With Sony winning the high definition Blu-ray vs HD-DVD war over Toshiba we are finally starting to see the release of standard optical drives able to read and write to the high definition formats.

LITE-ON the makers of the Triple DH-4B1S blu-ray drive. The drive is capable of writing Blu-ray discs, DVD's, and standard CDs.  Having this capability means that instead of having to add an additional optical drive to keep your DVD / CD writing capability you can simply use this as a replacement and add high definition burning capability.  This next generation technology now allows you to write up to 25GBs of data onto a single BD-r or BD-RE disk, using blue laser technology, this is more than 5 times the size of your standard DVD and more than 35 times the size of your standard CD.  Providing a true high definition picture of 1920 x 1080, you can now enjoy entertainment as it was intended.

The drive itself looks like any other optical drive except for a led light across the front of the drive to tell you what type of media you are using (CD, DVD, Blu-ray)and connects to your computer using the newer sata interface.

This is LITE-ON’s second generation drive and has decreased significantly in cost from the first drive. Currently the drive is available for under $ 300.00 dollars on Amazon. Compared to the $1200.00 price tag for the first drive this is a monumental step.

Blanks are still expensive in around $ 12.00-20.00 dollars apiece.

Making this an expensive piece of equipment to own but like all computer equipment prices will fall eventually. That said the DH-4B1S drive does everything a Blu-ray drive should.

The Drive comes bundled with Cyberlinks excellent BD Sloutions which include Power DVD, Power Producer, Power2GO, Power Backup and Instant Burn as well as a BD advisor to help you make sure your system meets all the necessary requirements… CyberLink’s BD solution gives you everything you need for playback as well as disk authoring and creation necessary.

With the high cost of media the writing speeds are secondary to getting a good burn and all tests of the drive preformed as expected. If you would like to see detailed times and tests please go to: http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/Reviews/Specific.aspx?ArticleId=23801 for more indepth testing information.

• Support 4X BD-R / 2X BD-RE writing.
• Support 4X BD-ROM reading.
• Massive data capacity, up to 25GB on one BD-R / BD-RE disc.
• Serial ATA Interface.
• SMART-BURN (*1) avoiding Buffer UnderRun error, smartly adjusting writing strategy & running OPC to provide the best burning quality.
• DVD read compliant: DVD single/dual layer (PTP/OTP), DVD-R(4.7GB), DVD+R, DVD+R Double Layer, DVD-R Dual Layer, DVD+RW and DVD-RW/discs with diameter of 8or 12cm.
• CD read compliant: CD-DA, CD-ROM, CD-ROM/XA, Photo CD, Multi-session, Karaoke CD,
  Video CD, CD-I FMV, CD Extra, CD-R, and CD-RW discs of 8 or 12 cm.
• Conform to Orange Book: Part 2 CD-R Volume 1, Part 2 CD-R Volume 2 Multi Speed, Part 3 CD-RW Volume 1 (1x, 2x, and 4x), Part 3 CD-RW Volume2: High Speed, Part 3 CD-RW Volume 3: Ultra Speed..
• Support Fixed packet, Variable packet, Disc-at-once, Session-at-once and Track-at-once.

The Blu-ray Disc (BD) is a new generation, high-capacity optical disc format, developed in response to the growing popularity of high-definition content.  The Blu-ray disc is the same size as the current DVD, but employs a more advanced laser technology to expand its storage capacity.
Shorter Wavelength, Greater Capacity
Utilizing a shorter-wavelength blue laser, the Blu-ray disc offers a massive storage capacity of 25GB on a single-layer disc and 50GB on a double-layer disc, five times the amount of current DVD’s.
Richer Colors, Finer Details
The much increased capacity of a Blu-ray disc means that a greater amount of data, such as high-definition videos, can be easily stored and delivered.  High definition pictures contain more pixels and scan lines in a frame, and are thus capable of presenting objects in more significant detail.  A Blu-ray disc can accommodate high-definition video content at a resolution up to 1080P.
Crisp and Vibrant Sound
Similarly; the uncompromised, multi-channel audio content is made available, thanks to a greater capacity of the new disc format.  A Blu-ray Disc can support not only the standard Dolby Digital and DTS audio formats, but also the more advanced Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD, all of which offer up to eight channels of audio.
Improved Interactivity
Supported by the Java-based BD-J technology, a pre-recorded Blu-ray Disc enjoys further internet connectivity and network capability.  Depending on the content providers, this feature will be able to offer consumers extra interactive services, such as downloading additional subtitles, searching related information, etc.

If your in the market for a blu-ray writer the lite-on 4B1S is a solid contender. The only disapointment is the lack of dual-layer blu-ray disk support (50GB) and support for dvd-ram.