Hewlett Packard has unveiled its first HD DVD drive, the hd100 according to PC Pro. This external drive connects via a USB 2.0 connection and is capable of reading HD DVD-ROM, DVD±R/RW, DVD±R DL, CD-R/RW and CD-ROM discs. The drive is expected to launch in the UK before the end of December, however no pricing and software bundling information is currently available, although according to HP's press about the drive, it comes bundled with Cyberlink PowerDVD HD DVD edition. The drive itself is a rebadged Lite-On. HP claims that over 100 HD DVD titles have already been released by Hollywood, which feature full HD resolution.
The drive features up to 2.4x HD DVD-ROM (CLV), up to 5x DVD (CAV) and up to 14x CD (CAV) read-back. The minimum PC processor requirement is a Pentium Extreme Edition 3.2GHz+, D 3.4GHz+, Core Duo 2GHz+, Core 2 Duo 1.8GHz+, AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ (or higher) or an AMD Athlon FX-60, FX-62 or TL-60. The graphics card needs to be PCI Express GeForce 7600 GT (or higher) or an ATI X1600 series (or higher) with at least 256MB RAM. The graphics card and monitor must both be HDCP compliant for HD playback. Further requirements and full specifications for the drive can be read here on HP's website.
