Pioneer gets in on the Qflix direct-DVD-download act

Sonic Solutions announced Qflix download and burn technology for DVD nearly a year ago. Now, following Dell's lead, Pioneer has announced its own Qflix compatible burners.

Today, Pioneer announced two Qflix DVD/CD burners: the internal DVR-2920Q,
and the external DVR-X162Q. Both drives incorporate Sonic Solutions' Roxio Venue software, which was designed to create protected DVDs from legally purchased downloads, as stipulated by The DVD Copy Control Association in 2006. The drives will begin shipping this month, and carry an MSRP of $69.99 for the internal model, and $114.99 for the external, a scant $5 cheaper than Dell's.

Through the Roxio Venue interface, users can browse and buy the content they want, and then burn the content onto a proprietary Qflix DVD which works in most commercial DVD players. Sonic Solutions told BetaNews last month that compatibility for third party set-top DVD players was at 99%, and PC DVD drives was at about 80%.

The drives will be available directly through pioneerelectronics.com and through unnamed major retail chains.