Sony announced the BDU-X10S, an internal BD-ROM drive that can upgrade an existing desktop computer into a high-definition Blu-ray Disc player, as well as a DVD and a CD player.

The new BDU-X10S BD-ROM drive comes with CyberLink's PowerDVD BD Edition software for playback of commercial movie titles, recorded Blu-ray Disc home videos, DVD-ROMs and CD-ROMs.

The BDU-X10S drive features a Serial ATA (SATA) interface and standard 5.25-inch form-factor for easy installation inside desktop PCs running the Microsoft Windows Vista or Windows XP operating system.



The included CyberLink PowerDVD BD Edition software also supports playback of recorded Blu-ray Discs in MPEG-2 or H.264 format, standard DVD-Video discs or recorded DVDs encoded with MPEG-2 or AVCHD formats.

For high-definition viewing, an HD computer display connected to the PC with an HDMI cable is required.

The new BD-ROM drive will start shipping this month.

PC-based DVD-ROM drives helped accelerate mass DVD adoption in the past, primarily because they were the least costly way to experience the technology. ROM drives are expected to appear by the sypporters of both HD DVD and Blu-Ray formats this year.

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