The words “Blu-ray” and “cheap” don’t get used together much, at least not in a good way. Today’s deal, the Lite-On DH-4O1S Blu-ray reader, may be the rare exception. To be clear, this isn’t your garden variety home theater player that sits under your TV, but rather an internal BD-ROM (Blu-ray Disc Reader) to be installed in your computer/media server. If that’s OK, and you’re handy with a TORX screwdriver, read on.

First, you’ll need an empty slot in your computer case, as well as an open SATA port. Installed, the the drive will read (not burn) BD-R/RE/ROM, Single-layer and Double-layer Blu-ray discs (4x max), Single Layer DVD ±R or DVD-ROM (12x max), Double Layer DVD±R and Single Layer DVD±RW (8x max), and your good ole’ CD-R/RW/ROMs (32x max). Several of the reviews gripe that the SATA cable and Cyberlink software aren’t included, supposedly because this is an OEM product. The cable should be easy pickings any Rat Shack can supply; the software, not so sure.

Also noted is the issue of upgrading the firmware/profiles. While the unit is flash memory upgradable, some companies are much better about staying on top of the updates. FWIW, my searches indicated Lite-On wasn’t any better or worse than average and they do provide some firmware info on their corporate site. Lastly, the DH-401S is XP SP2, Win2000 SP4, Linus, or Vista only. Sorry Mac boys.

I’d love to hear from anyone that has this setup working, along with your graphics card, etc..

Sale price: $124.99 + $6.58 for shipping

Deal ends: n/a

Buy now: www.newegg.com