Buffalo has announced what it claims to be the world's first HD DVD-ROM drive for desktop PCs, the HDV-ROM2.4FB capable of reading HD DVD-ROM (single & dual layer), HD DVD-R (single layer only), DVD-ROM, DVD±R/RW, CD-ROM and CD-R/RW media. The drive features 2.4x HD DVD read performance. While it may be the first desktop model, Toshiba and Acer already each have a laptop model with an internal HD DVD drive.
The drive will launch late December, has a suggested retail price of ¥37,000 (US$320) and is bundled with Cyberlink's PowerDVD HD DVD Edition. Like with Blu-ray drives, besides the minimum computer performance, copy protected movie playback requires a HDCP compliant graphics card and display for playback over DVI or HDMI.
It is interesting to see how much more this drive costs than Microsoft's Xbox 360 external HD DVD drive, even despite the Xbox 360 HD DVD drive lacking the software bundle. Unlike the Blu-ray drives currently available, this HD DVD drive is read-only.
The full press release (Japenese language only) can be read here.
