Plextor Corp., a leading developer and manufacturer of high-performance digital media equipment, today announced the October 2006 release of the PX-B900A Blu-ray Disc drive, the first Plextor burner to support the next generation of optical data storage technology.

The new multi-function drive, which carries an MSRP of $999.99 USD, comes bundled with a rewritable 25GB BD-RE media disc and a complete software package, including Ulead VideoStudio 10 and InterVideo WinDVD BD.

Offering up to 10 times more data storage capacity than DVD, Blu-ray Disc (BD) has the support of more than 170 companies, including the top film studios and consumer electronics manufacturers. The Plextor PX-B900A Blu-ray Disc drive is capable of burning more than 9 hours of high-definition (HD) video, or approximately 23 hours of standard-definition (SD) video, on a dual-layer 50GB disc. The drive is backwards compatible with existing DVD and CD media formats, including DVD-RAM, Dual Layer DVD, Double Layer DVD, DVD+/-R/RW, and CD-R/RW. Designed for easy compatibility with Microsoft(R) Windows(R)-based personal computers, the drive features an ATA (ATAPI) interface.

The PX-B900A drive delivers fast recording speeds of 2X BD-R/RE (9 MBytes/sec transfer rate) on single layer and double-layer media. For DVD, the driver delivers 8X DVDR on single-layer media, 4X DVD+/-R on Double-Layer and Dual-Layer (DL) media, and 5X DVD-RAM. The drive also supports 8X DVD+RW, 6X DVD-RW, 6X max DVD-ROM, 24X CD-R, 16X CD-RW, and 32X CD-ROM. The PX-B900A drive features an 8MB data buffer. Complete Software Bundle for Windows Computers Plextor’s bundled software package offers ease-of-use and extensive functionality for playing, recording, editing, and authoring BD/DVD/CD discs.

The full package from InterVideo, Inc. and Ulead Systems includes the following titles:

• WinDVD BD provides a total BD playback solution, including support for BDAV video format. WinDVD BD fully supports BDMV (movie) titles with parental and region controls and the highly-interactive features of the BD-J specification.
• WinDVD is the world’s #1 DVD playback software, featuring superior audio and video technologies, future proofing with support for H.264, and media sharing for home networking.
• Ulead VideoStudio 10 Plus enables video editing and DVD authoring with features that include full MPEG-4 support, Dolby(R) Digital 5.1 surround sound, and the category’s only complete solution for high-definition video.
• DVD MovieFactory 5 is easy-to-use BD and DVD authoring and burning software that turns standard or HD video and photos into DVDs with studio-quality personalized menus.
• Burn.Now 1.5 is the latest in DVD audio software and disc burning technology, giving users the power to create high-capacity audio DVDs, CDs and data discs.
• BD DiscRecorder allows users to record high-definition video content from HDV camcorders to Blu-ray Disc in full HDV resolution. Video may be recorded directly to disc in real-time or first captured to the user’s hard drive for editing.
• Data-Add 2.0 enables users to drag-and-drop files and writes to disc through Windows Explorer.

Plextor’s PX-B900A Blu-ray drive will ship to distributors in North and South America in October 2006. All retail packages include one-year full warranty and unlimited toll-free technical support. Please visit Plextor Corporation’s website for more detailed specs and information.