3/17/08 - Now that the format war is over between the Blu-ray and HD-DVD formats, interest in the drives has picked up. The drives themselves are still quite expensive, but at least they support the ability to read and write CD and DVD media as well. If you are interesting in getting a drive for your desktop PC, you want to make sure you spend your money wisely. Here are my selections for the best internal desktop Blu-ray drives based upon my research and experience.
One of the nice things about the LG Electronics GGW-H20L drive is that if you happen to invest in the HD-DVD format, you aren't out of luck. In addition to support Blu-ray, the drive also plays back HD-DVD discs. In terms of performance, this is one of the fastest around for both Blu-ray and DVD media. BD-R discs can be written at up to 6x speeds while DVD+/-R media is handled at 16x speeds. CD performance is also quite strong with 40x recording speeds. The 4MB of buffer is a bit lower than other Blu-ray drives but it still functions well. It uses the Serial ATA interface.
Sony is one of the principal holders of the Blu-ray technology, so it is not really a surprise that they have a top level computer drive. The BWU-200S isn't quite as fast as the LG drive but it does still perform quite well. It records BD-R media at up to 4x speeds while still supporting DVD+/-R media at 16x and CD-R at 40x. The larger 8MB buffer plays a big role in helping the system prevent buffering errors when recording on expensive Blu-ray media. The big drawback to the BWU-200S though is its relatively high price tag compared to other options on the market. Of course, compatibility is top notch since Sony is the key backer of the Blu-ray standards. The drive uses a SATA interface.
The Philips SPD7000BD can't keep up with the Sony or LG drives in terms of writing speed. The drive tops at at a 2x BD-R recording speed. In addition, it lacks performance for the DVD and CD media as well. DVD+/-R speeds top out at 12x while the CD-R are limited to 32x. This means that users will be sacrificing speed. Philips does include a blank BD-RE disc with the drive which is actually a big thing consider how difficult to find and expensive the media is. Like the Sony drive, it features an 8MB cache that helps reduce the number of buffering errors when recording. It uses the SATA interface.
The Lite-On drive is nearly identical to the Philips SPD7000BD drive in features. In fact, the only real difference seem to be cosmetic. It records BD-R at 2x, DVD+/-RW at 12x and CD-R at 32x. It also comes with a blank BD-RE disc and Cyberlink software. Not much else to really say about the drive as it is essentially a twin of the Philips. It uses the SATA Interface
While the Pioneer BDR-202 offers faster recording speeds for Blu-ray media, it still falls to the bottom of my list due to its lackluster performance for DVD and CD-Media. It can reach 4x speeds when recording to BD-R media, but it falls way behind with only 8x DVD+/-RW recording and 24x for CD-R. This makes it a good drive for those really interested in Blu-ray but not much else. Of course, at current prices it is better to look for the other drives on this list. It really should be the option of last resort if you really need a Blu-ray burner and nothing else is available. The drive uses the SATA interface.
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