Japanese PC manufacturer StormST unveiled the Still Tower Gamer Edition desktop PC, which is configured to offer decent features and performance at a value price point. It's more of a "pre-integrated PC", since even its chassis is sourced from other brands. The chassis is an NZXT H2 (white or black) silent case.

Innards include Intel Core i7-2600K processor cooled by SCYTHE APSALUS2 120 closed-loop water cooler, ASRock Z68 Pro3 motherboard, 8 GB (4 GB x2) DDR3-1333 MHz memory, ELSA Gladiac GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1 GB graphics, Intel SSD 320 Series 80 GB holding the OS and Program Files, 2 TB storage HDD holding Users and Documents folders, Pioneer DVD writer, Antec Earthwatts Green 650W PSU, and Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit OS. All this, for 129,780 JPY or US $1,685.

Pioneer unveiled a new internal Blu-ray writer drive in the 5.25" form-factor, the BDR-PR1. The drive is designed keeping data archival in mind, more than Blu-ray video, since with increase in capacities of an archive media, so does the risk of random writing errors that destroy data in the archive. Stringent quality control is implemented in selection of its parts, and testing of the drive. Its mechanism also works to reduce recording variability, ensuring higher archive fidelity. In other words, it trades off speed for quality of recording.

The Pioneer BDR-PR1 features SATA 3 Gb/s interface, which is rather new for optical drives. It can write BD-R single-layer, BD-R double-layer (50 GB), and BD-R (LtH) at 6X, single and double-layer BD-RE at 2X, DVD±R single-layer at 16X, and DVD±R double-layer at 8X. CD-R is written at 40X. The drive packs a 4 MB write cache. It is slated for market release towards the end of this month, its pricing is not fixed.

Today Pioneer revealed to the world its newest optical drive, the slim (0.55-inch thick) and light (~ 240 grams) BDR-XD04 external Blu-ray writer boasting support for triple-layer and quad-layer BDXL discs.

The BDR-XD04 has a USB 2.0 interface and features 4 MB of buffer memory, the PowerRead and PureRead2+ technologies for smooth video and audio playback, an Auto Quiet Mode that minimizes its operating noise, plus a manual eject lever. The drive also offers write speeds of up to 6x for BD-R(-DL), 4x for BD-R TL/QL, 2x for BD-RE, 8x for DVD-R/+R/+RW, 6x for DVD-R DL/+R DL/-RW, 5x for DVD-RAM, and 24x for CD-R/RW media.

The Pioneer BDR-XD04 is bundled with CyberLink's PowerDVD 10 BD3D, PowerDirector 9 and Power2Go 7 and is set to become available as of mid-January priced at $150.

Pioneer announced a new internal SATA Blu-ray disc burner drive in Japan, that's capable of burning Blu-ray XL (BDXL) discs at speeds of 6X. Carrying the model number BDR-207JBK, the drive can burn double-layer BD-R discs at 12X, and quad-layer BDXL discs at 6X. The drive features a few of Pioneer's proprietary technologies, PureRead2 and Peak Power Reducer. Slated for market availability in January, the Pioneer BDR-207JBK internal SATA Blu-ray disc burner is priced at 18,000 JPY (about US $231).

Pioneer announced two multimedia speaker systems for desktop PCs. The new S-MM301 2.0 speakers deliver big sound from its triple coil drivers and features a compact design making it ideal for travel, while the S-MM751RU 2.1 speaker system provide a power upgrade and strong bass performance with a dedicated subwoofer to enhance music playback on any home computer.

Closely trailing Buffalo, Pioneer is ready with its BDR-206MBK internal SATA Blu-ray XL burner drive, slated for market release next month. If bezel design is anything to go by, Pioneer's drive closely resembles Buffalo's RXL-6FBS-BK. Perhaps they're both made by the same source. Like Buffalo's drive, this one burns BDXL discs at 4X, BD-RE XL discs at 2X, and conventional single and double layer BD-R discs at 6X. Pioneer will bundle CyberLink's PowerDVD 10, PowerProducer 5, Power2Go 7, InstantBurn 5, PowerBackup 2, Medi@Show 5 and LabelPrint 2 software with this drive.

Pioneer Japan rolled out the BDR-S06J internal Blu-ray disc writer drive. It is available in three bezel options: white (BDR-S06J-W), piano black (BDR-S06J-BK), and matte black (BDR-S06J-KR). The drive uses the standard SATA interface, and has a 4 MB buffer. It can burn Blu-ray discs at 12X, and has Blu-ray 3D support using PowerDVD. Along with this, it also supports AVCREC DRM (2D or 3D). Scheduled to arrive in November, the drive goes for ¥30,000 (or US $360).

