Here's the link....

http://www.pioneer.co.jp/press/release159.html

Yep - noticed this yesterday . The drives should be available to manufacturers in the US market during the first quarter of 2006, so we may see them showing up in PC's by the second quarter. Could be a cool addition to an HTPC, and it bodes well for subsequent hardware (set-top players and recorders, Sony's PS3, ...). Now we just need some announcements of movie software.

I wouldn't hold your breath....they're still squabbling internally about copy protection logistics, which will likely delay the actual launch of any hardware.

i wonder how many gigs an hd movie is? it would be pretty impractical to copy them if they are huge - though i guess that could be a benefit or problem depending on your perspective.

Don't even bother. The content protection/copy control schemes built into both BD and HD-DVD will make it very difficult, if not impossible, to make a copy.

Remember, also, that the Pioneer drives are just that: drives for use in computers. Initially they will not be prepared for playback of eventual BD movies since the AACS specs have not yet been finalized.

More news after CES next week.

I called Pioneer and I was told their 1st Blu ray player will NOT play Audio CDs!

Sony's player will also not support CD's. Samsung's Blu-ray player does support CD's, but what I've read about it suggests that the player shipped long before the firmware was ready - there are just too many performance issues.