Although Blu-ray Disc (BD) recorders have been available for years, it’s only now that they are becoming affordable, fast and practical enough to interest a broad audience. Pioneer’s new BDR-2203 internal BD writer kit is leading this charge with its reasonable price, solid performance and genuine utility.

The BDR-2203 ($249) is a straightforward retail bundling of Pioneer’s third generation BDR-203 Blu-ray recorder with CyberLink’s BD Solution v.6 software suite (OEM versions of PowerDVD 8.0, PowerDirector 7.0 and Power2Go 6.0). As well, the 5.25"half-height BDR-203 is available from Pioneer by itself ($209) or can be found integrated into many of the latest Blu-ray duplication and disc publishing systems from MF Digital, Microboards, and others.

Among its peers, the BDR-203 offers competitive operation and reads, writes, and rewrites all recordable (R), rewritable (RE/RW/RAM) and prerecorded (ROM) BD, DVD and CD disc formats. Single-and dual-layer BD-Rs burn at 8x, single-layer DVD±Rs at 16x and CD-Rs at 32x speeds. PC system requirements needed to write data or play movies are on par with other Blu-ray devices and, since connection comes through a standard Serial ATA (SATA) interface (cables not included), physical installation is effortless.

It’s imperative when setting up a BD or any other optical disc recorder to determine if its firmware is up-to-date. This ensures that the latest bug fixes, programming tweaks and compatibility enhancements are on the job. Not surprisingly, my evaluation unit arrived with outdated firmware but it wasn’t easy to find the latest version online. Eventually, I tracked it down on Pioneer’s international website. Needless to say, Pioneer should be a little more attentive to its North American customers (the update has since been posted in the USA).

Without a doubt, the most practical issue facing any high-performance BD recorder is the availability of compatible discs. What’s the use of having the latest and greatest unit when no one sells 8x-capable blanks, or if they cost an arm and a leg? Happily, the BDR-203 addresses this by writing, at full 8x speed, slower 6x and, more importantly, 4x-rated BD-Rs from most of their major producers. According to Pioneer, these include inorganic (HtL) single-layer discs from Verbatim/MKM, MBI/Glyphics Media, TDK, Panasonic, Ritek/Advanced Media and CMC Magnetics and dual-layer discs from Verbatim/MKM, TDK, Panasonic, and Sony (see chart 1, below). Be aware, however, that support for up-and-coming organic dye-based media (LtH) is limited to a few brands and 2x writing.

Pioneer BDR-203 8x BD-R Disc Writing Support
(firmware v. 1.10)

All in all, I was delighted with the results of my evaluation. Using Nero DiscSpeed for performance benchmarking, the BDR-203 recorded full single and dual-layer BD-Rs in less than 15 and 30 minutes respectively, single and dual-layer BD-REs in roughly 45 and 91 minutes, DVD±Rs in six minutes and CD-Rs in four minutes (see chart 2, below). Disc reading also pleased and even excelled at times. For example, unlike some recorders (LG Electronics’ BH08 series, etc.) that throttle back when dealing with AACS-encrypted BD-ROM AV (HDMV/BD-J) discs, it was full speed ahead for Pioneer’s BDR-203. Furthermore, I was impressed by being able to burn at up to 8x using readily available 4x-rated BD-Rs, such as those I tested from Verbatim/MKM, MBI/Glyphics Media and TDK. Recordable DVD support also proved extensive with 16x accessible for fourteen out of the fifteen manufacturers of 16x-rated DVD-Rs I tested and six out of the nine DVD+Rs.

Pioneer BDR-203 Test Results
(Nero DiscSpeed with Verbatim/MKM, MBI/Glyphics, TDK discs)

To my mind, Pioneer’s new BDR-2203 writer kit and BDR-203 recorder offer the best value of any currently available Blu-ray Disc burning systems. The blend of high-performance, obliging compatibility, and reasonable prices make both attractive for everything from HD video authoring and BD publishing to everyday data backup and archiving. Faster and less expensive units may always be around the corner, but at least for the moment, Pioneer rules the roost.

For more information:
Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc.: www.pioneerelectronics.com

Hugh Bennett (hugh_bennett at compuserve.com), an EMedialive and EventDV contributing editor, is president of Forget Me Not Information Systems (www.forgetmenot.ca), a reseller, systems integrator and industry consultant based in London, Ontario, Canada. Hugh is the author of The Authoritative Blu-ray Disc (BD) FAQ and The Authoritative HD DVD FAQ, available on EMedialive.com as well as Understanding Recordable & Rewritable DVD and Understanding CD-R & CD-RW, published by the Optical Storage TechnologyAssociation (OSTA).