Sharps unveils the first Blu-ray disc recorder

Monday, February 19, 2007

Sharp will release within a few weeks in Japan first Blu-ray disc recorder. The BD-HP1 is the first device able to record high-definition content directly from television. It is the first step for Sharp in a strategy that will bring more devices capable to record high-definition content.

Before rushing to buy this Blu-ray disc recorder beware that the recording is possible only under certain conditions. The source for the BD-HP1 must be either a Sharp Aquos digital tuner or an Aquos HD Recorder. The reason for this limitation is that Sharp wanted to eliminate the cost for a separate tuner (and, well, promote other Sharp products).

The solution employed by Sharp, called Hybrid Recording, just uses the iLink available on the Sharp Aquos LCD models. It is a four-pin derivative of FireWire that is generally available on the displays distributed after the 2004 year. The presence of a single tuner also means that it will not be possible to watch a program while recording on the Blu-ray disc another.

Using the Easy BD Dubbing function the users will also able to transfer existing high quality content from their Aquos HD Recorder to a Blu-ray disc. Since the BD-HP1 only works with single-layer Blu-ray discs, the user is limited to 25GB of content per disc. This equals to two hours of high quality content or six hours of standard definition television.

The retail price for the BD-HP1 is set for the equivalent of $1200 USD and the first Blu-ray Disc recorder should be available in the United States later this spring.