LG’s Do-(Just About)-Everything Drive

As Engadget reported, yesterday, LG has finally released a photo of their upcoming GGW-H10N drive, given the slightly friendlier name, “Super Multi Blue.” The drive is set to write to single-layer Blu-Ray discs, which sets the size cap at a mere 25GB. The drive is also slated to read and record a whole slew of other optical media, including HD DVD, DVD±R, and the garden variety of CDs.

One thing is for sure; this disc drive wins the title for the absolute most media logos plastered on its expensive little face. Speaking of expensive, the drive comes in at a demanding $1,200. Heck, that’s most of the way to getting you a way-cool video conferencing robot.

I’d assume that this is just one of the first do-everything drives to come along. I expect that before long these sorts of drives will be touting dual-layer burning for both of the new high-capacity standards, as well as the entire back catalog of DVD and CD burning. Another thing that I can say for sure, is that the price will certainly fall eventually. Back in the birth of the DVD, burners ran somewhere between a commanding $500 and $1,000. Today, you can find one on the Internet for under $30. Still, the question remains, which of these formats will come out on top?