BenQ and Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV remain on their schedule to launch their Blu-ray DVD burner in Q3 of 2006, and promise compatibility with the CD and DVD formats. The BW1000 Triple writer utilizes the most advanced Philips triple-laser optical pick-up unit in which the separate blue, infra-red and red lasers share the same optical pathway to provide Blu-ray Disc read/write capabilities, as well as read/write compatibilities with DVD and CD.

The BW1000 features writing speeds of 2x for BD-R/-RE single-layer and DL (single-sided double-layer) discs, 12x for DVD+R/-R, 4x for DVD+R/-R DL, 8x for DVD+RW/-RW, 32x for CD-R and 24x for CD-RW, as well as reading speeds of 2x for Blu-ray, 12x for DVD and 32x for CD-R, according to BenQ. The drive will be also able to write on double-layer BD-R/-RE media (50GB) at 1x.

BenQ BW1000 also features SolidBurn and Write Right technologies. SolidBurn automatically learns and optimizes the writing settings for recordable media and makes over-speed writing feasible and stable. BenQ's Write Right technology provides thorough protection during the writing process, which includes Seamless Link (for buffer-under run protection), dynamical jitter calibration (for real-time writing quality consistency) and Walking-OPC (for real-time writing power compensation) features.

A typical Blu-Ray disc will hold approximately 25GB (SL), or 50GB (DL). The Blu-Ray specifications indicate that the Blu-Ray drive will feature 36Mbps transfer rate, meaning that 1X (CLV) BD writing takes place at this rate. Note that 36Mbps is equivalent of 3.26X in DVD terms. At 2X, a full disc recording can take place in 46.5 min (SL) and 93 min (DL).

The second generation of Blu-ray drives is expected to support higher recording speeds. However, pushing the recording speeds further is not an easy task and requires developments in both hardware and materials. Disc physical parameters are also a limiting factor for the maximum attainable writing speed, including a high noise level during recording as well as vibration. But the most important factor is the maximum allowed spinning speed of an optical disc. For 12cm discs (CD/DVD), spinning an optical disc at 10,800rpm has been proven as the realistic upper bound for half-height drives. A 12cm BD disc rotates between 1955 and 821rpm (inner to outer diameter) at 1X speed, so simple calculations result to the fact that the 12X (CAV) is expected to be the upper limit (ceiling) for BD devices on a PC. This is a simple theoretical approach and of course, reaching the 12x CAV writing speed will also depend on the developments on the chemicals used for the disc (polycarbonate) and the performance/accuracy of the moving parts (hardware) used in a BD recorder.

So as long as both blank discs and component designs can keep up, a full BD-R (SL) disc may be eventually written in approximately 11minutes. in case of rewritables and multilayered discs. In practice, the upper limit might prove to be as low as 6x, due to their complicated structure.

BenQ will launch an internal SATA version of the Triple writer, as well as an external one. Availability in the market is scheduled for Q3 2006.





Specifications:

Performance	[BD] maximum speed Write BD-R 25GB, 50GB : 2x BD-RE 25GB, 50GB : 2x BD-R DL 50GB : 1x BD-RE DL 50GB : 1x Read BD-R/RE/ROM/SL/DL : 2x Random access time: 350 ms [DVD] maximum speed Write DVD+/-R :12x DVD+/-RW : 8x DVD+/-R9 DL : 4x Read DVDROM /+R/-R :12x DVD+RW/-RW/DL : 8x Random access time: 130 ms [CD] maximum speed Write CD-R : 32x CD-RW : 24x Read CD-R/RW : 32x Random access time: 130 ms
Interface	Serial -ATA
Supported IDE mode	DMA mode 0/1/2, UDMA mode 1/2
Buffer Size	8 MB
Writing Mode	[BD] BD Data and Video [DVD] DVD Data and Video [CD] Track-at-Once, Disc-at-Once, Session-at-Once, Multi-session, Packet Writing (fixed & variable packet), CD Digital Audio, Direct-Over-Write on CD-RW, Test write
Disc Size	[BD] 120 mm discs [DVD] 80 and 120 mm discs [CD] 80 and 120 mm discs
Disc Formats	[BD] BD-R, BD-RE , BD- ROM , BD-R DL , BD-RE DL , BD- ROM DL [DVD] DVD Video, DVD-5, DVD-9, DVD-10, DVD-18, DVD+RW 4.7GB, DVD+R 4.7GB, DVD-RW 4.7GB (closed session), DVD-R 4.7GB, DVD+R9 [CD] CD-DA, RAW, CD-ROM XA (m1,m2,m2f1/m2f2), CD-R, CD-RW, CD-PLUS, CD-I
Physical Characteristics	Dimension: 146 X 41.3 X 178 mm (W x H x L) Weight: 1200 g (max)
Reliability Characteristics	MTBF: 60,000 POH
Firmware Update	Flash memory upgradeable
Panel Design	Front side: 3 LED for BD / DVD / CD, Eject Button (push tray front to close) Emergency eject pinhole Rear side: SATA connector
OS Compatibility	Windows XP others on request
Minimum System Requirement (TBD)	IBM PC compatible 3.0Ghz HT Intel Pentium IV processor or equivalent, 256MB DRAM, Video card with 128MB RAM,16x PCI-Express,1920x1200 resolution,32Bit colour depth600MB free HDD space for typical software installation1GB free HDD space for DVD / CD Image recording25 GB (depending on the source) for Blue Laser disc images files