By and large, one Blu-ray recorder is just the same as the another. Not so with Sony's latest duo, which both come ready to toast material to blank BD-R media and tap into the wide world of internet video. Both the BDZ-A750 (320GB) and the BDZ-A950 (500GB) are able to stream and download video from Tsutaya TV and acTVila VOD services in Japan, and moreover, they can forward that material to a PSP or other compatible DAP via USB. In case that's not enough, the duo is also DLNA compatible, and the HDMI output ensures crisp, clean 1080p output. So, ready to change your mind on that whole "would you buy a Blu-ray recorder?" question?

[Via Akihabara News]

While the results in our most recent poll were decidedly mixed, those over in Britain will soon have the option of procuring their own Blu-ray recorder thanks to Panasonic. The DMR-BS850, which was recently showcased across the pond, will sport a dual FreeSat tuner and will rival the heralded Humax FOXSAT-HDR. Details beyond that are few and far between, but we should hear more during the run-up to its late 2008 release. Check the read link for a few more looks.

Tata Sky may be ready for HD broadcasting, but it can't really expect to topple Dish TV and friends without its own PVR service. At long last, the Indian satcaster is finally enabling its 2.7 million subscribers to enjoy the unbelievable bliss that comes with timeshifting. As for pricing, you'll be asked to hand over Rs 8,999 ($189) for the HDD-packed set-top-box, though current users who choose to upgrade can get ahold of one for "a discounted rate." In related news, managing director and CEO Vikram Kaushik has also expressed his desire to net "at least" 8 million subs by 2012 -- get some serious high-def material rolling and we'd say you can snag 10+ million with ease.

The Land of the Rising Sun has all the fun, doesn't it? Today, we Europeans, North Americans, et al. are being forced to lust after this here piece of electronic goodness, which goes by the sobriquet DR-BX500. The JVC-built Blu-ray recorder packs twin digital TV tuners (along with a single analog tuner), a 500GB internal hard drive and a built-in EPG to boot. You'll also find an SD card slot for loading up multimedia stored on flash cards, and the HDMI port (among other lovely sockets) ensures that your BD flicks get outputted in 1080p. Check it in Japan next month for a currently undisclosed price.

[Via Impress]

For the folks that just can't let go, JVC is introducing a new duo of recorders that handle VHS, DVD and HDD-based logging. Predictably, the DR-HX500 holds 500GB while the DR-HX250 gets a 250GB drive, and outside of that, both units are identical. You'll find a built-in analog / digital TV tuner, an HDMI socket and all the dubbing features you (or your grandmother) can handle. It should be noted that digital TV recordings can only be stored on the HDD, but it is possible to capture a digital show there while copying an analog broadcast to VHS / DVD. The pair is all geared up to land in multi-generational homes this July, with prices being pegged at ¥95,000 ($906) and ¥75,000 ($715), respectively.

[Via Pocket-lint]

Hauppauge has pulled the wraps of their HD PVR, which can take a HD signal from its component inputs and transcode it to H.264 in real time for storage on your computer. If you don't believe that old-school analog component connections are any good, keep walking. True, there will be some degradation after the signal makes its digital-to-analog-to-digital journey, but we like the universal applicability of this device. Hauppauge is tossing a copy of its HD encoder software so you can then burn the recorded content to a DVD for use on the run. Available Q1 2008 for $249.

[Via TVSquad]

Now that Hitachi has announced a Blu-ray camcorder to put some of that high-def footage on, you've got to have something to record onto, right? Verbatim will ship 8cm Mini Blu-ray Recordable/Rewritable (BD-R/RE) blank media in August for Japan, with shipments to North America and points beyond in October. The media will hold 7.5GB on a single side, with recording times of one hour for 1920x1080i resolution, and up to two hours at 1440x1080i. The discs come with Verbatim's standard hard-coat finish for protection against scratching and dust, making them pretty reliable for the kinds of stresses you'll see filming your own season of Survivor: Fargo.

It's not every day that a DVD recorder makes it onto Engadget HD's front page but sure 'nough, this boy has an ATSC tuner built in and can even record from it. Props needs to go out to the techs at RCA for recognizing that the digital transition is only a short two years and two months away and some people will not be able to use their current ATSC-lacking DVD recorders. The DRC8335 should be available in April at a MSRP of $249.99 and features all the standard VCR to DVD functions, plus that ATSC tuner that will pick up local digital broadcasts and even records those digital programs to a DVD. There is no word if you would be able to record 720p/1080i broadcasts onto a DVD but we would have to guess that you can't. But even still, this should be a great digital solution for those folks that still don't understand that a digital video recorder is still the best option.

We wish we had a bit more info to be getting on with, but we can't say a spec sheet would have us drooling any more than we are already. Mitsubishi is showing off a sexy new Blu-ray recorder of theirs at CEATAC, which sports a HDD for doing HDD-ish recording stuff too. That's all we can really tell you about this unit, but by mere heft analysis we're going to guess this one falls somewhere between Sony's BDZ-Vx recorders and Toshiba's RD-A1 HD DVD monstrosity. But to be perfectly honest, even if the internals of this thing were packed with sawdust and Jolly Ranchers, we'd probably buy one anyways.

