Sony today announced its third generation internal Blu-ray Disc (BD) writer for the computer aftermarket, which at about $400 could attract BD enthusiasts. The new BWU-300S model burns single and dual layer BD-R media at up to 8X speed, recording a full 25GB disc in about 15 minutes and a full 50GB disc in about 30 minutes. The 8X recording speed is achieved using 6X compatible BD-R media.

The drive also records DVDs at up to 16X, CDs up to 48X, and supports DVD-RAM recording.

The drive also comes bundled with a "Men in Black" Blu-ray Disc from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, boasting advanced BD-Live enabled bonus features, including a multiplayer trivia game, an interactive Frank the Pug advice generator, an alien subtitle track and much more.

Also included with the drive is CyberLink's software suite for capturing, authoring, editing, burning and viewing high-definition personal content.

The BWU-300S drive can record up to 50GB of data for random access storage and backup on BD-R (write once) or BD-RE (rewritable) discs, or up to 230 minutes of high-definition HDV 1080i video on a BD-R/RE 50GB disc. It also supports recording on standard single layer 4.7GB DVD+-R/+-RW/-RAM discs, 8.5GB DVD+-R double/dual layer discs, and CDs.

The internal drive features a Serial ATA (SATA) interface and standard 5.25-inch form-factor and it is compatible with Microsoft Windows XP or Windows Vista operating systems.

The BWU-300S drive will be available through retailers, resellers and directly at sonystyle.com starting next month.

Specifications