BenQ Intros Blu-ray Writer

By Niladri Sekhar Nath

TMCnet Contributing Editor

 

Taiwanese cell phone and computer equipment manufacturer BenQ Corp. announced recently an optical disk writer that supports the latest Blu-ray high-volume DVD storage format. The company plans to launch the disk writer, priced at 799 Euros or $1,022 including value added tax (VAT), in August of this year, said a Reuters report.

 

The report also notes the significance of the announcement in placing BenQ as one of the first companies to sell a Blue-ray burner, even ahead of companies that came up with the Blue-ray technology.

 

BenQ’s competitors are selling the Blue-ray burner at $1,500 excluding VAT. Industry insiders have said the low prices and early availability of the offering will give the Blu-ray a head up over it its rival HD DVD format player, offered by Toshiba (News - Alert) Corp., at $499.

 

Another market looking to cash in on both the HD DVD and Blu-ray's ability to store high definition movies is the home video market. Hoping that the introduction will, "breathe new life into the $24 billion (NZ$39.55 billion) home video market" said Reuters.

 

For more information visit: http://www.benq.com/