plans to ramp up production, but the sooner the better, we say.

For what it's worth, Buffalo just announced the world's fastest Blu-ray recorder capable of burning through your data at an 8x clip. The only problem is that BDA-approved media maxes out at 6x, assuming you can even find it. Available in Japan starting next month, the external USB 2.0 and eSATA BR-816SU2 and internal SATA BR-816FBS models hit that 8x recording speed on single-layer BD-R media only -- 2x for dual-layer BD-R, BD-RE, and LTH BD-R. CDs and DVDs are supported too naturally, with a max 16x burn to DVD±R or 48x/24x for CD-R/RW. Each drive comes bundled with Cyberlink's PowerDVD 7 suite and are priced at ¥46,700 (about $435) for the external drive or ¥41,000 (about $380) for the internal optical spinner.

[Via BIOS and CDRinf]