Panasonic has launched its second Blu-ray Disc burner capable of writing a BD-R disc at 4x speeds. This time, the drive can handle dual-layer, 50GB media.

The LF-PB271 is a 5.25in internal unit that connects to its host computer over a SATA link. The unit will write to rewriteable BD-RE discs, be they single- or dual-layer products, but only at standard 2x speed.

Panasonic's LF-PB271: 4x 50GB BD-R recording

Like almost all other blue-laser drives, the Panasonic will also work with red-laser media, including all the DVD and CD recordable and rewriteable formats.

Panasonic said the drive will be compatible with all forms of Windows XP and Vista - drivers are included in the box - and will come bundled with Blu-ray ready versions of CyberLink's disc tools, including PowerDVD, PowerBackup and PowerProducer.

The LF-PB271 goes on sale in Japan on 10 November for around ¥55,000 ($471/£232/€333). When we hear about European and US release plans, we'll let you know.

Panasonic announced 4x-compatible single-layer BD-R discs (http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/07/04/panasonic_4x_bdr_debuts/) back in July. At the time, it promised equivalent-speed dual-layer discs would appear at the end of September.