The new BDU-X10S offers consumers an affordable option to upgrade their desktop to a Blu-ray player, which can also play DVDs and CDs.   

"PC-based DVD-ROM drives helped accelerate mass DVD adoption, primarily because they were the least costly way to experience the technology," said Wolfgang Schlichting, research director, removable storage at IDC.

"Similarly, we expect sub-$ 200 PC-based BD-ROM drives to be a driver for cost conscious consumers to experience Blu-ray Disc high-definition video technology"

BDU-X10S now comes bundled with the CyberLink’s PowerDVD BD Edition software for playback of commercial movie titles, recorded Blu-ray Disc home videos, DVD-ROMs and CD-ROMs.

It also supports playback of recorded Blu-ray Discs in MPEG-2 or H.264 format, standard DVD-Video discs or recorded DVDs encoded with MPEG-2 or AVCHD formats.

The internal drive allows fast and easy transfer of data or videos through its high-speed SerialATA (SATA) interface. Its standard 5.25-inch form factor enables easy installation indesktop PCs running Microsoft Windows VistaTMor Windows XP operating systems and is an ideal replacement for an existing DVD-ROM drive.