The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) today announced the finalization and release of the "Blu-ray 3D" specification. The specification, which represents the work of the leading Hollywood studios and consumer electronic and computer manufacturers, will enable the home entertainment industry to bring the 3D experience into consumers' living rooms on Blu-ray Disc, the most capable high definition home entertainment platform.

"Throughout this year, movie goers have shown an overwhelming preference for 3D when presented with the option to see a theatrical release in either 3D or 2D," said Victor Matsuda, chairman, BDA Global Promotions Committee. "We believe this demand for 3D content will carry over into the home now that we have, in Blu-ray Disc, a medium that can deliver a quality Full HD 3D experience to the living room."

The "Blu-ray 3D" specification fully leverages the technical advantages of the Blu-ray Disc format to deliver unmatched picture quality as well as uniformity and compatibility across the full range of Blu-ray 3D products, both hardware and software. Notably, the specification allows every Blu-ray 3D player and movie to deliver Full HD 1080p resolution to each eye, thereby maintaining the industry leading image quality to which Blu-ray Disc viewers are accustomed. Moreover, the specification is display agnostic, meaning that Blu-ray 3D products will deliver the 3D image to any compatible 3D display, regardless of whether that display uses LCD, Plasma or other technology and regardless of what 3D technology the display uses to deliver the image to the viewer's eyes.

Pioneer today announced the DVR-S17J series of new internal DVD Writer drives that bring some of the latest technologies to the DVD. The three models differ only in the bezel colors - black for DVR-S17J-BK, silver for DVR-S17J-SV, and white for DVR-S17J-W, respectively. The drive has better writing precision thanks to its Focus and Tracking Servos improvements, and a new actuator. The drive also features PureRead and PowerRead technologies, in addition to Yamaha's LabelFlash technology. It uses the SATA interface. Writing speeds include DVD-R for General Version 2.0/4x, 6x, 8x, 12x and 16 x -speed for DVD-R Revision 1.0/ 2.0/ 3.0/ 5.0/ 6.0(for video and Data) respectively; Dual Layer DVD-R; DVD-RW Version 1.1/ 2x-speed DVD-RW Version 1.0; DVD-RW Version 1.2/ 2x-,4x-and 6x-speed for DVD-RW Revision 1.0/ 2.0/ 3.0 (for Video and Data) respectively; DVD-RAM 2.0,2.1 & 2.2; DVD+R Version 1.2; DVD+R Double Layer Version 1.0; DVD+RW Version 1.2. They will be available later this month.

Pioneer rolled out the DVR-XD09J portable DVD writer. It sports a slim cuboid design, and uses a top-loading mechanism like retro portable CD players. It measures 133x133x14.8 mm, and weighs in at 240 g. It relies on USB for both connectivity with the host PC, and power. It burns DVD±R at 8x and DVD±R DL at 6x speeds without requiring any external power other than what USB provides.
It packs CyberLink Power2Go 6, InstantBurn 5, MediaShow 4, and PowerBackup 2. It hits stores in Japan next month.

Pioneer on Tuesday announced the release of its latest Blu-ray, DVD and CD writer, the BDR-2203. Using SATA interface, the BDR-2203 writes dual-layer Blu-Ray media at up to 8x speeds, equal to about 15 minutes of your time for writing a single-layer 25 GB Blu-Ray disc, or just about 30 minutes for completion of a dual-layer 50 GB disc. The burner also writes recordable DVDs at 16x, dual-layer DVDs at 8x, CD-R media at 32x, and CD rewritable discs at 24x. Along with the burner you'll receive CyberLink PowerDirector, PowerDVD, and Power2Go software products. The BDR-2203 should already be in stores, with a suggested retail price of $250.

Pioneer Europe today unveiled its latest Blu-ray writer, the BDR-203BK, that's capable of writing at 8x speeds on Singe and Dual Layer BR-R discs. The BDR-203BK with black bezel will be available on an OEM basis from February 2009. It will cost around €250. Full specs follow below.

To the excitement of audiophiles and music enthusiasts worldwide, Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. is hosting world famous recording legends Bill Schnee and Doug Sax at its Technical Audio Devices (TAD) suite in the Venetian Sands during the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), January 8 ' 11, 2009. Longtime collaborators, Schnee and Sax are showcasing their new high resolution recordings to be issued on a music-only format utilizing Blu-ray Disc technology, giving consumers an unprecedented opportunity to experience digital music that rivals 2-channel analog sound. With this unique partnership, Pioneer demonstrates its commitment to consistently offer consumers high performance entertainment that replicates the true intentions of creative professionals.

