In terms of optical drives, the next big thing that will happen to movies and gaming is Blu-Ray.

Compare it to the DVD’s maximum 4.7GB of storage, the blu-ray has a whopping 25GB of data for a single layer while the double layered blu-ray disc can pack around 50GB of media. That’s A LOT of space. That’s why true HD (High Definition) films are offered on Blu-ray.

In light of this, Philips has  announced the release of a PC blu-ray drive that starts selling at $199.

“With the increasing availability of Blu-ray Disc movies and other video content, consumers now have an affordable way to view the brilliant picture quality Blu-ray technology offers right on their personal computers,” says Christine Hsing, a marketing manager at PLDS, said in a statement. “Beyond that, the BD-ROM can serve as a playback device to their HD TVs by connecting an HDMI cable from the PC to the TV. This would save consumers hundreds of dollars on the purchase of a standalone Blu-ray player solely for that purpose.”

Specs after the jump

The specs for the DH-401S are:

• BD-R/RE/ROM single- or dual-layer discs read at up to 4X speeds
• DVD±R or DVD-ROM single- or double-layer discs read at 12X
• DVD±RW single or double-layer discs read at 8X speeds
• DVD Single-layer or Double-layer media read at 4X maximum
• DVD ±R or DVD-ROM Single Layer read at 12X max
• DVD±R Double Layer and DVD±RW Single Layer read at 8X max
• CD-R/RW/ROM has a maximum read speed of 32X

Via Gearlog