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The first Ultra-HD Blu-ray PC disc drive has arrived

PC users have been getting accustomed to Ultra-HD monitors for several years now, long before 4K TVs started getting popular. However, getting 4K video content has been a bit tricky, there are some streaming options available but nothing that can quite match the quality of a physical Blu-Ray. Fortunately, soon 4K Blu-Ray will soon be playable on desktop systems, as the first Ultra-HD Blu-Ray drive for PCs is coming out this year.

Pioneer Japan announced two disc drives today, the BDR-S11J-BK and the BDR-S11J-X both of which are capable of reading three-layer UHD Blu-Ray discs. Both drives come bundled with PowerDVD software too, so you won't need to go looking for a player capable of reading these discs.

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There are some other specifications though, users will need Windows 10 and an HDMI 2.0 connection that's HDCP 2.2 capable due to the copyright protection placed on Blu-Ray discs. Both of these drives are capable of reading and writing, though you will only be able to read Ultra-HD Blu-Ray discs. A February release date is set but exact pricing information is still to be confirmed.

KitGuru Says: As much as I would like to have a 4K Blu-Ray player so I can expand my collection a little bit, I don't tend to use disc drives in my PC any more. My case doesn't even come with a slot for one. That said, this could be useful to those who use a PC as their primary source of movie watching.

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