Photos: Hitachi, Panasonic DVD tech

Panasonic's Blu-ray recorders. They cost more than $2,000 each and, for the time being, will be sold only in Japan. Demand for these devices in the U.S. is perceived to be relatively weak. By contrast, disk recording in Japan, if DVD recorder sales are any evidence, is big.

Photo by Michael Kanellos/CNET News.com