Today Buffalo introduced [JP] the world’s fastet Blu-ray recorder, which is Japan-only for the time being. The recorder is available as an external (BR-816SU2) and an internal version (BR-816FBS-WH in white or BR-816FBS-BK in black).

The new drives are capable of burning single-layer Blu-rays at a speed of up to 8x (up to 2x for a double-layer disc). The internal recorders feature SerialATA, while the BR-816SU2 can be connected to your PC via USB 2.0.
Burning speeds are up to 16x for DVD ±R discs and up to 24x for CD-RWs.

The recorders will hit Japanese stores at the beginning of August. Prices: $420 for the external and $370 for the internal version.