LG-BH08LS20.AUAU Blu-Ray / DVD Writer

LG-BH08LS20 Blu-Ray Writer Blu-Ray Top Read / Write speed 8x/8x
DVD Top Read / Write Speed 16x/16x

Compare prices on the LG-BH08LS20 Blu-Ray Writer

Blue-Ray Media is the next generation of optical storage media. You will of heard of Blu-Ray movies and the Blu-Ray capability of the Sony Playstation 3. But Blu-Ray is not just about hi-definition movies and games, its another upgrade to optical storage, from CD to DVD and now DVD to Blu-Ray.

LG has created a number of Blu-Ray drives, the LG-BH08LS20.AUAU is a Blu-Ray Re-Writable drive supporting all the latest Blu-Ray media as well as being backwards compatible with writable CD and DVD media. It is the first drive from LG to support 8x Blu-Ray writing and supports the most Blu-Ray media types of any of the drives before it.

The drives runs on a standard S-ATA connection and fits into a standard drive bay. The 2Mb buffer should be enough to prevent any buffer under-runs. Add to your PC the capability to play Blu-Ray movies have up to 50Gb of storage space on a single Dual Layer Disk (25Gb on a single layer disk) and still be able to be backwards compatible with all DVD and CD formats.

The retail package of this drive (not with the OEM version) comes with a software bundle. For this LG has turned to CyberLink to provide the relevant programs. CyberLink has provided a decent suite of applications from Blu-Ray and DVD playback to disk creation including home video applications.

Included in the software bundle are:

Power DVD 7.3
Power Producer 5
Power2Go 6
Power Backup 2
Media Show
Label Print 2

Features

2MB Buffer.
Motorized Tray.
SATA Connection
Watch Hi-Def Blu-ray movies.
25GB storage on one BD disk.

Manufacturers Description

Blu-ray Disk Rewriter - Internal Bare (Bulk) Drive. Write to BD-R, BD-RE, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD+R DL, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD-R DL, DVD-RAM,CD-R, CD-RW. Serial ATA is a 1.5Gbps evolutionary replacement for the Parallel ATA physical storage interface used to connect storage devices, such as hard disks, DVD and CD rewriters to the PC motherboard. Serial ATA is scalable, enables design of smaller PCs, and will allow future enhancements to the computing platform.

Read and Write Speeds for different Media

Maximum Read Speeds

Blu-Ray BD-R LTH BD-ROM (SL/DL) 8x
BD-R (SL L to H) 4x
BD-R (SL/DL) 8x
BD-RE (SL/DL) 4.8x
BDMV (AACS Compliant Disc) 4.8x
DVD-ROM (SL/DL) 16x
DVD-R (SL/DL) 12x
DVD-RW (SL/DL) 10x
DVD+R (SL/DL) 12x
DVD+RW (SL/DL) 10x
DVD-RAM 5x
DVD-Video (CSS Compliant Disc) 8x
CD-R/RW/ROM 40x
CD-DA (DAE) 40x
80 mm CD 16x

Maximum Write Speeds

BD-R (SL/DL) 8x
BD-R (SL L to H) 4x
BD-RE (SL/DL) 2x
DVD-R 16x
DVD-R DL 4x
DVD-RW (SL/DL) 6x
DVD-RAM 5x
DVD+R 16x
DVD+R DL 4x
DVD+RW (SL/DL) 8x
CD-R 40x
CD-RW 24x

Blu-Ray Media

Blu-Ray disks come in varying formats, knowing the formats is key to making the right purchase when buying media for your Blu-Ray writer. The table below explains the differences in Blu-Ray Media types

Abbreviation	Full Version	Notes
BD-Rom	Blu-Ray Disk - Read only Memory	This format is read only, used for distributing software or files and movies etc. The data on these disks cannot be changed or extra data written to it
BD-R	Blu-Ray Disk - Recordable	The recordable version of Blu-Ray disks allows for a one time recording of data. Once the data has been written to these disks it cannot be altered, deleted or written over.
BD-RE	Blu-Ray Disk - Re-Recordable	Re-Recordable Blu-Ray Disks are more expensive than regular recordable disks be data on these disks can be altered deleted and used again and again. These type of disks make excellent backup media as they can be changed on a regular basis without the need to buy more disks
BD-R LTH	Blu-Ray Disk - Recordable Low to High	This version of the recordable Blu-Ray disk uses an organic dye recording layer. The new specification allows for cheaper media because the investment in major new machinery was not required by the major players in optical storage media. Expect this to be a popular type due to the lower price.