Plextor has announced a new line of external DVD players and burners that feature new software for more control over how the drives operate. The new line of drives includes the PX-601U 8x Slim External USB Super Multi Drive that works with both Mac and PC systems. The drive is self-powered and gets all its juice from the USB port.

The PX-B310SA is a 6x internal SATA and an external version called the PX-B310U is an external USB version of the drive. These two drives are Blu-ray combo drives that can read Blu-ray and write to CD and DVD media. The PX-850SA is a 22x internal SATA drive and the PX-850A is an internal PATA version. Both are CD and DVD burners.

The new software allows users to view basic and advanced information about the drives. The software also includes a utility tool for destroying data on CD or DVD media. A few of the features of the software are a method of measuring the decay percentage on the laser diode of the drive, perform a self test, control the amount of sound the drive produces, and control over when the drive is idle to save power.

Via Plextor