Sony sells first blue-laser DVD recorder
Tuesday, March 4, 2003 Posted: 4:46 PM EST (2146 GMT)


There will be a growing number of users who want high-definition recording.
-- Shoko Yanagisawa, Sony


TOKYO (Reuters) -- Japan's Sony said it would start sales next month of the world's first DVD recorder that uses blue laser light and can pack a two-hour high-definition TV program onto a single disc.

It won't be cheap, with a retail list price of 450,000 yen ($3,800) while low-end DVD recorders using conventional red lasers go for as little as 50,000-70,000 yen. But with digital satellite broadcasts in Japan, the United States and elsewhere now bringing high-definition TV to a small but growing number of households, Sony wants to get an early start in what could become a hot product.

"The market has already been established, and although it's still looking for direction, there will be a growing number of users who want high-definition recording," said Sony spokeswoman Shoko Yanagisawa.

Coming to America
The recorder, which includes a built-in broadcast satellite tuner, will hit store shelves in Japan on April 10. No date has been set yet for an overseas roll-out, she said.

The machine will give Sony, the world's largest consumer electronics maker, a head start over its partners in the Blu-ray consortium, a nine-member group of industry heavyweights that unveiled a common format for blue laser DVDs a year ago.

FACT BOX
Sony's Blu-ray machine will be able to play red-laser discs using the DVD-R and DVD-RW formats, but not those using the DVD-RAM or DVD+RW formats.

Blue light, with a shorter wavelength than red, can read and store data at much higher densities needed for high-definition recordings.

Blu-ray discs, which Sony will also start selling on April 10, hold up to 23 gigabytes of data, or nearly five times as much as existing DVDs and enough for two hours of digital satellite high-definition programming.

At 3,500 yen each, Blu-ray discs will also cost several times more than conventional discs.

Market growing as prices drop
Other members of the Blu-ray consortium include Matsushita Electric Industrial, which makes Panasonic products, South Korea's Samsung Electronics and Dutch manufacturer Philips Electronics.

Toshiba Corp., a pioneer in DVD technology, has weighed in with a competing blue-laser format it says will be less expensive and more compatible with existing recorders, although it would only store 15-20 gigabytes of data per disc.

A fragmentation of recording formats for existing red laser products has been blamed for hindering a take-off in DVD recorder sales, although the market has begun growing rapidly as the machines get cheaper.

Toshiba is hoping to have its first blue-laser DVD recorder on the market in another year or so, a spokesman said, although an industry body is still hammering out technical details for the format.

damn...if you want a theatre experience, go to the movies. who the hell needs to see 'friends' or 'will and grace' in high definition?

SassyBritches said:

SassyBritches said:

I don't watch them in low definition, in fact i don't watch those shows at all. Movies like The Matrix i would love to be able to get the full experience at home without people talking, or paying the outrageuos prices for food. Just me and a guest quiet and comfy :LOL:

Damn that's alot of scrilla! but I bet it's well worth the price.

CtheUncanny said:

CtheUncanny said:

Ummm...can't you buy/rent the DVD when it comes to movies like the Matrix and enjoy it at home. Not sure what DVD burning and movies have in common. This recorder is for taping/burning stuff off of television.

lovemachine said:

You will be able to watch the movies in high definition.
You cannot do this with the dvd player you have now. As
digital cable signals start to transmit in HD you will need something to keep the picture clarity. Also if a movie is more than two hours long you start to lose quality with
the standard single layer dvd(the only ones you can record with right now). You will be able to put ten prince concerts on one dvd with no quality loss and watch them over and over :LOL:

What I like about this is the idea that red-laser DVD burners will become less swanky and fall in price. Soon, one will be withing my grasp

daned said:

You can find em for about a $150.00 now. And blank DVDs can be bought for less than a buck a piece.