BD Combo drives preferred for mid-range PCs

International PC vendors plan to actively promote Bluray Disc (BD) drives in
the second half of 2008, and will give priority to BD-ROM models due to costs.
But they are also likely to adopt BD Combo models (BD-ROM plus DVD+RW/-RW) for
mid-range PCs to maximize market share, according to industry sources in Taiwan.

Pioneer is the maker currently most positive toward BD Combo drives followed
by Hitachi-LG Data Storage (HLDS), the sources pointed out. Taiwan-based ODM/OEM
maker Lite-On IT has been developing BD Combo drives for certification by
potential clients and plans to start volume production as early as the third
quarter of 2008, the sources indicated.

In contrast, BD burners will not become popular for another one to two years
because production costs are relatively high and retail prices for blank BD-R
and BD-RE discs are as much as $23-26, the sources noted.