Sony unveils its first Blu-Ray internal rewritable drive.

In the HD-DVD war the big player is of course Sony, one of the ones than created the need for the new HD technology. And now, they are the one to release their player after Samsung which released their player a month ago.

Named BWU-100A, it’s an internal BD/DVD/CD burner which supports almost all kind of media: BD-ROM, BD-AV, BD-R, BD-RE, DVD-R/-R DL/-RW, DVD+R/DVD+R DL/+RW, DVD-RAM: DVD-ROM, DVD-Video CD: CD-DA, CD-ROM (XA), CD Extra, Video CD, Photo CD, CD Text, multi-session.

It supports up to 50 GB of data on BD-R (write once) or BD-RE (rewritable) discs or up to four hours of high-definition video using HDV 1080i on a BD-RE 50GB disc. The new drive is capable of burning a full 25GB disc in about 50 minutes.

Recording speeds of up to 2x are supported with Blu-ray media which is typical for a first generation drive. DVD recording is limited to a maximum of 8x with DVD+R and DVD-R media while CD recording is limited to a maximum speed of 24x.

If you are interested in transfer rates, it’s 9MB/s for BD-ROM and 10.8MB/s for DVD-ROM with an average access time of 210ms for BD-ROM and 170ms for DVD-ROM.

If you want to playback Blu-Ray movies, you will need a HDCL compliant graphic card and a display capable of HD technology.

“Now consumers, professional videographers and filmmakers can store, record and experience the highest capacity of high-definition video available – from capture to playback,” said Bob DeMoulin, marketing manager for branded storage products in Sony Electronics’ IT Products Division. “Our Blu-ray Disc drive represents a significant leap in storage technology.”