Sony Corp. has just announced that it will launch a Blu-ray high definition recorder in December to the Japanese market, which will feature a 500GB hard drive to double up as a high definition PVR. This comes just after the Panasonic electronics brand manufacturer Matsushita announcing the upcoming launch of two Blu-ray DVD recorders also (one with 200GB HDD and other with 500GB HDD) to the Japanese market, but at the earlier launch date of November 15th.
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Blu-ray may have more support from the movie industry and electronic companies, HD DVD currently leads with a greater market share in the US and is backed by Intel and the software giant Microsoft. Toshiba was also the first to roll out the first next generation players back in March with its HD DVD player, giving the HD DVD format several months lead before the first Blu-ray player launched. Sony's upcoming 500GB Blu-ray/HDD recorders are expected to retail at 300,000 yen (~US$2,540).
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The launch, if it goes smoothly, could give Sony an opportunity to shore up its reputation as a top-class manufacturer, after recent setbacks such as recalls of more than seven million Sony-made laptop batteries by PC makers and a delay in the European launch of its new game console PlayStation 3. |
It looks like with the growing popularity of PVR's, including new models capable of handling HD without costing even as much as either next gen. DVD Player, consumers may begin thinking twice of forking out such a hefty price on a high definition recorder capable of recording on disc. See this article for more details. However, when it comes to playback, unless on-demand HD TV or online high definition downloadable content succeeds in taking over the DVD, chances are that at least one of these formats will likely take over the DVD format in the coming years as a pre-recorded medium.
Source: Reuters - Technology
