Pioneer's new Blu-ray Disc writer doesn't include much in the way of software. The only program that comes with the BDR-101A is Roxio DigitalMedia 7 SE from Sonic Solutions.
Roxio DigitalMedia 7 SE - With DigitalMedia, users can quickly and easily do a number of tasks. From the main menu, they have the ability to create their own data DVD's and BD's, burn or save an image, or make a copy of a non-copy protected disc. Using the built in tools, they can also erase or finalize a disc.
While DigitalMedia performed its tasks without any problems, I was a little disappointed the BDR-101A did not come with any software to edit and burn videos. For what Pioneer is charging, it would not be out of line for them to include some DVD authoring software like Sonic's MyDVD.
Aimed squarely at professional users, the BDR-101A forgoes the gimmicks found on most DVD writers. Instead, it focuses on its main feature, support for the Blu-ray Disc format. Pioneer's new drive can read and write to BD-R and BD-RE media at 2x and even supports most standard DVD formats. Unfortunately, the BDR-101A also lacks a few features found on other Blu-ray Disc writers. Most notably, it cannot write to dual layer BD-R/RE media and does not support CD's at all. With this in mind, the Pioneer BDR-101A scores a solid 7 out of 10 for its features.
