Blu-ray set-top burners are difficult to come by stateside, but JVC is finally shipping over a solution, albeit with limitations.
The SR-HD1500 and SR-HD1250 Blu-ray disc and HDD recorders are coming in October, but arguably the most valuable function that a consumer could get from them -- the ability to record television programming onto a Blu-ray disc -- is being left off. Only unprotected content can be ripped to disc, Engadget reports.
In Europe and Japan, it's a different story. See for example, Panasonic's DMR-BS850 in the U.K. or JVC's DR-BX500 in Japan, both of which have TV tuners that allow recording of over-the-air broadcasts. You won't find those abilities on JVC's United States-bound players, which have no tuners and no HDMI inputs to speak of.
So why invest in such a product? It's basically a tool for videographers, who've shot something in HD and want to preserve its superior quality in Blu-ray form. Incoming content gets stored to a hard drive, and multiple Blu-ray copies can be burned by inserting a succession of blank discs. But without the ability to back up television or movie content, JVC's players seem kind of soulless.
Of course, there's no shortage of set-top DVD recorders that work just fine for taping TV, so it seems HD recording is being discriminated against, though it's not clear whether JVC or outside forces are to blame.
In any case, the high price of these Blu-ray burners aren't likely to attract the average consumer. At $2,550 for the SR-HD1500 and $1,995 for the SR-HD1250, they're really only of interest to aspiring filmmakers.