Blue laser shortage or not, Sony's hoping to avoid the delay bug with its first Blu-ray disc recorders, just announced at CEATEC 2006 for early December release in Japan. Both models will record two TV programs at once via their two digital and one analog tuners. Backing up video to Blu-ray discs is limited to 25GB -- no 50GB BD-R/BD-RE writing or reading here -- but it will play cartridges from the old Blu-ray recorders, as well as the new AVCHD discs. With the right NTT cellphone you can schedule recordings from anywhere, but at home owners will enjoy the slick PSP-style XMB crossbar menu like other Sony products. The high-end BDZ-V9 is the only choice if you must have 1080p output, DLNA streaming to connected PCs or compatible displays and video conversion to MPEG-4 to transfer directly to a PSP. All the connections you'd expect are a go, including HDMI out, plus i.Link and USB inputs to hook up digicams and make as many sentimental James Blunt-soundtracked slideshows as you can with the included x-Pict Story HD software. The BDZ-V9 will set buyers back a cool ¥300,000 ($2,543 US) or so on December 8th, with the value-priced BDZ-V7 only expected to go for ¥250,000 ($2,119 US) when it hits on December 19th. They may not have the 4x Blu-ray recording of Panasonic's lineup or the soul-crushing bulk of Toshiba's 1TB RD-A1, but with a simple menu system and joystick based remote control Japanese gamers who didn't get one of the 100,000 launch PS3s will still bring Blu-ray to their living room this year.

[Via Impress]

For the technically-inclined Japanese household looking to back up HD episodes of Desire and Fashion House (or their Japanese equivalents) the Panasonic DMR-BW200 and DMR-BR100 Blu-ray recorders may just fit the bill, and are due out November 15th. With 500GB and 200GB HDDs respectively you've got plenty of space to save important telenovelas prior to burning them to 25GB or 50GB BD-R/REs at 4x speed. Tuners for terrestrial, BS, 110-degree CS digital broadcasts and analog TV are included, as well as all the usual ins and outs like 1080p HDMI. The high-end BW200 adds dual tuners for digital broadcasts, an i.Link port for D-VHS dubbing and Ethernet connectivity. Both have Panasonic's Viera Link technology and HD Optimizer for cleaning up noise in digital broadcasts and upconverting SD content. As our friends at Engadget point out, unlike the Sony Blu-ray recorder these have a release date, specs and price -- ¥300,000 (about $2,550) for the BW200 and ¥200,000 (about $1,700) for the BR100 -- and their slim design seems to carry less pet-crushing risk than the Toshiba RD-A1.

[Via Engadget]

The Toshiba RD-A1 HD DVD recorder will face competition from Blu-ray (sans-cartridges) in Japan before the end of the year, Sony confirmed while showing off the device during their Dealer Convention 2006. Other than showing the device, they were incredibly short on details. No price, no official name, not much in the way of specs just a box and some hype, who does Sony think they are, Apple? We know it will be HDD equipped, but capacity, speed, tuners? You're on your own for now, but be sure to check out the pics, from a purely aesthetic standpoint the Sony Brr (Blu-ray recorder) definitely has the gargantuan 1TB HDD RD-A1 beat.

We know you are curious to know how Toshiba's HD DVD recorder operates, but the unit isn't available for the US market just yet, but luckily for us, this whole Internet thing is a global venture and Digital World Tokyo has a video review of the recorder. Just like we made out in the pictures, it is a beast. Other then the whole 1 terabyte recorder thing, it seems to be about the same unit as the normal HD DVD player -- including, the very slow start-up time. It takes almost a minute and a half till it is all the way up. But it does what it says it can which is record TV and put it on an HD DVD disc. The only small issue is some of those programs will not allow you to record directly on the HD DVD but once it is on the hard drive, it can then be moved to the disc. Apparently, it works rather nicely though and if you are lucky enough to get your hands on one, and you can read Japanese, you should be happy with it.

After a slight delay, the Toshiba RD-A1 HD DVD burner is finally available in Japan. This is the first recorder for the format, which besides being the approximate size of an aircraft carrier also has a 1TB hard drive to save broadcast TV via either of its tuners. Once you've got it on the 1000GB HDD, you can burn it in MPEG-2 format to 15GB or 30GB HD DVD-Rs, which your good friends at Mitsubishi and Hitachi/Maxell will be more than happy to provide. If that sounds like too much work you could always stream the content to DLNA compatible equipment like your Qosmio laptop. Finally, this is the first standalone HD DVD player that plays back at full 1080p resolution. At 398,000 yen ($3,407 US, down from $3,466 due to the exchange rate), we'll have to wait and see if this fares well in burner-crazy Japan against Blu-ray recorders that have been on shelves there for several years now but slow to take off so far.

If you were saving your pennies for Toshiba's new RD-A1 HD DVD player/recorder, you have a couple more weeks. Toshiba is having problems getting parts for their unit and the unit is now officially delayed till the end of the month. We doubt any of our readers were going to get one anyways. Toshiba has no plans on shipping the $3,453 priced unit over seas to America; Japan and the US are different types of market. Their country is saturated with terrestrial digital signals where they can utilizes the 1-terabyte capacity a bit more then we can. Sure, some markets have a dozen OTA signals, but most do not have anywhere near that.

We are curious though. Is there anyone out there planning on purchasing one of these units?