Not for home use: The JVC SR-HD1500 Blu-ray recorder
(Credit: JVC)Not a month goes by without us getting an e-mail or two from consumers looking for a set-top Blu-ray recorder. "They're available in Europe and Asia," goes the common refrain. "When will they be coming here?" Well, I have some good news and some bad news. The good news: JVC has just announced two new Blu-ray set-top recorders for the North American market. The bad news? They're expensive models aimed squarely at professional videographers who are mastering their own HD discs (think wedding photographers and the like). They're not intended for home use and--because of their pro-targeted features--wouldn't really be useful for home recording anyway.
Don't blame JVC for the disappointment here. The reason that consumer Blu-ray recorders don't exist in the U.S. is that they'd be so jammed full of copy-protection schemes (to placate movie studios and TV networks) that they'd be all but unusable for recording TV shows anyway. Video professionals, however, may be interested in the capability to record and master Blu-ray Discs without the need for a PC.
The JVC SR-HD1250 offers an internal 250GB hard drive and a built-in disc burner that can record MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 (H.264) video content to BD-R or BD-RE discs--it can also downconvert HD content for burning to standard DVDs. The step-up SR-HD1500 doubles the size of the hard drive to 500GB, and adds an RS-232C port for external control and support for MOV files (for compatibility with Apple Final Cut Pro).
While the duo of recorders offer HDMI and component video output, the inputs are limited to standard-definition composite and S-Video connections, as well as FireWire, USB, and an SDHC slot. Noncopy protected DVDs and Blu-ray Discs can also be duplicated on the recorders.
Cementing the "professional-only" aspect of these products is the price. The JVC SR-HD1250 will be priced at $1,995 and the SR-HD1500 will cost $2,550 when they are released next month.
Sharp's Aquos TV will come with a Blu-ray recorder built in.
(Credit: Sharp)Sharp will make the first LCD TV with a Blu-ray Disc recorder built in.
The high-definition disc recorder will be wedged into the side of Aquos DX-series TVs. It will have dual digital tuners, allowing users to watch and record simultaneously on different channels. It will record using the encoding format MPEG4 H.264/AVC.
The TVs will be available in sizes ranging between 26 inches and 52 inches for the equivalent of $4,923 to $1,674.
The catch? They're only available in Japan for now, but Sharp is planning to sell it in the U.S. by the end of the year, according to PC World.. Whether it would find success stateside is a little murkier. While competitor Panasonic has already said it's bringing Blu-ray recorders to the U.S. by the first half of 2009, some other CE manufacturers aren't so sure.
Sony, the most high-profile backer of the Blu-ray format, has no immediate plans to bring Blu-ray recorders here. The general lack of interest in DVD recorders (compared with interest in DVD players) thus far, doesn't bode well for widespread interest in recording devices for a format that still hasn't totally caught on with average consumers.
Plus, it's unclear what you'd actually be able to do with a Blu-ray recorder here, as studios tend to be sensitive about how consumers manipulate and use their content.
Will Blu-ray recorders finally reach the U.S.?
One of the more frequent e-mails we receive is, when are Blu-ray recorders coming out? Blu-ray recorders have been available in Japan for quite some time now, but we haven't seen any manufacturer planning to offer a recorder in the U.S. However, HD Guru recently blogged about the CEATEC trade show in Japan, and we noticed this little nugget buried in the middle:
"Panasonic will be introducing a freestanding Blu-ray recorder/player in the US during the first half of 2009. (BTW, Blu-ray recorder prices have really dropped in Japan. I spotted a Sharp Blu-ray recorder at Yodobashi camera for around $800 US)."
That's news to us. In fact, we met with Panasonic engineers recently, and when we brought up Blu-ray recorders they had no news for the U.S. market.
Although we do get plenty of reader e-mail concerning Blu-ray recorders, there's plenty of reasons to believe they won't be popular in the U.S. First up is the high price. An $800 recorder might be a big price drop, but it's still much more than standalone Blu-ray players, which most consumers already consider too expensive. Secondly, HD DVRs are relatively cheap and convenient, especially when you consider that a blank 25GB BD-R Disc costs about $8-$10. Lastly, we'll be interested to see exactly what you'll be able to record with a Blu-ray recorder. We're assuming people would be most interested in recording premium content from networks such as HBO, but we'd be surprised if content providers didn't start using copyright protection to make that impossible. Meanwhile, remember that anything you record off of most network and cable channels will be chock full of onscreen ads and snipes--hardly the sort of version we'd want to archive to our permanent collection.
So while there's certainly a limited market for Blu-ray recorders, it will be interesting to see if they're able to expand beyond that niche audience.
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