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.

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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