Sharp launches hybrid HDTV recorder
Japanese consumers are now facing an even greater choice of Blu-ray Disc recorders with the introduction of Sharp s BD-HD100.
The new model offers two different recording options; a built-in hard drive with a capacity of 160 GB that is capable of recording 19 hours of digital high-definition broadcasts (HDTV), and 25 GB Blu-ray discs.
Production of the BD-HD100, which retails at Y320,000 ($3,000), will start at three thousand units per month and ramp up to more than double this figure in 2005, according to Japan s Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper.
Sharp claims that the BD-HD100 is equipped with the world s first Twin Blu-ray Disc/DVD Tray, enabling transfer of recordings between hard drive, Blu-ray Disc and DVD. Owners of the BD-HD100 could, for example, copy five DVDs onto one Blu-ray Disc.
Another feature of the BD-HD100 is the high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) output jack, described as a next-generation digital interface that enables output of digital signals exactly as they were recorded from digital high-definition broadcasts.
The BD-HD100 succeeds Sharp s combined DVD and hard drive recorders, such as DV-HRD1 and DV-HRD2, and is up against Blu-ray recorders from Sony and Matsushita Electric (Panasonic).