Posted Wed Dec 2, 2009 at 11:00 AM PST by Mike Attebery
Buffalo’s new Blu-ray burner – hitting Japan this month, with international releases later – boasts impressive transfer speeds. The downside? You can’t really use it yet.
Blu-ray burners seem to be pretty slow in hitting the market, and let's face it, slow in burn speeds as well. 8x burners are commonplace, while 12x burners are still relatively rare. Buffalo, well known for its computer components and accessories, has announced the release of what they say is the fastest Blu-ray burner yet. Not that anyone can use it though.
The much touted 12x burn speed of Buffalo's new burner is only available via a USB 3.0 connection. Unfortunately, USB 3.0 isn't quite here yet. Until it is, Buffalo can only promise 7x burning speeds, and that's only if you're using a Turbo USB 2.0 chipset. When this is launched in Japan in early December, customers will have the opportunity to pay around $450 USD for a Blu-ray burner that – for now – functions at lower than average speeds.
Of course, USB 3.0 is only the first part of the problem. Recordable Blu-ray discs that handle up to twelve times speed aren't exactly flooding the market. In fact, Buffalo only recommends one Panasonic disc type as compatible, and even that comes with an asterisk.
Source: Buffalo (via Google Translate)
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