Blu-Ray, HD-DVD Recorders Only in Japan, For Now
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by Mike Zazaian October 3, 2006 - 10:38am, 1 Comment
After Sony and Panasonic showcased upcoming Blu-Ray recorders at the CEATEC trade show outside Tokyo, both companies announced that they have no plans to release the products in the United States. Toshiba, after demonstrating its HD-DVD recording offering, made the same claim. According to the companies, American consumers aren’t as interested in DVD recording devices as are the Japanese. Keisuke Ohmori, group manager of the international media relations group at Toshiba, said of the matter:
In Japan, 80 to 90 percent of the demand for DVD players is for player/recorders. In the U.S.A. you record on TiVo.
Price may also be a prohibitive factor, with Panasonic’s BW 200 and BW 100 Blu-ray recorder models weighing in at about $2,500 and $2,200 in US dollars. Hi-def recorders have reached such premiums not only because the technology is new, but because, unlike non-recording players, devices that record high-definition video also require enormous hard drives. Toshiba’s new HD-DVD recorder, for instance, features a 1 terabyte hard drive, hiking the price of the unit it close to $3,400 US.
[via cnet]
JB Hi-Fi stores Australia - RRP of $1,599… they are out there BUT - most of them will not actually play as there is no media to play… yet… maybe wait until there is something to put inside the unit in the 2nd quarter of 2007 if you want to be the new ‘kid’ on the block - lol
Glen