Sony Electronics is adding two DVD+R Double Layer (DL) DVD drives to its family of Dual RW burners. The internal DRU-700A and external DRX-700UL drives mark Sony's entry into Double Layer recording.

Nearly doubling the storage capacity of current DVD recordable discs, the double layer DVD drives allow users to record up to four hours of high-quality MPEG-2 video or up to 8.5 GB of data, music and/or images on compatible DVD+R DL media.

The new burners will debut with an initial DVD+R DL recording speed of 2.4X. They will also feature up to 8X DVD±R, 4X DVD±RW, 40X CD-R and 24X CD-RW recording, providing users with double layer, dual format, and high-speed burning all in one drive.

The internal DRU-700A drive comes with an ATAPI interface for easy installation inside a PC and includes a black replacement bezel for those with black-colored PC cases.

The external DRX-700UL drive features a radical sleek and space-efficient design, and offers connectivity with both i.LINK® (IEEE 1394) and hi-speed USB (USB 2.0) digital interfaces for simple set-up and maximum flexibility.

The new drives are expected to start shipping by the end of the second quarter at an estimated selling price of $230 for the internal DRU-700A and $330 for the external DRX-700UL.