Pioneer to Ship Blu-Ray Disc Drives in Q1

The tussle between Blu-ray and HD-DVD technology ramps up shortly as Pioneer begins shipments of disc drives for the Blu-ray camp.

The drives will go out starting in the coming first quarter as technical analysts look to see whether Blu-ray or HD-DVD becomes the dominant technology in the anticipated boom of high-definition video.

The two technologies are capable of storing larger amounts of data on a single disc, which is critical to high-definition content. Pioneer’s BDR-101A drive can store 25 gigabytes on a single-layer disc.

This first-generation product will be targeted to professional users and serious enthusiasts, generally the first to adopt new technology, Pioneer said in a statement Tuesday. In particular, content creators will depend on Blu-ray writers to evaluate high-definition consumer Blu-ray Disc titles during the authoring process before replication.

Pioneer’s path might not be an easy one, however, as Intel and Microsoft have already endorsed HD-DVD.