Intel is preparing the launch of new quad-core processors for laptops next month, Yahoo! News informs today. "We're bringing quad-core to mobile in August," said Sujan Kamran, regional marketing manager for client platforms at Intel in Singapore. Specifics of the forthcoming quad-core chips are missing, but Australian PC maker Pioneer Computers is already taking preorders for laptops based on an unreleased quad-core mobile chip. This CPU is branded as Core 2 Extreme QX9300 and is said to work at 2.53GHz. Pioneer Computers is now offering it in its DreamBook Style 9008 laptops for US $1,390, more than the laptop's basic price ($1,399) without the CPU.

Pioneer is preparing what it claims to be a 16-layer optical disc. Though no information about its format have been released yet, Pioneer claims each layer of this disc can carry the same amount of data as a Blu-ray disc layer. With 16 such 25 GB layers, that comes up to a huge 400 GB capacity, enough for..err..whatever you want to do with all that space.

The disc however seems to have problems relating to each layer interfering between the surface of the disc and the one the player is trying to read from. Pioneer said it applied an array of optical and signal processing techniques to create a "16-layer optical disc that can play back high-quality signals from every layer".

Apart from having similar layer-sizes to the Blu-ray disc there are other features that make this disc format suspiciously similar to that of Blu-ray, such as the specifications of the lens. Pioneer is quick to defend saying that it's just so the player could maintain compatibility with Blu-ray discs.

DigiTimes reports that the OEM contract ASUS has with Pioneer for manufacture of its optical disc drives will expire in July, 2008 and it is likely that ASUS abandon its disc drive manufacturing, according to industry sources in Taiwan.

Pioneer High Fidelity Taiwan, Pioneer's Taiwan subsidiary, confirmed the expiration of the OEM contract in July and the expansion of the company's own ODD production capacity in southern China, adding that Pioneer will consider new OEM partners to maintain its production efficiency following the expiration of its contract with ASUS.

Pioneer just unveiled its latest 5x Blu-Ray combo drive named the BDC-S02 which Pioneer's fastest ever Blu-Ray combo drive. The 3.5-inch drive reads single-layer 25GB discs as quickly as 5X and only comes second after the recently announced LG 6x Blu-Ray Combo drive. The BDC-S02 cache is doubled compared to most drives at 4MB virtually safeguarding against any disc burning errors. The device will be available in black and white versions featuring a SATA connection and require a CPU equal to an 800MHz Pentium III for basic burning tasks. The BDC-S02 is expected to hit retail at the price of 300$.

Pioneer today announced the BDC-2202, a Blu-ray Disc computer drive, which will be available in the U.S. next month for a suggested price of $299. The Pioneer Blu-ray Disc combination drive allows users to playback new high definition Blu-ray Disc film titles as well as read and write to conventional DVD and CD, fulfilling their storage and entertainment needs. The drive can read BD-ROM/BD-R/BD-RE at up to 5X and can read BD-ROM (DL) and BD-R/-RE (DL) at up to 2X speed. It comes bundled with media software for compatibility with commercially released Blu-ray Disc movies. The software also offers a Direct-to-Disc feature allowing aspiring filmmakers to capture movies directly from the camcorder to DVD without the need of using hard drive space.

Pioneer Japan announced today the release of its new DVR-A12J series of 18x DVD burners, featuring the LabelFlash disc labeling technology and 12x writing for DVD-RAM. The ATAPI drive will retail in Japan in the following days for 10,000 yen ($86). The Pioneer DVR-A12J series includes the DVR-A12J-W (White bezel), the DVR-A12J-BK (black bezel) and the DVR-A12-SV (silver bezel). The drives offer 18x DVD writing for DVD±R, 10x for DVD±R DL, 6x for DVD-RW, 8x for DVD+RW and 12x for DVD-RAM (non-cartridged Version 2.0, 2.1 & 2.2). Of course the drive also supports the CD format featuring 40x writing for CD-R and 32x for CD-RW media (Ultra-speed). Other technologies of the new drives include the "UltraDRA" (Dynamic Resonance Absorber), buffer under run protection, the "Precision recording technology", and the "PowerRead" function. Pioneer will not release the DVR-A12J series overseas, but a variation of the same drive dubbed DVR-112 (for OEMs) should be expected early 2007 in Europe and U.S..