LG drive supports Blu-ray and HD-DVD

New dual-mode drive will read both formats but only record to Blu-ray disks

LG Electronics has unveiled a dual-mode drive that supports both Blu-ray and HD-DVD optical disks, the rival high-capacity media formats both aiming to replace the DVD for storage and video playback.

The LG GGW-H10N, available from the end of April, slots into a 5.25in drive bay in a PC chassis, just like a CD or DVD drive. The unit reads both Blu-ray and HD-DVD pre-recorded disks, but also supports Blu-ray recordable (BD-R) and re-writable (BD-RE) disks, enabling users to store up to 50GB of data on these. The drive is expected to cost up to £800, while blank disks cost about £13 each.

“Consumer and business demand for storing large amounts of data is increasing year on year,” explained Louise Walsh, IT Product Manager at LG Electronics. “Blu-ray and HD DVD are the formats to meet this demand, and businesses can potentially archive huge chunks of data or provide applications to their customers on one convenient disk."