LG Electronics has just announced the European arrival of its slim and curvy BP40NS20 optical drive which is capable of writing Blu-ray discs at up to 6x speeds. Seen below, LG's external Blu burner features 3D Blu-ray and BDXL support, an anti-scratch UV coating, a USB 2.0 interface, 4 MB of buffer memory, the Silent Play technology for reducing noise during movie playback, and the Jamless Play function which smoothes out playback of damaged discs.

The BP40NS20 also has LightScribe support and offers writer speeds of up to 6x for BD-R, 2x for BD-RE, 8x for DVD-R/+R/+RW, 6x for DVD-RW, 5x for DVD-RAM,, and 24x for CD-R/CD-RW. The drive can be found on sale at 109 Euro.

Plextor, a leading developer and manufacturer of high-performance digital media equipment, announces the newest addition to its Blu-ray lineup with the new PX-LB950UE external 12X Blu-ray Writer - the fastest Blu-ray writer available in the market today. This drive features the latest superspeed USB3.0 and eSATA connections, providing bandwidth for high data transfer rate.

Supplied with advanced Blu-ray and DVD playback software and recording applications, the PX-LB950UE offers a full Blu-ray HD experience. The drive is designed to provide smooth and quiet HD Blu-ray movie playback with excellent sound reproduction and a crystal clear picture quality. This drive also supports 3D playback and is able to convert 2D contents to simulate 3D effects.

Plextor have expanded their high-performance optical storage portfolio with the addition of the PX-LB950UE - their first external Blu-ray Writer. The PX-LB950UE boasts a combination of an incredibly fast 12x writing speed with USB 3.0 technology, advanced software applications and a stylish external chassis designed to offer reliability, accuracy and low noise.

Every facet of the PX-B950UE has been designed to provide home and business users with a high performance, easy to use and versatile solution for backing-up large quantities of data or enjoying their favourite Blu-ray movies. The PX-LB950UE is available across the UK and Europe from February at an RRP of approximately £179.

Plextor rolled out its latest Blu-ray product, the PX-LB950SA internal Blu-ray writer drive. Armed with a SATA interface and 8 MB of cache, the PX-LB950SA can burn Blu-ray discs at 12X for BD-R, 8X for double-layer BD-R, and 2X for double-layer BD-RE. DVDs are burned at 16X for DVD-R/+R, 12X for DVD-RAM, 8X for DVD-R/+R (double-layer) and DVD-RW and 6x for DVD-RW. The drive also features LightScribe technology, with which it can burn labels onto compatible media. A copy of CyberLink PowerDVD 9 BD Suite is also bundled. Plextor's latest drive is priced at €179.

Lite-On Launch 8x External DVD Writer with Customisable Covers. Lite-On are renowned as leaders in optical storage innovations, and the launch of their eNAU608 shows no exception. The 8x external slim DVD writer has an unusual twist; by using the bundled NERO software, it allows users to customise the top cover to create a fun, vibrant and fully personalised design that is sure to turn heads and infuse a sense of fashion into everyday life.

A host of technology to ensure top quality recording and fuss-free disc labelling is packed inside the tiny case, and with an ultra-portable design that needs no separate power cable, it really is the ultimate way to back-up, share and store data, photos and movies on the move. Customisable covers for a truly individual style: The external eNAU608 slim drive is the first DVD writer in the world to offer users the ability to design, print and swap the cover to produce a completely personalised look.

Today LaCie announced the latest versions of its Portable DVD±RW Drive, design by Sam Hecht. Now with a sleek black finish, the award-winning LaCie Portable DVD±RW includes new multimedia burning solutions, allowing users to piece together sophisticated movie, music, and photo projects in a matter of minutes - creating customized CDs or DVDs wherever they go.

Featuring two versions for easy setup and seamless compatibility, users can choose from the multimedia burning solution for Mac or PC. The Windows version comes with Creator Suite 10, while the combined Mac and Windows version comes with Toast 9 Basic, as well as Creator Suite 10.

ASUS Unveils New 20x DVD Writer

In order to provide users with more options, ASUS has unveiled the new DRW-2014S1/S1T - an industry leading DVD rewriter that supports 14x DVD-RAM write, 20x DVD+/-R, 6x DVD-RW, 8x DVD+RW and 8x DVD+/-R dual layer media write speeds. The ASUS DRW-2014S1/S1T incorporates Over-speed Burning - a technology that is able to burn DL 2.4X discs at 8X speeds, a feature that can save you up to 29 minutes of burning time. The drive is available in both PATA and SATA versions, boasting 2MB of data buffer. The ASUS DRW-2014S1/S1T also adopts several innovative burning technologies found exclusively on ASUS optical drives like Flextralink and Flextraspeed for superb burning quality, as well as FlextraSpeed for optimal recording speeds. More info on this product can be found here.