Blu-ray Launch Set for January

Pioneer Electronics said Tuesday it will unveil the Blu-ray DVD format in January—far ahead of expectations. Pioneer will display a Blu-ray drive for personal computers at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, which starts January 5. The drive will start shipping in Japan by the end of January 2006, said the company. The North American launch will come in the first quarter of 2006. Blu-ray DVDs are based on blue laser technology, which will replace the red laser used in the current generation of DVDs. The new standard offers high-definition pictures, superior sound quality, more storage, and interactive features that current-generation DVDs do not offer. The Pioneer drive will be able to write and read single-layer BD-R (Blu-ray Disc Recordable) and BD-RE (Blu-ray Disc Rewritable) discs without a cartridge, and read single-layer and double-layer ROM (Read-Only Memory) discs without a cartridge.

Pioneer.com
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