Sony is to unleash a new wave of Blu-ray recorders later this year. Launching first in Japan, these will be the first Sony BD recorders which can write to dual-layer 50GB disks.
The BDZ-X90, BDZ-T70, BDZ-T50 and BDZ-L70 BD recorders will enter the Japanese market in November. They can all record up to 16 hours of high-definition video onto recordable BDs, and that's just the start of it.
All four models will also come with an internal hard disk for recording content direct to the player.
The flagship Sony BDZ-X90 model comes packing a fairly substantial 500GB of storage, capable of storing 160 hours (that's nearly seven days straight recording) of HD TV content. Needless to say, if you're recording standard definition, the recording capacity is significantly increased.
Blu-ray HDD recorders
The BDZ-T50 has a 250GB hard disk and one digital tuner, while the BDZ-T70 has two tuners and a 320GB HDD - enabling you to watch one channel while recording another.
The L70 is reportedly designed for use with AVCHD video cameras, and features one-touch dubbing functionality.
All four players go on sale in Japan on 8 November, with the flagship X90 priced at ¥200,000 (£863). The BDZ-L70 will cost ¥180,000 (£777), the BDZ-T70 ¥160,000 (£690) and the BDZ-T50 will set you back ¥140,000 (£604).
"We intend to make all our recorders in the domestic market Blu-ray compatible," Sony deputy president Katsumi Ihara told journalists in Japan.
"With high-definition TVs spreading rapidly and more digital cameras and camcorders becoming HD-ready, the time is ripe for household recorders to move onto a next generation," he said.
If you can read Japanese, you can find out more over at Sony Japan.
