Sony Unveils First Blue-Laser DVD Recorder [merged]
03-03-03, 10:47 AM
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Sony Unveils First Blue-Laser DVD Recorder
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...ch_sony_dvd_dc
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Sony Corp (news - web sites) said on Monday 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.
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.
Blue light, with a shorter wavelength than red, can read and store data at much higher densities needed for high-definition recordings.
FORMAT BLUES
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.
Other members of the Blu-ray consortium include Matsushita Electric Industrial Co (6752.T), which makes Panasonic products, South Korea (news - web sites)'s Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (05930.KS) and Dutch manufacturer Philips Electronics NV (PHG.AS).
Time to start saving that change.
Chris
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Sony Corp (news - web sites) said on Monday 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.
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.
Blue light, with a shorter wavelength than red, can read and store data at much higher densities needed for high-definition recordings.
FORMAT BLUES
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.
Other members of the Blu-ray consortium include Matsushita Electric Industrial Co (6752.T), which makes Panasonic products, South Korea (news - web sites)'s Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (05930.KS) and Dutch manufacturer Philips Electronics NV (PHG.AS).
Time to start saving that change.
Chris
03-04-03, 07:53 AM
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Blu-Ray Set to Debut...
DVDANGLE posted:
Blu-Ray Set to Debut: This morning Sony announced it will begin selling the world's first Blu-Ray HD-DVD player/recorder in Japan early next month (04/10 to be exact). The machine will not be cheap -- coming in with a whopping price tag of 450,000 yen (that's roughly $3,800 US). That being said, this gives Sony a major advantage in the ongoing struggle for the next generation DVD format. There is no word yet when Blu-Ray will be released in North America. If I were to speculate, November or December of this year isn't an unrealistic guess. Now that the gauntlet has been thrown, you can expect this struggle to heat up into a battle very quickly...
Blu-Ray Set to Debut: This morning Sony announced it will begin selling the world's first Blu-Ray HD-DVD player/recorder in Japan early next month (04/10 to be exact). The machine will not be cheap -- coming in with a whopping price tag of 450,000 yen (that's roughly $3,800 US). That being said, this gives Sony a major advantage in the ongoing struggle for the next generation DVD format. There is no word yet when Blu-Ray will be released in North America. If I were to speculate, November or December of this year isn't an unrealistic guess. Now that the gauntlet has been thrown, you can expect this struggle to heat up into a battle very quickly...
03-04-03, 03:04 PM
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from yahoo news.. "To support the new machine, Sony also announced its first generation Blu-ray media. Discs with a 23GB capacity will go on sale from April 10 priced at $30. There are three disc sizes specified in the initial Blu-ray format, and 23GB is the lowest-capacity and easiest to make of the three. The other capacities are 25GB and 27GB."
03-07-03, 07:29 AM
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DVDFILE posted:
The HD-DVD wars just got hotter with the announcement this week by Sony Corp. that it will launch the first Blu-Ray Disc product in Japan next month. The player (still unnamed at presstime), can both record and play back high-definition content on the Blu-Ray optical disc format, and will have a suggested retail price of 450,000 yen, or around $3,800 US. (The typical "red laser" DVD recorder goes for about 55,000 yen, or about $450 US.) Holding up to 23 gigabytes of data or five times that of current DVD technology, blank Blu-Ray discs will run about $30 US.
While the Sony players will allow for the first-ever consumer recording and playback of HD material on a disc-based media, prerecorded and prepackaged material will be scarce if nonexistent. None of the major studios, including Columbia TriStar (owned by parent Sony) has announced support for the Blu-Ray format. With no accepted copy protection standard in place and several rival HD-DVD formats also being aggressively developed, even Sony was publicly cautious about Blu-Ray's place in the developing HD race.
"The market has already been established," a Sony spokesman told the Associated Press, "and although it's still looking for direction, there will be a growing number of users who want high-definition recording." Sony's Blu-Ray device will include a built-in satellite tuner that can deliver HD programming for recording and playback, but the holy grail of any HD-DVD-like format - prerecorded movies and other HD programming - still remains a long way off.
With the DVD Forum announcing earlier this year that they are not supporting the Blu-Ray format in favor of another, competing technology, the prognosis remains cloudy for those in the Blu-Ray camp. However, Sony's announcement does accelerate expectations and raises the stakes for all those in the prerecorded HD game, including Panasonic Consumer Electronics and Toshiba Corp., who are also set to announce Blu-Ray product launches soon in Japan.
The HD-DVD wars just got hotter with the announcement this week by Sony Corp. that it will launch the first Blu-Ray Disc product in Japan next month. The player (still unnamed at presstime), can both record and play back high-definition content on the Blu-Ray optical disc format, and will have a suggested retail price of 450,000 yen, or around $3,800 US. (The typical "red laser" DVD recorder goes for about 55,000 yen, or about $450 US.) Holding up to 23 gigabytes of data or five times that of current DVD technology, blank Blu-Ray discs will run about $30 US.
While the Sony players will allow for the first-ever consumer recording and playback of HD material on a disc-based media, prerecorded and prepackaged material will be scarce if nonexistent. None of the major studios, including Columbia TriStar (owned by parent Sony) has announced support for the Blu-Ray format. With no accepted copy protection standard in place and several rival HD-DVD formats also being aggressively developed, even Sony was publicly cautious about Blu-Ray's place in the developing HD race.
"The market has already been established," a Sony spokesman told the Associated Press, "and although it's still looking for direction, there will be a growing number of users who want high-definition recording." Sony's Blu-Ray device will include a built-in satellite tuner that can deliver HD programming for recording and playback, but the holy grail of any HD-DVD-like format - prerecorded movies and other HD programming - still remains a long way off.
With the DVD Forum announcing earlier this year that they are not supporting the Blu-Ray format in favor of another, competing technology, the prognosis remains cloudy for those in the Blu-Ray camp. However, Sony's announcement does accelerate expectations and raises the stakes for all those in the prerecorded HD game, including Panasonic Consumer Electronics and Toshiba Corp., who are also set to announce Blu-Ray product launches soon in Japan.
