Blu-Ray Burner Release this January

The Burner
72Mbps. Pretty amazing. It only burns Blu-Ray discs at 2x though.

It only plays Blu-Ray Discs and DVDs, which means an absence of the CD player. Concerning consoles, this might mean an end to the PSX backward compatibility on the PS3. No Final Fantasy VIII HD for you.

Here, you can find a huge argument in response to the news that you will find very educating.

And how do you like this though: Ultra Violet Ray Discs? Click
Clicky
Clacky

The one problem they might have with Ultraviolet is radiation poisoning. They would have to conceal it some how. Sort of like a microwave.

"BD-R, BD-RE"

Sexy.
Looks nice, It might just be on track for the PS3.

No backwards compatilbility is a good thing, I think Square-Enix said that once FFVII wasn't playable on future systems they would remake it. Maybe we should start investing in Blu-ray?

Originally Posted by Kadin

No backwards compatilbility is a good thing, I think Square-Enix said that once FFVII wasn't playable on future systems they would remake it. Maybe we should start investing in Blu-ray?

Actually, according to the early PS3 specs, the PS3 will be able to play CDs after all.

Most Blu-ray drives will play CDs for the same reason most DVDs do: It's not a requirement, but the cost is trivial, and format ubiquitous.

I'm actually not sure why the Pioneer story is news: There've been OEM Blu-ray drives on the market for some time now, though pretty restricted, and if by OEM we're referring specifically to production houses.

Originally Posted by Dryth

I'm actually not sure why the Pioneer story is news: There've been OEM Blu-ray drives on the market for some time now, though pretty restricted, and if by OEM we're referring specifically to production houses.

That's news to me. I've never heard of any before now. A quick Froogle search agrees with me. Perhaps this is the first Consumer Blu-Ray drive that will be hitting the market, then. I really don't know, at this point.

Pioneer's drive isn't intended for the average consumer: It's going to be aimed at those doing prototyping work. It's entirely likely they won't even circulate it to grey-market dealers (i.e. the type that'd show up on Froogle).

Ha! CES is like a fashion Runway for the Blu-Ray Disc Players. Just look at these fancy players shown off at the event, which seems to be turning out as the format's big unveiling:

Pioneer

Sony

Sony

Philips

Panasonic

Mitsubishi

Sharp

Philips definately wins as the best looking in my books. The ugliest would have to be Panasonic's, specifically the one on the left that looks no better than a NES.

Blu-Ray Discs Movies
Additionally:

CES 2006: Sony Blu-ray Disc Player
The Big S brings its official non-PS3 Blu-ray player to CES 2006. Photos included.
by Matt Casamassina

January 6, 2006 - When people think of the emerging Blu-ray Disc format they inevitably think of Sony. Perhaps it's because Sony may singlehandedly carry the medium into the mainstream when it launches PlayStation 3 later this year; the device comes standard with a Blu-ray player. But consumers needn't buy a PlayStation 3 to get a Sony-branded Blu-ray Disc player. The electronics monster showed off its "other" Blu-ray box at the Consumer Electronics Show 2006 in Las Vegas this week.

The player will of course sport all of the standard Blu-ray options, including an HDMI output, 1080p (1920x1080) high-definition resolution playback, advanced digital audio support, MPEG-4 compression compatibility and more. But none of these features were spotlighted at the kiosk for the player. Instead, the device itself was shown, offering passersby a glimpse of the future.

Sony is emphasizing the color blue in the design of the new player. We can't seem to figure out why. Obviously, that's a joke. The unit looks stylish and sleek, which are two words that describe most of Sony's products.

No word on pricing or availability yet, but the unit will definitely hit later this year and it will undoubtedly be in our living rooms soon after.

Here are a couple of photographs direct from the event.

Pretty much all the articles say the same for each companies B-RD player.

Video Interview on Blu-Ray
Video Interview on HD-DVDs