Hook a Blu-ray Disc drive up to your laptop

With Blu-ray Disc now the clear victor in the high-definition format war, those cautious about buying hardware can spend with ease. Those with home theater PCs or laptops will be pleased to learn that Philips & Lite-On Digital Solutions (PLDS) will be soon releasing its first USB external BD-ROM drive in Q2 2008.

“Due to recent market developments we can expect an increasing volume of movies to be released in high definition on Blu-ray Discs,” said Jelmer Veldman, European Marketing Manager at PLDS. “The market adoption of Blu-ray as the optical disc standard for High Definition content results in a growing demand for Blu-ray playback solutions. The portable external Lite-On BD-ROM drive allows users to playback their Blu-ray discs on any PC via a USB 2.0 cable.”

The upcoming model, designated the Lite-On DX-4O1S can read Blu-ray Disc media at 4X, single-layer DVD at 12X, dual-layer DVD at 8X, and CD media at 32X maximum.

Those who prefer internal drives can find the Lite-On Blu-ray Disc drives for around $150.

Alternatively, HTPC addicts may consider the Xbox 360 HD DVD drive, now on clearance for $50. While HD DVD may have limited future potential, the Xbox 360 add-on, which works with natively with Windows Vista, is an affordable option to view today’s high-definition content.

Source from DailyTech