Nero announced today that Nero Toolkit now supports Blu-ray testing and data recording. Nero Toolkit, a Nero 6 application, consists of programs that supply information about the system, CD/DVD drives and optimum running modes. It offers the most accurate and comprehensive drive testing available. Nero Toolkit's Blu-ray supported programs include Nero CD-DVD Speed and Nero InfoTool. Nero CD-DVD Speed is the perfect tool for OEMs to use for testing Blu-ray drives. It supports read-only transfer rate testing, disc erasing and formatting and provides the ability to create data discs. Nero InfoTool supplies the user with a summary of the main characteristics of the drives, the disks in the drives, and the installed software. Dual Layer -9r disc support includes 8.5GB storage for data content and 120 min playback time (SP) for DVD-Video.

"Next-generation DVD technology is here, and Nero has already provided the tools to use it," said Jim Corbett, Executive Director of Nero AG. "Blu-ray is an extraordinary technology and we are happy to support it."

The Nero Toolkit update with Blu-ray single and dual layer support can be downloaded from www.nero.com under the 'Downloads' section. Nero Toolkit including Nero CD-DVD Speed is part of download package 1.