Pioneer BDR-XD04 Portable Blu-ray Writer

Pioneer will be releasing their cutting-edge portable Blu-ray writer dubbed Pioneer BDR-XD04 in the US market this January. Pioneer is claiming that this BDR-XD04 Portable Blu-ray Writer is the world’s smallest (with the dimension of 5.2-inch x 0.55-inch x 5.2-inch) and lightest (which weighs only at about 240 grams) portable Blu-ray writer that supports BDXL.

Pioneer BDR-XD04 Portable Blu-ray Writer

This Pioneer BDR-XD04 is packed with a USB 2.0 connection interface, a 4MB of buffer memory and can provide write speeds of up to 6x for BD-R (-DL). The Pioneer BDR-XD04 will be available for about $149.99 and will be bundled with the following software products: PowerDVD 10 BD3D, PowerDirector 9 and Power2Go 7.

According to Pioneer the BDR-XD04 Portable Blu-ray Writer has the following advantages:

• PowerRead – The BDR-XD04 can provide smoother movie playback when a disc has fingerprints or minor surface scratches through the use of its PowerRead feature. 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.
• PureRead2+ –Click or pop 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.²
• Auto Quiet Mode – The drive also features an Auto Quiet mode that minimizes its operating noise based on how it is being used. The rotation speed changes to a quieter (slower) speed when watching Blu-ray and DVD titles or listening to conventional audio CDs.
• Direct USB Power – Designed for simple and easy integration, the BDR-XD04 can be powered directly through most USB PC connections without AC power. For additional convenience, when a host computer’s USB port does not supply enough current, the BDR-XD04 provides an AC adapter terminal (optional DCA-001 AC power supply required). In addition, the device supports USB boot startup for reading bootable recovery CDs3.
• Manual Eject Lever – The BDR-XD04 incorporates a manual eject lever which lets the user eject a loaded disc when power to the device is not available.
• Bundled Software – The BDR-XD04 is bundled with the following CyberLink software: PowerDVD™ 10 BD3D, PowerDirector® 9 and Power2Go® 7.