Sony: Sub-$100 Blu-ray Drives by Winter

Representatives from SonyNEC Optiarc, the optical drive arm of the joint Sony and NEC collaboration, have revealed that they predict prices of Blu-ray combo drives - which can read Blu-ray discs and write DVD and CD - will reach sub-$100 prices by this upcoming holiday season. Additionally, it is expected that similar notebook drives would reach the $150 level by that same time. They also predict that Blu-ray burners - those drives that can write to Blu-ray discs - will go for between $150-200. These lower prices will make the drives more accessible to computer manufacturers as consumer demand for Blu-ray drives steadily increases. Additionally, those looking to add some Blu to their existing systems will have a less expensive option to do so.
Source: Tom's Hardware | Permalink	Relevant for:

HDJK  » Jun 05, 2008
Nice! I hope Apple is reading this...

Blu Titan  » Jun 05, 2008
Great news!

Wreck  » Jun 05, 2008
Drop them prices baby! Help stimulate our American Economy!

aygie  » Jun 05, 2008
I'm with you HDJK, i've got a sneaky suspicion that we might here more from the keynote on Monday.....

prerich  » Jun 05, 2008
I've always said the PC community will take the lead in dropping prices! Way to go!!!

EvolutionCherry  » Jun 05, 2008
-whistles- Great time to get into HD-tech.

nennew  » Jun 05, 2008
HDJK, I could not agree more. I am looking to swap my old MacBook Pro for a new one with a BD drive in it. Come on Steve, it is time for Apple to add BD to its computer lineup. :-)

david2189  » Jun 05, 2008
if that means i can get a blu ray drive in the UK for £50 ill be all over that if they do theyre typical charge us double, probly not

Freis968  » Jun 05, 2008
Well, a BluRay burner for even $1.00 makes no sense if the blank media is still $20 for a 25gb blank BluRay disc. I have not seen those prices drop yet. How much are you all willing to pay for some blank BluRay discs? Currently, you can buy a 100pk spindle of DVD-Rs at Walmart for $19.99. Are you willing to pay $2500.00 for 100 BluRay 25gb discs?

atomik kinder  » Jun 05, 2008
As for the price of the blank BDs, they will come down. Blank DVDs were priced the same way when they first came out. I remember seeing some for $25 a piece and thinking who would want to buy that. Prices will come down, but it takes a while. When I got my first DVD burner, they discs were still $5 each. I paid $25 for a five pack and those were the cheaper CompUSA brand!

Branden  » Jun 05, 2008

Freis968, prices will drop just like they did with CD and DVD. i remember when DVD was first available for PC, the burners were $900 and a single layer 1x disc was $50, prices halfed a year later, and now you're looking at $35 for a fast do-everything burner and discs are so cheap it's hard to not buy them in bulk. $150-200 for a BD burner and $20 for a BD disc isn't bad considering how early it still is.

kjacobs03  » Jun 05, 2008
Tough choice. Should I go for the $100 Lightning deal read only drive, or should I wait for a $200 burner?

dadkins  » Jun 05, 2008
Cool! Might persuade me to buy yet another laptop with a BD drive. My AR190G could use a rest - being 2 years old and all. Freis968... prices of 25GB discs... go look at Fry's. $9.99 each for Panasonic BD-Rs. http://shop4.frys.com/product/5445769?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

CptGreedle  » Jun 05, 2008
Great news!!! I may get a BD drive on my iMac this year yet!

Dave  » Jun 05, 2008
What about DL writers??? make them at most 150$ and i am in.

PeteS  » Jun 05, 2008
Yep, paid $20 each for my first DVDs as well; but I'm definitely looking forward to BD-R's eventual drop in price. Also, after trying to duplicate one more scratched master DVD today I sure wish DVD had Blu-ray's surface coating or I wish we used BD-Rs exclusively and could forget DVDs.

Whytewash  » Jun 05, 2008
now if only blank BDs werent $20 a pop, this might be somthing to get excited over.

X400  » Jun 05, 2008
cant wait! ive been wanting a blu-ray burner for awhile now

highdefw  » Jun 05, 2008
Apple needs to start pumping out some BD drives ASAP!!!

dadkins  » Jun 05, 2008
Blanks are not $20! They can be found for $9.99! That is, if you really want to find them! Scroll up, click on Frys link I posted.

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