CES '09: LG's NAS with Blu-ray

Another hot goodie seen at CES '09 was LG's Network Attached Storage (NAS) device with a built-in Blu-ray drive.

Talk about a massive backup device, this beast not only features a built-in writable Blu-ray drive, but can be configured with a maximum storage capacity of 4TB via a RAID 5 (or more if each of the four drive bays houses the new 1.5TB drives). The N4B1 doesn't connect to a PC, but rather accesses a network directly to enable efficient and secure data storage. According to LG, the N4B1 automatically creates a content catalog when data is saved to the Blu-ray disc. The management system automatically tracks downloaded files as well, preventing duplication.

“Safe and secure storage of digital content is a top priority for techies and SoHo (small office-home office) users alike,” said Peter Reiner, senior vice president, marketing and strategy, LG Electronics North America. “LG’s NAS device is the perfect complement to our award-winning optical disc drive line as it not only provides data security but also offers large storage capacity and gives users the flexibility to read and write Blu-ray.”

Along with four drive bays and the Blu-ray writer, the N4B1 features plenty of goodies ranging from a Gig-E Ethernet connection, three USB connections, the ability to stream content to Blu-ray players, Virtual Disc Library technology allowing a single disc to be shared among many users, a single e-SATA jack and more. The Blu-ray burner reads and writes at 8X (16x as DVD+R, 40x as CD-R), burning a full single layer BD disc (25 GB) in only 13 minutes. The device's overall size is 190 x 289 x 280 mm, and utilizes a web-based graphic user interface for remote management.

According to the company, the N4B1 is compatible with Mac, Linux and Windows-based computers and networks. Currently LG has not released pricing and availability for this NAS device.