Entered CNET Catalog: 05/31/2006
SKU: 0027242696754
Manufacturer: Sony Electronics, Inc.
Manufacturer description
Sony’s amazing BWU-100A Blu-ray Disc recordable/rewritable drive gives you the best of all worlds. It can record up to 4 hours of 1080 High Definition video on new BD-R/-RE discs, or store up to 50GB of data per disc. The drive can also record 8.5GB/4.7GB DVDs and CDs too. Record video from HDV camcorders to Blu-ray Discs and keep the video in its native High Definition, or down-convert to SD and record a DVD.Product summary
The good: Supports all major optical-media types; non-Blu-ray task speeds are acceptable; extensive software package.
The bad: Still very expensive; IDE-only; slow to rip commercial Blu-ray discs; finicky with media brands.
The bottom line: The Sony BWU-100A Blu-ray burner is still priced out of range for most users, but if you have $700 to spare, it's a good choice for its range of media support and acceptable task speeds.
Editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 06/28/2007
The Sony BWU-100A offers every possible optical-media support except for HD DVD, of course. Its sleek, transparent-black faceplate would make it an attractive part of your living room media center's PC. Unfortunately, Blu-ray drives are still very expensive--this one costs $700. Though Blu-ray burner prices have and will continue to fall, they haven't fallen far enough for the average consumer. Keep in mind, too, that as prices fall, read and write speeds will continue to ramp up. The BWU-100A is a bit slower with its non-HD tasks when compared to a non-HD burner, but given all that this drive can do, we think it's not a bad trade-off. If you have the $700 to burn, the BWU-100A is a good choice.
- Drive type: Internal Blu-ray multidrive
- Supported media: BD-ROM, BD-RE (25GB and 50GB), BD-R (25GB and 50GB), DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, DVD-Video, DVD+/-R DL, DVD+/-R, DVD+/-RW, CD-DA, CD-ROM, Video CD, Photo CD, CD Text, CD Extra, CD-R, and CD-RW
- Max write speed: 2x BD-R, 4x DVD+/-R DL, 8x DVD+/-R(8x), 24x CD-R
- Max rewrite speed: 2x BD-RE, 8x DVD+RW, 6x DVD-RW, 5x DVD-RAM, and 16x CD-RW
- Maximum read speed: 2x BD-ROM, i8x DVD-ROM, and 32x CD-ROM
- Buffer memory: 8MB
- Dimensions: 5.75 inches wide by 7.48 inches deep by 1.63 inches tall
- Notable design features: None
- Connection options: IDE (ATA/ATAPI)
- System requirements: Pentium IV 3.0+GHz, 512MB RAM, 30GB HDD
- OSes supported: MS Windows 2000 Pro (SP4)/XP Home or Pro (SP2)/Vista (all)
- Software included: CyberLink Blu-ray Software Suite, including PowerDVD, Power2Go, PowerProducer, PowerDirector, PowerDVD Copy, PowerBackup, PhotoNow, MediaShow, LabelPrint, and InstantBurn
- Any additional features: Supports 8 or 12cm discs
- Service and support: One-year limited warranty; toll-free phone support; live chat; e-mail to tech support; site includes FAQs, tutorials, and software/driver downloads.
We did have a few gripes with this drive. It was a bit finicky when it came to compatible media brands. We had no problems when using Sony's recommended media brand (Verbatim), but it wouldn't recognize discs from RIData, a huge multivendor supplier.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5out of 5 user reviews
What's with the price?
Pros: included software that I never use
Cons: The PRICE. I think this BD burner is already outdated.
out of 5 user reviews
la la la la la
Pros: depends if you need one.
Cons: nothing really expect price and no reason to have it
out of 5 user reviews
editor rips movies off?
Pros: its blue ray and not hddvd
Cons: to expensive
out of 5 user reviews
BD-R's & BD-RE's won't play on Sony's Blu-Ray Player
Pros: Will write and play a variety of disc types.
Cons: BD-R's & BD-RE's won't play on Sony's Blu-Ray Player
out of 5 user reviews
Wait, wait & WAIT!
Pros: Absolute stunning video quality
Cons: WILL NOT PLAY PRE-RECORDED Blu-Ray movies!
sony now has a solution which can be found at: http://sony.storagesupport.com/BDupgrade/
There is also a small program to verify if your system is capable of what is required, plus a connectivity chart showing the hook-up requirements. I do praise Sony for addressing this issue and can easily raise my rating to a nine (9) out of 10. The visual quality is out-of-this-world and now Sony has a solution to allow viewing commercially produced content----with a little modifications on the user's part. By the way, Sony is providing these upgrades for FREE!!!
