Pioneer Electronics (USA) announced its new BDR-2208 5.25″ internal half-height Blu-ray BDXL recorder, which writes select BD-R SL (25GB) discs at 15x speed.

For more information visit: www.pioneerelectronics.com

Unedited press release follows:

Pioneer Introduces World’s First 15X Internal BDXL, BD, DVD, CD Writer

BDR-2208 Reads and Writes Discs and Supports Blu-ray 3D Playback

Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. today unveiled the BDR-2208, the world’s first 15x internal Blu-ray burner and fastest drive on the market to date.1 The internal SATA drive can read and write to all BDXL™ disc formats, including BD-R and BD-RE triple-layer 100GB media and BD-R quad-layer 128GB media, as well as conventional recordable Blu-ray Disc™ (single-layer 25GB media and dual-layer 50GB media). In addition, the drive features PowerRead™ and Pioneer’s PureRead2, Auto Quiet Mode and QuickPlay technologies.

The BDR-2208 is packaged with CyberLink® software that gives users the ability to play standard Blu-ray and Blu-ray 3D titles on correctly configured computers, as well as author high-definition Blu-ray Disc content, while also delivering the ability for high-capacity data storage. The CyberLink software also upscales standard definition movies to look better on HD displays and converts 2D video files and DVDs into a 3D experience.

“When it comes to computers and computer peripherals, consumers look for conveniences such as speed and power and we’re providing both on our latest Blu-ray burner,” said Steven Cohn, director of optical sales for the Home Electronics Industrial Department at Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. “Our new BDR-2208 is the fastest drive available today and is equipped with power to handle multiple disc formats, regardless of whether the user is saving data or playing back content.”

BDR-2208 Advantages:

• QuickPlay – Decreases the waiting time between inserting a DVD or Blu-ray disc and that disc being ready.2

• PowerRead – Through its PowerRead feature, the BDR-2208 provides smoother movie playback when a disc is marked with fingerprints or has minor surface scratches. When the drive is not able to read through these obstructed areas of a disc, it will quickly move forward to the next available data point, resulting in smoother Blu-ray and DVD movie playback.3

• PureRead2 – Clicking or popping sounds that might normally occur due to minor scratches and fingerprints on CDs can be prevented on some discs with the drive’s PureRead2 technology, which allows the drive to dynamically adjust its optical playback settings through the use of a unique algorithm.3

• Auto Quiet Mode – The drive monitors how it is being used and will adjust its disc rotation speed automatically, using a quieter mode (slower speed) when watching Blu-ray and DVD titles or listening to conventional audio CDs.

• Quieter Design – Design changes have made the drive quieter (at similar speeds) and more resistant to dust than previous models.

• Bundled Software – For additional convenience, the BDR-2208 is bundled with the following CyberLink software: PowerDVD™ 10 BD3D, PowerDirector® 9 and Power2Go® 7.

The Pioneer BDR-2208 will be available in late October with a suggested retail price of $99.99.

More details can be found at www.pioneerelectronics.com/drives.

1 Surveyed by Pioneer on 10/17/2012. 15x achieved using certain BD-R SL(25GB) media.

2 When compared with the 2207/207 models.

3 Not guaranteed to read discs in all conditions or under all PC environments.

Minimum Systems Requirements