Philips announces Blu-ray 50G Dual Layer drive

Another day, another Blu-ray announcement. The HD-DVD camp had a head start, but Blu-ray camp is now really pushing the product announcements with a broad spectrum. Today the announcer is Philips which has always been a key player in the playback devices market, but has not been able to establish a steady position in the PC recorder market (perhaps excluding the early CD-R days..).

The Triplewriter is a Blu-Ray, CD, and DVD drive which can read and write at speeds of up to 2x 72 Mb/s continuous data-rates, applicable on any BD-ROM, BD-R and BD-RE formats. Taking a step backward the same applies to all DVD-ROM, DVD+R, DVD+R DL, DVD-R, DVD-R DL, DVD+RW, DVD-RW, CD-ROM, CD-R, and CD-RW. With such an enormous amount of compatibility this one drive can handle just about anything, from the past, present, and future.

Software included with the drive is a nicely bundled package of Nero 7 Essential, good for burning most material.

Sources: Digital Lifestyle, Trusted Reviews