ASUS BC-1205PT Blu-ray Combo Drive
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Conclusion
Conclusion
It's about time that consumers finally get a reasonably priced drive that can handle the new HD formats without having to shell out ludicrous amounts of money. Although such scenarios inevitably happens with every major shift in technology, this move by ASUS to sacrifice BD writing functionality in order to push out a drive at a lower price point is an astute and important one. No doubt, there is still much uncertainty surrounding both HD formats and some vendors are focusing on dual format drives that can read both Blu-ray and HD DVD. In the meantime, the ASUS BC-1205PT is available and pitched to a larger audience than the Blu-ray writers that we have seen so far.
In terms of performance however, don't have high expectations for the BC-1205PT. It is not one of the new, super fast drives that finishes burning a 4.7GB disc in under six minutes. Instead, its maximum of 12x writing speeds means that eight minutes is more the norm. And that's only for single layer DVD+/-R. Things only get slower for dual layer discs and rewritables. Yet, burning to DVD media is not the main focus of this drive, so we're giving it some leeway here. Reading BD media is the all-important task here for this drive and that is something it performed without any fuss, with the aid of CyberLink's BD Solution included in the package.
Another positive point about this drive is its quiet and noiseless operation. Even while burning at top speed, it was inconspicuous, though the fact that it is after all a slower drive may account for some of that. The ASUS BC-1205PT is available locally in October but there's no official word about its retail price yet. Based on reports found online however, it should be in the ballpark of around US$270 or less, which is cheaper than most standalone players (considering that it cannot function outside a PC) and Blu-ray writers in the market. Hopefully the actual price will be more enticing when it goes on sale here and hence help to jumpstart the HD era.
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