Eindhoven, The Netherlands - Besides the previously announced LH-2B1S, Lite-On IT will also launch an external version of their external drive, the LX-2B1U. Both are triple writers and therefore backwards compatible with DVD and CD formats as well.

The new drives use the revolutionary blue laser technology instead of red laser existing in today's optical drives. The new technology provides much precise laser focus and greatly increases storage capacity. LH-2B1S and LX-2B1U can store up to 50GB of data on a double-layer BD disc, equivalent to 9 hours High-Definition (HD) video, 23 hours of standard definition content or 72 CDs on a single disc.

Both Lite-On Blu-ray drives are ideal for professionals who have a growing need of archiving large files and content on a single disc. Commercial advertising, studio and catalog photographers, movie makers, and IT managers will greatly benefit from this technology as it plays back High-Definition (HD) content and archive massive data to reduce physical storage space.

Blu-ray is the next generation platform for High-Definition (HD) video content playback and is supported by more than 160 world's largest gaming manufacturers, movie studios, consumer electronics and PC manufacturers.

The LH-2B1S and LX-2B1U Blu-ray Disc triple writers are capable of recording and playing back today's most popular media formats including Blu-ray, DVD, and CD. The drive features a 2X read and write speed on BD-ROM, BD-R, BD-RE media, and supports DVD±R media at 12X. LH-2B1S writes DVD±R DL (Double Layer) media at 4X, rewrite DVD+RW media at 8X, DVD-RW media at 6X, and reads DVD-ROM media at 12X. They also feature Lite-On patented cutting edge technologies SMART-BURN for optimizing the quality of each burn, and SMART-X for setting the optimum speed of operation, enabling users to "burn and work", running other applications while making a BD, DVD, or CD with a minimum risk of failed burns.

The LH-2B1S incorporates Serial ATA interface, which provides higher speed and performance than previously possible with the Parallel ATA Interface. Serial ATA connection eliminates potential information and performance "bottlenecking" by currently offering a 150 MB/s information transfer rate and will provide significant headroom for future improvements.

Specifications for LH-2B1S and LX-2B1U

BD ( Blu-ray Disc ):

Write:

BD-R SL (25GB) 2X maximum

BD-R DL (50GB) 1X

ReWrite:

BD-RE SL (25GB) 2X maximum

BD-RE DL (50GB) 1X

Read: BD-ROM 2X maximum

DVD:

Write:

DVD+R 12X maximum by P-CAV

DVD+R DL 4X maximum by Z-CLV

DVD-R 12X maximum by P-CAV

DVD-R DL 4X maximum by Z-CLV

ReWrite:

DVD+RW 8X maximum by Z-CLV

DVD-RW 6X maximum by Z-CLV

Read: DVD-ROM 12X maximum by CAV

CD:

Write: CD-R 32X maximum by P-CAV

ReWrite: CD-RW 24X maximum by Z-CLV, in Ultra Speed disc

Read: CD-ROM 32X maximum by CAV

General: 

Access time:

BD 350ms

DVD Family 160ms

CD Family 160ms

PC Requirements:

Pentium 4 2.0GHz or faster CPU and 512MB or higher RAM are required

30GB HDD available capacity

For High Definition BD Playback & Authoring: ( Only Windows XP SP2 )

Pentium D 3.2GHz or faster CPU and 1GB or higher RAM are required

HDCP capable graphic card with 256MB RAM, 16X PCI Express, 1920x1200 resolution, 32bit color

GPU : Support DXVA decoding for MPEG2 & H.264 HD Video, decoding 2 DXVA streams simultaneously, blending 3 HD (1920x1080) ARGB32 texture less than 3ms, HDCP for DVI/HDMI output via COPP, > 60GB HDD available capacity, HDCP capable Monitor or TV for High Definition digital output

Compatibility:

Windows 2000 SP4 / Windows XP SP2

Environment for LH-2B1S (internal drive):

Operating 5°C to 50°C; Relative Humidity: 10% to 80%, no condensation allowed

Non-Operating -20°C to 60°C; Relative Humidity: 5% to 95%, no condensation allowed

Environment for LX-2B1U (external drive):

Operating 5°C to 35°C; Relative Humidity: 15% to 80%, no condensation allowed

Non-Operating -40°C to 60°C; Relative Humidity: 15% to 95%, no condensation allowed

Dimensions for LH-2B1S (internal drive):

146(W) x 41.4(H) x 177.5(D) mm

Dimensions for LX-2B1U (external drive):

160(W) x 51(H) x 245(D) mm

Weight LH-2B1S: 850g

Weight LX-2B1U: 1.3Kg